Under which one of the following Sections of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 has 'power of State Government to impose collective fine' been provided?
- (a)Section 10
- (b)Section 10A
- (c)Section 14
- (d)Section 14A
Correct — B, Section 10A. 'Power of State Government to impose collective fine' is provided in Section 10A of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955. This provision was inserted by the 1976 amendment (which also renamed the Act from the Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955): where the inhabitants of an area are concerned in or abetting the commission of untouchability offences, the State Government may impose a collective fine on them.
- (a)Section 10 — Section 10 deals with 'Abetment of offence' — punishing anyone who abets an untouchability offence, not the imposition of a collective fine.
- (c)Section 14 — Section 14 covers 'Offences by companies' (that is the answer to a nearby question, Q89), not collective fines.
- (d)Section 14A — Section 14A provides 'Protection of action taken in good faith' (the answer to Q88); it has nothing to do with collective fines.
The Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 (originally the Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955, renamed in 1976) is the statute that enforces Article 17 by punishing the practice of 'untouchability'. The 1976 amendment strengthened it — making offences non-compoundable and cognizable, adding a collective-fine power (Section 10A) and casting a duty on State Governments (Section 15A).
This is one of a run of MPPSC 2018 questions that simply map a marginal heading to a section number. The four options here are deliberately drawn from clustered, easily confused sections (10, 10A, 14, 14A) — three of which are the answers to the neighbouring questions in the same set, so memorising the whole block together is the smart strategy.
- Section 10 = Abetment of offence
- Section 10A = Power of State Government to impose collective fine (inserted 1976)
- Section 14 = Offences by companies
- Section 14A = Protection of action taken in good faith
- The 1976 amendment renamed the Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955 as the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955
Collective fine is Section 10A — inserted by the 1976 amendment.
- Confusing Section 10 (abetment) with Section 10A (collective fine)
- Swapping Section 14 and Section 14A — companies vs good-faith protection
MPPSC asks these as section-to-heading matches. Learn the PCR Act sections as a block (10, 10A, 12, 14, 14A, 15A) so the near-identical options don't trip you.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955 was renamed the Protection of Civil Rights Act by which amendment?
- (a)The 1955 Act itself
- (b)The 1976 amendment
- (c)The 1989 amendment
- (d)The 2015 amendment
Answer(b) The 1976 amendment renamed it and added provisions such as the collective-fine power.
- practice — not a real PYQ
A collective fine imposed by a State Government on the inhabitants of an area concerned in untouchability offences is authorised by:
- (a)Section 7 of the PCR Act
- (b)Section 10A of the PCR Act
- (c)Section 3 of the SC/ST (PoA) Act
- (d)Article 17 of the Constitution
Answer(b) Section 10A of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955.