Judiciary

Answer: (a) 1 only

Parliament adds laws to the Ninth Schedule through constitutional amendments, and Article 31B shields them from challenge for violating Fundamental Rights. But the shield is not absolute: laws added on or after 24 April 1973 (the Kesavananda Bharati judgment) can be tested against the basic structure.

• ✓ 1. The Ninth Schedule was created by the First Amendment (1951), and Parliament has added many Acts to it by later constitutional amendments.
• ✗ 2. Following Waman Rao (1981) and I.R. Coelho (2007), courts can review a law inserted into the Ninth Schedule after 24 April 1973 if it damages the basic structure of the Constitution.

Remember · Ninth Schedule (Art. 31B, First Amendment 1951) protects listed laws from Part III challenges, but post-24 April 1973 additions remain open to basic-structure review (I.R. Coelho, 2007).

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) 1, 2 and 4 only

Rule of law means that power is limited by law, that everyone stands equal before the law, and that people's rights are protected against arbitrary action. It does not make people responsible to the government, so 1, 2 and 4 are its features.

• ✓ 1. Rule of law means no one, including those in power, is above the law. This limits the powers of rulers and prevents misuse of power.
• ✓ 2. All individuals, rich or poor, are subject to the same law and get equal protection of the law.
• ✗ 3. The principle checks those who govern, and it is not about citizens owing responsibility to the government. Accountability runs from the government to the people.
• ✓ 4. No one can be punished except by procedure established by law, and everyone gets a fair chance to defend their rights against arbitrary action, so liberty and civil rights are protected.

Remember · Rule of law: no one above the law, equality before law, and protection of liberty and rights against arbitrary power.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 9 Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Ch 6 (practise this chapter) · Class 9 Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Ch 6 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 6 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) Article 21 and the freedoms guaranteed in Part III

In Justice K. S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (24 August 2017), a nine-judge Supreme Court bench held privacy to be a Fundamental Right. It flows from Article 21, which protects life and personal liberty, and from the freedoms in Part III taken together. Only option (c) names both.

• ✓ (c) Article 21 says no person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty except by procedure established by law. In Puttaswamy the Court read privacy into this Article and into the wider Part III freedoms.
• ✗ (a) Article 14 is equality before law, and the 42nd Amendment (1976) has no provision on privacy; neither is the source of the right.
• ✗ (b) Article 17 abolishes untouchability, and Directive Principles in Part IV are not enforceable rights; privacy was held to be a Fundamental Right.
• ✗ (d) Article 24 bars employment of children in factories and similar hazardous work; the 44th Amendment (1978) does not create the right to privacy.

Remember · Privacy is a Fundamental Right, grounded in Article 21 and the Part III freedoms (Puttaswamy, 2017, nine judges).

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error