Prelims 2019 · Q49
MediumConsider the following statements:
- 1.The Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959 exempts several posts from disqualification on the grounds of 'Office of Profit'.
- 2.The above-mentioned Act was amended five times.
- 3.The term 'Office of Profit' is well-defined in the Constitution of India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only
Why not the tempting option · UPSC's key is (a). Statement 3 is wrong — Article 102 uses 'office of profit' without defining it — and (a) is the only option without statement 3, so the answer is fixed. Statement 2's count is loose: the Act's own footnotes record changes made by Acts of 1960, 1962, 1977, 1992, 1993, 1999, 2000, 2006 and 2013, several of them consequential amendments by other Acts, so 'five' depends on what one counts; UPSC's key takes the statement as broadly correct, the Act having been amended repeatedly. In the exam, let the clearly wrong statement decide the option.
The 1959 Act lists offices whose holders are not disqualified from Parliament for holding an office of profit, and Parliament has amended it repeatedly since. The Constitution, however, uses 'office of profit' in Article 102 without defining it, so statement 3 is wrong — and (a) is the only option that leaves statement 3 out.
- ✓ 1. The Act declares that the offices it lists (in section 3 and its Schedule) shall not disqualify their holders from being chosen as, or being, members of Parliament.
- ✓ 2. Correct in UPSC's key: the Act has been amended repeatedly to add exempted offices, most recently in 2013, when the chairpersons of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes were covered after the two commissions were separated.
- ✗ 3. Article 102(1)(a) disqualifies the holder of an 'office of profit' but does not define the term. The Supreme Court has noted that the expression is defined neither in the Constitution nor in the Representation of the People Act.
Remember · 'Office of profit' is not defined in the Constitution; Parliament exempts listed offices through the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959.
Sources
- The Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959 (Legislative Department copy hosted by Telangana High Court) ↗ “An Act to declare that certain offices of profit under the Government shall not disqualify the holders thereof for being chosen as, or for being, members of Parliament.”
- Notice inviting comments on the draft Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Bill, 2024, Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice (12 Nov 2024) ↗ “The Parliament has, from time to time, amended the aforesaid Act.”
- State Election Commissioner, Bihar v. Janakdhari Prasad, Supreme Court of India (3 July 2018), citing Shibu Soren v. Dayanand Sahay ↗ “opined that the expression "office of profit" has not been defined either in the Constitution or in the Representation of People Act.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·