In the removal of which of the following officials does the Parliament NOT play any role ?
1. Judges of the High Court
2. Judges of the Supreme Court
3. Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission

Question

In the removal of which of the following officials does the Parliament NOT play any role ?
1. Judges of the High Court
2. Judges of the Supreme Court
3. Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission
4. Comptroller and Auditor General of India
Choose the correct answer from the codes given below.

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — D, 3 only. The Chairman of the UPSC is the single official in whose removal Parliament has no role. Under Article 317, a UPSC Chairman or member can be removed only by the President on the ground of proven misbehaviour, and only after the Supreme Court — on a reference by the President — holds an inquiry and upholds the cause; no parliamentary address is required. By contrast, Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are removed by the President only after an address supported by a special majority of each House of Parliament (Articles 124(4) and 217 read with 218), and the Comptroller and Auditor General is removed 'in like manner as a Judge of the Supreme Court' (Article 148) — again through a parliamentary address. So Parliament is involved for 1, 2 and 4, but not for 3.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Both High Court and Supreme Court judges are removed through a parliamentary address, so Parliament DOES play a role in their removal — they cannot be the Parliament-free officials.  (b) The CAG (4) is removed in the same manner as a Supreme Court judge, i.e., by an address of both Houses (Article 148), so Parliament IS involved; only 3 is Parliament-free.  (c) Judges (1 and 2) are removed via a parliamentary address, so including them among the Parliament-free officials is wrong; only the UPSC Chairman (3) qualifies.

Concept: Removal procedures for high constitutional functionaries differ. The 'address by Parliament' route — a special majority of each House in the same session — applies to Supreme Court judges (Article 124(4)), High Court judges (Article 217/218) and the CAG (Article 148, 'like manner as a Supreme Court judge'). The UPSC Chairman and members follow Article 317 instead: removal by the President for misbehaviour only after a Supreme Court inquiry — a judicial safeguard rather than a parliamentary one.

State PCS 2020 Q98 — Polity & Governance PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2020 Q98 — Polity & Governance PYQ with Answer