UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC panel issues notice to Punjab govt. on job quota

Q1. The obligation of the Union and every State Government to consult the National Commission for Scheduled Castes on all major policy matters affecting the Scheduled Castes is laid down in which one of the following provisions?

  • A. Article 338(5), which enumerates the duties of investigation, inquiry and advice of the Commission
  • B. Article 338(8), which clothes the Commission with the powers of a civil court trying a suit
  • C. Article 338(9), which binds the Union and every State Government in matters of policy affecting Scheduled Castes
  • D. Article 338(10), which extends the article's operation to the Anglo-Indian community

Q2. The report of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes upon the working of the constitutional safeguards for Scheduled Castes is, in the first instance, presented to which one of the following?

  • A. The Parliament of India, before which it is laid along with an action taken memorandum
  • B. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, which is the nodal Ministry for the Commission
  • C. The Prime Minister, who forwards it to the Ministries concerned for compliance action
  • D. The President of India, who causes it to be laid before each House of Parliament

Q3. The constitutional amendment that inserted Article 338B and the accompanying Bill repealing the National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993 were piloted in Parliament by which one of the following?

  • A. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, which is the nodal Ministry for backward classes at the Centre
  • B. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, which was carved out in 1999 to focus on notified disadvantaged communities
  • C. The Ministry of Minority Affairs, which administers commissions dealing with socially disadvantaged groups
  • D. The Department of Personnel and Training, which frames reservation instructions for the central services

Q4. Which one of the following statements correctly describes the relative constitutional position of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Backward Classes?

  • A. The NCBC has always been a constitutional body, having been set up simultaneously with the NCSC under the original Article 338 of the Constitution
  • B. The NCBC alone is vested with the powers of a civil court, the NCSC being an exclusively advisory body that can only recommend measures
  • C. The NCSC acquired constitutional status earlier, the NCBC being placed on a constitutional footing only by the Constitution (102nd Amendment) Act, 2018
  • D. The NCBC alone must be consulted on all major policy matters, no such consultation duty existing in respect of the NCSC

Q5. In Punjab, any conversion or carry-forward of vacancies reserved for Scheduled Castes to the general category requires the approval of which one of the following?

  • A. The Directorate of Education Recruitment, which issues the recruitment advertisement for the posts
  • B. The Department of Legal and Legislative Affairs, which vets reservation notifications of the State
  • C. The Welfare Department, whose approval is required for such conversion or carry-forward
  • D. The Punjab Public Service Commission, which conducts the selection process for such posts

Q6. Which one of the following statements about the legal basis of reservation for Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes in Punjab government services is correct?

  • A. It rests entirely on executive instructions of the State government, no State legislation on reservation in services having ever been enacted in Punjab
  • B. It rests on the Punjab Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes (Reservation in Services) Act, 2006, which gives effect to reservation through a running roster of vacancies
  • C. It flows directly from Article 338 of the Constitution, which itself fixes for every State the percentage of posts to be reserved in public services
  • D. It rests on the Punjab State Commission for Scheduled Castes Act, 2004, which prescribes the quota percentages applicable to all services of the State

Q7. The Punjab lecturer recruitment that drew a notice from the National Commission for Scheduled Castes covered 1,013 posts in all. How many of these posts were backlog vacancies as distinguished from fresh vacancies?

  • A. 829
  • B. 184
  • C. 284
  • D. 371

Q8. The Punjab State Scheduled Castes Commission sought the 'reservation roster registers' relating to the disputed lecturer recruitment. Such a register is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A register of all Scheduled Caste and Backward Class candidates who applied against reserved posts in a recruitment cycle, maintained by the recruiting agency
  • B. A seniority register in which Scheduled Caste and Backward Class employees are listed separately from general category employees for purposes of promotion
  • C. A cadre-wise register in which numbered points record the category against which each successive vacancy in the cadre falls due, so that the prescribed percentages are verifiably reached
  • D. A register of posts already de-reserved by the State government and thrown open to general category candidates during a given recruitment year

Q9. Both the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and State Commissions for Scheduled Castes exercise 'the powers of a civil court trying a suit'. In this context, the expression means that such a commission may —

  • A. try offences committed against members of the Scheduled Castes and pass sentences of imprisonment upon those found guilty after inquiry
  • B. summon and enforce the attendance of any person from any part of India, examine such person on oath, and require the discovery and production of documents
  • C. pass decrees awarding compensation to complainants, which are executable against the State government as decrees of a district court
  • D. stay proceedings pending before a civil court in any matter that concerns the rights and safeguards of the Scheduled Castes

Q10. Consider the following statements comparing the National Commission for Scheduled Castes with State Commissions for Scheduled Castes: 1. The National Commission owes its existence to Article 338 of the Constitution, whereas the Punjab State Commission for Scheduled Castes was constituted under a State Act of 2004. 2. Unlike the National Commission, State Commissions for Scheduled Castes are not vested with the powers of a civil court while inquiring into complaints. 3. The annual report of a State Commission for Scheduled Castes is laid before the State Legislature along with a memorandum explaining the action taken on its recommendations. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The National Commission owes its existence to Article 338 of the Constitution, whereas the Punjab State Commission for Scheduled Castes was constituted under a State Act of 2004.
  2. Unlike the National Commission, State Commissions for Scheduled Castes are not vested with the powers of a civil court while inquiring into complaints.
  3. The annual report of a State Commission for Scheduled Castes is laid before the State Legislature along with a memorandum explaining the action taken on its recommendations.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q11. Consider the following identifications of constitutional provisions with the bodies they provide for: 1. Article 338 — the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, as it stands after the bifurcation of the erstwhile combined Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. 2. Article 338A — the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, inserted by the Constitution (Eighty-ninth Amendment) Act, 2003. 3. Article 338B — the National Commission for Backward Classes, given constitutional status by the Constitution (One Hundred and Second Amendment) Act, 2018. 4. Article 340 — a permanent constitutional commission for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, functioning alongside the Commission under Article 338. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Article 338 — the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, as it stands after the bifurcation of the erstwhile combined Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
  2. Article 338A — the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, inserted by the Constitution (Eighty-ninth Amendment) Act, 2003.
  3. Article 338B — the National Commission for Backward Classes, given constitutional status by the Constitution (One Hundred and Second Amendment) Act, 2018.
  4. Article 340 — a permanent constitutional commission for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, functioning alongside the Commission under Article 338.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 3 and 4

Q12. In the context of reservation in public employment in India, a 'backlog reserved vacancy' refers to which one of the following?

  • A. A vacancy of the current recruitment year that is filled by a reserved category candidate on the strength of merit alone and is therefore not counted against the quota
  • B. A vacancy in a cadre that the appointing authority de-reserves after the prescribed percentage for the category concerned has already been reached in that cadre
  • C. A vacancy that is kept unfilled pending a court's decision on the validity of the reservation applicable to the post in question
  • D. A reserved vacancy of an earlier recruitment year that remained unfilled for want of suitable candidates of that category and was carried forward to a subsequent year