Consider the following statements:
- 1.According to the Constitution of India, the Central Government has a duty to protect States from internal disturbances.
- 2.The Constitution of India exempts the States from providing legal counsel to a person being held for preventive detention.
- 3.According to the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002, confession of the accused before the police cannot be used as evidence.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) Only two
Statements 1 and 2 are correct; statement 3 is wrong. The Constitution makes the Union protect every State from internal disturbance and denies a preventive detainee the right to a lawyer, while the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 allowed certain confessions made to a senior police officer to be used in court.
- ✓ 1. Article 355 says it is the duty of the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance.
- ✓ 2. Article 22(1) gives an arrested person the right to consult and be defended by a lawyer, but Article 22(3)(b) says this does not apply to anyone arrested or detained under a preventive detention law.
- ✗ 3. Section 32 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 made a confession recorded by a police officer not below the rank of Superintendent of Police admissible in trial under that Act, and required the officer to warn the person that it may be used against him. The Act was repealed in 2004.
Remember · Article 355: Union protects States from external aggression and internal disturbance. Article 22(3)(b): no right to a lawyer under preventive detention. POTA 2002 (repealed 2004) admitted confessions made to a police officer of SP rank or above.
Sources
- Constitution of India, Article 355 ↗ “It shall be the duty of the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure that the Government of every State is carried on … Nothing in clauses (1) and (2) shall apply— (a) to any person who for the time being is an enemy alien; or (b) to any person who is arrested or detained under any law providing for preventive detention.”
- The Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (India Code), section 32 ↗ “explain to such person in writing that he is not bound to make a confession and that if he does so, it may be used against him”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·