Consider the following statements about the Constitution of India : 1. A Member of Parliament enjoys freedom of speech in the Parliament as a Parliamentary Privilege protected by the Constitution of India. 2. The Constitution has vested the power to amend the Constitution in the Parliament. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
- (a)1 only
- (b)2 only
- (c)Both 1 and 2
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2
Correct — C, both statements are right. Article 105 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech in Parliament and provides that no member shall be liable to any proceedings in any court in respect of anything said or any vote given by him in Parliament or in any of its committees. That is a constitutional privilege, distinct from and wider than the ordinary freedom of speech under Article 19(1)(a), which is subject to the reasonable restrictions of Article 19(2). Statement 2 is equally sound: Article 368 confers on Parliament the power to amend the Constitution by way of addition, variation or repeal of any provision, following the procedure laid down there.
- (a)1 only — Accepts the privilege but denies the amending power, which is squarely conferred by Article 368. An amendment Bill can be introduced only in Parliament — not in a State legislature and not by the President.
- (b)2 only — Denies the privilege, probably because Article 19(1)(a) already grants free speech to every citizen. But the parliamentary privilege is a separate and stronger protection, granted by Article 105 and immune from the Article 19(2) restrictions.
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2 — Rejects two propositions that are both stated in the text of the Constitution itself, in Articles 105 and 368.
Parliamentary privileges are the special rights and immunities that the Houses, their committees and their members enjoy so that they can carry out their functions without external interference. Article 105 names two of them expressly — freedom of speech in Parliament, and immunity from court proceedings for anything said or any vote given there — and leaves the rest to be defined by Parliament, with the pre-existing position continuing until it does. Article 194 makes the same provision for State legislatures. The amending power sits in Article 368, in Part XX, and lays down a graded procedure: most amendments need a special majority in each House, and a defined class also needs ratification by at least half the State legislatures.
Both statements are phrased carefully and both are true, so a candidate has to resist the instinct that a two-statement question must contain a trap. Where the traps do lie in this area is in the details neither statement mentions. Freedom of speech inside the House is not unlimited — it is subject to the Constitution and to the rules and standing orders of the House, and the immunity protects only what is said in Parliament or a committee, not what a member repeats outside. On the amending power, the Kesavananda Bharati decision of 1973 held that Parliament cannot use Article 368 to damage or destroy the basic structure of the Constitution, which limits the power without moving it anywhere else.
- Article 105 guarantees freedom of speech in Parliament and immunity from court proceedings for anything said or any vote given in Parliament or its committees.
- Article 194 grants the corresponding privileges to State legislatures and their members.
- Article 368 vests the amending power in Parliament, exercisable by way of addition, variation or repeal.
- An amendment Bill can be introduced only in either House of Parliament; State legislatures merely ratify certain categories, and the President cannot initiate one.
- The basic structure doctrine, laid down in Kesavananda Bharati in 1973, limits what Parliament may do with the amending power.
Both statements reproduce the Constitution accurately, so the answer is 'both'.
- Assuming a two-statement question must have at least one false statement.
- Extending the parliamentary immunity to what a member says outside the House — it does not travel.
- Thinking a State legislature or the President can initiate a constitutional amendment; only either House of Parliament can.
NDA polity leans heavily on the plain text of well-known articles, and two-statement items of this kind are usually decided by whether you can place each proposition in the right article rather than by any fine legal reasoning.
Consider the following statements: An amendment of the Constitution of India can be initiated by the I. Lok Sabha. II. Rajya Sabha. III. State Legislatures. IV. President. Which of the above statements is/are correct?
- (a) I alone
- (b) I, II and III
- (c) II, III and IV
- (d) I and II
Answer(d) I and II
Pins down exactly where the amending power sits — in either House of Parliament and nowhere else, which is the substance of statement 2 here.
As per Article 368 of the Constitution of India, the Parliament may amend any provision of the Constitution by way of : 1. Addition 2. Variation 3. Repeal Select the correct answer using the code given below :
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer(d) 1, 2 and 3
Quotes the operative words of Article 368 itself — addition, variation and repeal — and is worth attempting immediately after this card to fix the wording.
According to Article 79 of the Constitution of India, which of the following is/are described as a part of Parliament of India? 1. The House of the People 2. The Council of States 3. The President of India Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 1 and 2 only
- (c) 2 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer(d) 1, 2 and 3
Another article-text item from the same part of the Constitution, and a useful reminder that Parliament in the constitutional sense includes the President — which matters when reading who exercises the amending power.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Freedom of speech in Parliament and immunity from court proceedings for anything said there are conferred by
- (a)Article 19
- (b)Article 75
- (c)Article 105
- (d)Article 368
Answer(c) Article 105 — Article 194 makes the corresponding provision for State legislatures.
- practice — not a real PYQ
A Bill to amend the Constitution of India may be introduced in
- (a)the Lok Sabha only
- (b)either House of Parliament
- (c)a State Legislative Assembly
- (d)either House of Parliament or a State Legislature
Answer(b) either House of Parliament — States only ratify certain amendments, and cannot initiate one.