UPSC Prelims 2021 Q96: Bharat Ratna, Padma Awards & Article 18
Consider the following statements in respect of Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards:
1. Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards are titles under the Article 18(1) of the Constitution of India.
2. Padma Awards, which were instituted in the year 1954, were suspended only once.
3. The number of Bharat Ratna Awards is restricted to a maximum of five in a particular year.
Which of the above statements are not correct?
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3
Statement-wise explanation
- 1: incorrect — Article 18(1) bars the State from conferring any title other than a military or academic distinction. In Balaji Raghavan v. Union of India (15 December 1995), a five-judge Constitution Bench held that the Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards are not 'titles' under Article 18(1). They are national honours for exceptional service. The Court added that they must not be used as a prefix or suffix to the recipient's name.
- 2: incorrect — The Padma Awards were instituted in 1954, but they have been interrupted twice, not once. No Padma Awards were given in 1978 and 1979, after the awards were discontinued in 1977 and restored on 25 January 1980. None were given from 1993 to 1997 either, while the challenge that ended in the Balaji Raghavan judgment was pending.
- 3: incorrect — The Bharat Ratna, instituted on 2 January 1954, is restricted to a maximum of three awards in a particular year. The ceiling is three, not five. The government has gone above it only by exception: four recipients in 1999 and five announced in 2024 (Karpoori Thakur, L.K. Advani, P.V. Narasimha Rao, Chaudhary Charan Singh and M.S. Swaminathan). When the question was set in 2021, the rule was three and the most ever given in one year was four.
How to eliminate
This question mostly has to be solved by knowing the facts. Elimination still helps. Statement 2 uses the absolute word 'only' ('suspended only once'), which is a warning sign. Many aspirants know the awards stopped under the Janata government in 1977 and again in the 1990s during litigation, so 'only once' falls. Statement 1 can be judged with basic polity: Article 18 abolishes titles, so a government honour that counted as a 'title' under Article 18(1) would be unconstitutional. The Supreme Court upheld these awards precisely by holding that they are not titles. Once statements 1 and 2 are both wrong, only the options containing both survive: '1 and 2 only' and '1, 2 and 3'. Statement 3 decides between them. Remember the number three as the annual Bharat Ratna ceiling. Five is a distractor, and the five announced in 2024 were an exception to the rule.
Know more
Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards: the core facts
In 1954 the Government of India instituted two civilian honours, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan. The Padma Vibhushan then had three classes. A Presidential notification of 8 January 1955 renamed these classes Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Padma Awards are announced every year on the eve of Republic Day (25 January). Nominations are accepted online, and members of the public can nominate.
Article 18 and the awards
Article 18(1) stops the State from conferring titles, except military and academic distinctions. Article 18(2) bars citizens from accepting any title from a foreign State. In Balaji Raghavan v. Union of India (1995), the Supreme Court held that national awards recognise merit and do not create a hereditary or social rank, so they are not titles. If a recipient uses an award as a prefix or suffix to their name, they may forfeit it.
| Feature | Bharat Ratna | Padma Awards |
|---|---|---|
| Instituted | 2 January 1954 | 1954 (names fixed in 1955) |
| Tiers | One | Vibhushan > Bhushan > Shri |
| Annual ceiling | Maximum 3 (exceeded in 1999 and 2024) | Announced each Republic Day |
| Interruptions | 1977–80; 1992–95 | Not given in 1978–79 and 1993–97 |
| Title under Art. 18(1)? | No (SC, 1995) | No (SC, 1995) |
Traps UPSC uses
- 'Title under Article 18': the Supreme Court said no.
- 'Suspended only once': there were two breaks, one political (1977) and one legal (1992 to 1995).
- The number cap: three for the Bharat Ratna. The exceptional years were 1999 (four) and 2024 (five).
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Abolition of titles: Statement 1 turns on what Article 18 counts as a 'title' and which distinctions it exempts.
- Balaji Raghavan case: The Supreme Court case that decided whether national civilian awards are constitutional titles and why the awards stopped in the 1990s.
- Right to equality: Article 18 belongs to the Right to Equality group, which explains why titles were abolished.