2018 GS Paper I, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2018 · GS Paper I

Question 5: Polity and Governance

Consider the following statements :

  1. 1.The Parliament of India can place a particular law in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
  2. 2.The validity of a law placed in the Ninth Schedule cannot be examined by any court and no judgement can be made on it.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

a1 only
b2 only
cBoth 1 and 2
dNeither 1 nor 2

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (a).

Article 31B, added by the First Amendment (1951), created the Ninth Schedule, and laws are added to it by a constitutional amendment passed by Parliament, so statement 1 holds. But the protection is not absolute: in I.R. Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu (2007) the Supreme Court held that laws placed in the Ninth Schedule after 24 April 1973 can be reviewed by courts if they violate fundamental rights that form part of the basic structure. The Schedule is not a blanket immunity.

  • 1. Parliament adds laws to the Ninth Schedule through a constitutional amendment.
  • 2. Laws added after 24 April 1973 can be tested against the basic structure (Coelho, 2007).

How you could have got this

  1. If you were sure statement 1 is correct, (b) and (d) go: each of them leaves 1 out.

    What you needed to know: Parliament adds laws to the Ninth Schedule through a constitutional amendment.

  2. Then, if you were sure statement 2 is not correct, (c) goes: it includes 2.

    What you needed to know: Laws added after 24 April 1973 can be tested against the basic structure (Coelho, 2007).

Only (a) is left. This one needs every statement.

Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.

Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) Right: Parliament adds laws by amending the Constitution, but courts can still review them.
  • (b) Wrong: courts can examine such laws after Coelho (2007).
  • (c) Wrong: statement 2 is false.
  • (d) Wrong: statement 1 is true.

Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2018, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.