UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — The debate over immunity to CEC, ECs

Q1. With reference to the two guarantees in Article 14 of the Constitution of India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 'Equal protection of laws' forbids the State from treating any two persons differently under law.
  2. 'Equality before law' implies that no person, whatever their rank or office, is above the ordinary law of the land.
  3. A statute that exempts a select class of officials from legal process can be challenged under Article 14 as an arbitrary classification.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q2. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. A foreign national present in India can invoke the guarantee of equality before law under Article 14.
  2. The idea of 'equal protection of laws' in Article 14 is of American origin.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q3. With reference to the protection given to the President and Governors under Article 361 of the Constitution of India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. Civil proceedings for acts done in a personal capacity may be instituted against the President during the term of office, subject to prior written notice.
  2. A Governor is not answerable to any court for the exercise and performance of the powers and duties of the office.
  3. Criminal proceedings for acts committed before assuming office may be instituted against a sitting Governor.
  4. Article 361 bars any person from bringing proceedings against the Government of India for acts done by the President in an official capacity.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1, 3 and 4 only

Q4. With reference to the immunity of Members of Parliament under Article 105(2) of the Constitution of India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. It covers anything said or any vote given by a member in a committee of Parliament, not merely on the floor of the House.
  2. It protects a member from court proceedings for a speech made at a public rally, provided the speech relates to parliamentary business.
  3. It protects a person who publishes a report of parliamentary proceedings under the authority of a House from court proceedings for that publication.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 only
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q5. In 2024, a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court held that a legislator cannot claim immunity under Articles 105 and 194 from prosecution for bribery connected with a vote or speech in the legislature. Its reasoning was that the offence is complete when the legislator accepts the bribe, whether or not the vote is later cast as agreed. Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above?

  1. Legislators can now be prosecuted for the manner in which they vote in the House.
  2. Legislative immunity attaches to the act of speaking or voting itself, and not to criminal conduct whose completion does not depend on that act.
  3. The ruling treats parliamentary privileges as being in general subordinate to the fundamental rights of citizens.
  4. A legislator who takes a bribe to vote one way but then votes the opposite way remains liable for bribery.
  • A. 1, 3 and 4 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q6. With reference to the constitutional safeguards for members of the Election Commission of India under Article 324, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. An Election Commissioner other than the Chief Election Commissioner can be removed only on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner.
  2. The conditions of service of every Election Commissioner are constitutionally protected from being varied to their disadvantage after appointment.
  3. The Chief Election Commissioner may be removed only on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
  4. Removal of the Chief Election Commissioner requires an address by each House of Parliament passed by a special majority.
  • A. 1, 3 and 4 only
  • B. 1, 2, 3 and 4
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q7. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. In Anoop Baranwal (2023), the Supreme Court's direction that a committee including the Chief Justice of India recommend appointments of the CEC and ECs was framed as a permanent requirement that Parliament could not displace by law.
  2. Under Article 324(2), the appointment of the CEC and ECs by the President is subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q8. With reference to legal protections available to public functionaries in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The prior-sanction requirement for prosecuting a public servant for acts in official duty, now carried in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, controls when a prosecution may proceed rather than abolishing liability for the offence.
  2. An immunity created by an ordinary Act of Parliament can be tested by the courts against the fundamental rights in Part III.
  3. Section 16 of the CEC and Other ECs Act, 2023 works as a bar on instituting proceedings, which is a separate question from whether the conduct amounts to an offence.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1 and 3 only