Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is Nagaland.

• English is the official language of Nagaland.

Key Points

• The Official Language:
  • Part XVII of the Constitution deals with the official language in Articles 343 to 351.
  • Hindi written in Devanagari Script is to be the official language of the Union.
  • Originally there were fourteen languages in Eighth Schedule, but eight were added during amendments.
  • The first Official Language Commission was appointed in 1955 under Shri B.G. Kher as Chairman.
• Language of the State/Link Language:
  • The Legislature of a State can adopt any one or more languages used in the State or Hindi for the official purposes of that State.

Additional Information

• Konkani is the official language of Goa.
• The official languages of Puducherry are Tamil (in Puducherry and Karaikal), Telugu (in Yanam), Malayalam (in Mahe).
• Bengali and Kokborok are the official languages of Tripura.

The correct answer is  Suryakant.

Key Points

• Suryakant is the Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh from 5 October 2018 to 24 May 2019.
• Suryakant is also a former Judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court.
• He is also a judge of the Supreme court.
• Justice Surya Kant took oath as a judge of the Supreme Court of India on 24 May 2019.

Important Points

• Justice V. Ramasubramanian was the Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh from 22 June 2019 to 22 September 2019.
• From 6 October 2019, Lingappa Narayana Swamy is the chief justice of Himachal Pradesh.
• Himachal Pradesh high court was established in 1971.

The correct answer is Both Supreme Court and High Court.

• The P. I. L. petition related to Fundamental Rights can be filed with both the Supreme Court and High Court.

Additional Information

• History of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in India:
  • In 1979, Kapila Hingorani filed a petition and secured the release of almost 40000 undertrials from Patna’s jails in the famous ‘Hussainara Khatoon’ case. Hingorani was a lawyer.
  • This case was filed in the SC before a Bench led by Justice P N Bhagwati.
  • Hingorani is called the ‘Mother of PILs’ as a result of this successful case.
  • The court permitted Hingorani to pursue a case in which she had no personal locus standi making PILs a permanent fixture in Indian jurisprudence.
  • The Supreme Court of India and the High Courts have the right to issue PILs.
  • The concept of PILs stems from the power of judicial review.
  • The concept of PILs has diluted the principle of locus standi, which implies that only the person/party whose rights have been infringed upon can file petitions.
  • Procedure to File PIL in India:
    • Any Indian citizen or organisation can move the court for a public interest/cause by filing a petition:
    • In the SC under Article 32
    • In the High Courts under Article 226
    • The court can treat a letter as a writ petition and take action on it.
    • The court has to be satisfied that the writ petition complies with the following: the letter is addressed by the aggrieved person or a public-spirited individual or a social action group for the enforcement of legal or constitutional rights to any person who, upon poverty or disability, are not able to approach the court for redress.
    • The court can also take action on the basis of newspaper reports if it is satisfied with the case.

The correct answer is 214. 

• According to Article 214 of the Constitution, a High Court has been established in every state.
• The Chief Justice of the state is appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Governor of the state.
  • Each judge of the High Court can hold office until the age of 62 years.
  • The High Court judges submit their resignations to the Governor.
  • The High Court judge can only be removed on the charge of incompetence.
  • Removal is the same as the impeachment of the President.

Key Points

• The Rajasthan High Court in Rajasthan was established in 1949 in Jodhpur.
• A block bench of it was established in Jaipur.
• Currently, 50 judges have been appointed in the Rajasthan High Court.
• The first judge of the Rajasthan High Court was Mr. Kamalkant Verma.
• In Rajasthan, it has a district court for civil cases and a sessions court for criminal cases.

Additional Information

• Article 231 - It states that there can be one high court for two or more states or for union territories.
• Article 217 - Qualifications of Judge of High court.
• Article 220 - After retirement, a judge of a High Court, except the Supreme Court or any other court, cannot advocate it in the court or in the subordinate courts and can not take any post of profit under the government.

The correct answer is 2 and 3 only.

Key Points

• The Council of Ministers in the Centre shall be collectively responsible to Lok Sabha, not parliament.
  • ​Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• The Union Ministers shall hold the office during the pleasure of the President of India.
  • Hence statement 2 is correct.
• The Prime Minister shall communicate to the President about the proposals for legislation.
  • Hence statement 3 is correct.

​​​Additional Information

• Special Powers of Rajya Sabha
  • The Upper House also has some special powers, such as:
    • Power to transfer a subject from the State List to Union List for a specified period (Article 249).
    • To create additional All-India Services (Article 312).
    • To endorse Emergency under Article 352 for a limited period when the Lok Sabha remains dissolved.