RAS Pre 2021, held on 27 October 2021. Question text as printed in RPSC's booklet; answer as per RPSC's final answer key.

Who among the following Judges of Rajasthan High Court has held the office of State Minister in Government of Rajasthan?

Q: What is the answer to RAS Pre 2021 Q47?

(3). Correct — option (3), Justice Farooq Hassan. The records spell the name Farooq Hasan: the Gazette and the High Court's list in English, and the Assembly proceedings in Hindi (श्री फारूक हसन). As Minister. The Rajasthan Legislative Assembly's proceedings of 9 March 1976 and 30 March 1977 print answers given in the House by Shri Farooq Hasan as Rajya Mantri, Shiksha (Minister of State for Education). As Judge. A Department of Justice notification of 12 July 1985, printed in the Gazette of India of 3 August 1985, appointed Shri Farooq Hasan, with six others, a Judge of the Rajasthan High Court. The High Court's list of its judges gives his tenure as 13 July 1985 to 31 December 1994. Neither record mentions the other office. That the Minister of 1976–77 and the Judge of 1985 are one person rests on RPSC's key, which marks option (3). The idea to remember: Farooq Hasan in the Assembly records as Minister of State for Education (1976–77) and in the High Court list as Judge (1985–94); RPSC's key treats them as one career.

(1)Justice Mohammad Yamin
(2)Justice Suraj Narayan Didwania
(3)Justice Farooq Hassan
(4)Justice Yad Ram Meena

Answer

(3)

Why

Correct — option (3), Justice Farooq Hassan.

The records spell the name Farooq Hasan: the Gazette and the High Court's list in English, and the Assembly proceedings in Hindi (श्री फारूक हसन).

As Minister. The Rajasthan Legislative Assembly's proceedings of 9 March 1976 and 30 March 1977 print answers given in the House by Shri Farooq Hasan as Rajya Mantri, Shiksha (Minister of State for Education).

As Judge. A Department of Justice notification of 12 July 1985, printed in the Gazette of India of 3 August 1985, appointed Shri Farooq Hasan, with six others, a Judge of the Rajasthan High Court. The High Court's list of its judges gives his tenure as 13 July 1985 to 31 December 1994.

Neither record mentions the other office. That the Minister of 1976–77 and the Judge of 1985 are one person rests on RPSC's key, which marks option (3).

The idea to remember: Farooq Hasan in the Assembly records as Minister of State for Education (1976–77) and in the High Court list as Judge (1985–94); RPSC's key treats them as one career.

Why the others are wrong

(1)
Justice Mohammad Yamin — The Rajasthan High Court's list of its judges records Mr. Mohd. Yamin as a Judge from 6 April 1996 to 3 July 2001.
RPSC's key does not mark him as the Judge who held the office of State Minister; it marks Justice Farooq Hassan. The Assembly records of 1976 and 1977 show a Farooq Hasan answering as Minister of State for Education.
(2)
Justice Suraj Narayan Didwania — The High Court's list records Mr. Suraj Narain Didwania (Narayan in the stem) as a Judge from 25 November 1978 to 24 June 1981.
RPSC's key does not mark him as the Judge who held the office of State Minister; it marks Justice Farooq Hassan. The Assembly records of 1976 and 1977 show a Farooq Hasan as Minister of State for Education.
(4)
Justice Yad Ram Meena — The records on Justice Yad Ram Meena trace a career across High Courts. The Rajasthan High Court's list records his tenure there from 20 July 1990, with a transfer to the Calcutta High Court and a return to Rajasthan.
The Gazette of India records his transfer to the Gujarat High Court in 2006, and on 2 February 2007 his appointment as its Chief Justice. RPSC's key marks Justice Farooq Hassan, not him, as the Judge who held the office of State Minister.

Concept

A Minister of State is a member of a State's Council of Ministers below Cabinet rank. Under Article 164(1), the Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor, the other Ministers by the Governor on the Chief Minister's advice, and all hold office during the Governor's pleasure.

A High Court Judge is appointed by the President under Article 217(1). Article 217(2) requires Indian citizenship and at least ten years in a judicial office in India, or at least ten years as an advocate of a High Court.

The two offices are separate: one belongs to the executive, the other to the judiciary. A person can hold them at different times in a career.

RPSC's 2021 syllabus lists "Governor, Chief Minister and Council of Ministers, Legislative Assembly, High Court." under the State Political System, which puts the Council of Ministers and the High Court under one head.

The Rajasthan High Court's list of its judges runs from its establishment on 29 August 1949, with each judge's dates of joining and leaving and remarks on transfers. The Legislative Assembly's proceedings record who answered for each department in the House.

Read side by side, those records show the name Farooq Hasan in both offices; neither says the two are one person.

Key facts

Assembly proceedings, 9 March 1976 and 30 March 1977: Shri Farooq Hasan answered as Minister of State for Education; that he is the later Judge rests on RPSC's key.
Gazette of India, 3 August 1985: notification of 12 July 1985 appointed Shri Farooq Hasan and six others Judges of the Rajasthan High Court.
Rajasthan High Court list of judges: Farooq Hasan, 13 July 1985 to 31 December 1994; Mohd. Yamin, 6 April 1996 to 3 July 2001.
Rajasthan High Court list: Suraj Narain Didwania, 25 November 1978 to 24 June 1981.
Gazette of India: Yad Ram Meena, Judge of the Gujarat High Court, appointed its Chief Justice by notification of 2 February 2007.

The four judges in the records

Mohammad (Mohd.) Yamin→Rajasthan High Court Judge, 6 April 1996 – 3 July 2001

Suraj Narayan (Narain) Didwania→Rajasthan High Court Judge, 25 November 1978 – 24 June 1981

Farooq Hassan (Hasan)→Minister of State for Education (Assembly records, 1976–77); High Court Judge, 13 July 1985 – 31 December 1994 (one person on RPSC's key)

Yad Ram Meena→High Court Judge from 20 July 1990; Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court (notification of 2 February 2007)

Sources: Rajasthan High Court list of judges since 1949; Rajasthan Legislative Assembly proceedings (1976, 1977); Gazette of India (1985, 2006, 2007).

Study next

Article 164: appointment of Ministers in a StateArticle 217: appointment and qualifications of High Court JudgesHistory of the Rajasthan High Court since 1949Chief Justices of the Rajasthan High CourtJudges of the Rajasthan High Court elevated to the Supreme Court

Common traps

Rejecting the right name over spelling: the stem prints Farooq Hassan; the Gazette and the High Court list print Farooq Hasan, and the Assembly records श्री फारूक हसन.
Picking a name for a long judicial record: Yad Ram Meena's recorded career runs from Rajasthan High Court Judge to Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court.
Mixing up the order of offices: the Assembly records show a Farooq Hasan as Minister in 1976–77, and the Gazette appoints a Farooq Hasan as Judge in 1985; RPSC's key treats them as one career.

A question can name several Judges and ask which one also held another office, such as Minister, Speaker or Governor.

A question can also ask which Judge of the Rajasthan High Court later became Chief Justice of another High Court or a Judge of the Supreme Court.

Related PYQs

UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2018 here once that paper is published on this site.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
Under Article 217(2) of the Constitution of India, an advocate is qualified for appointment as a Judge of a High Court after being an advocate of a High Court for at least
- (a)five years
- (b)seven years
- (c)ten years
- (d)twelve years
Answer(3) — Article 217(2)(b) requires at least ten years as an advocate of a High Court, or of two or more such Courts in succession. Options (1), (2) and (4) are not the period the clause states.
practice — not a real PYQ
Justice Yad Ram Meena, earlier a Judge of the Rajasthan High Court, was appointed by notification of 2 February 2007 as the Chief Justice of which High Court?
- (a)Calcutta High Court
- (b)Gujarat High Court
- (c)Madhya Pradesh High Court
- (d)Punjab and Haryana High Court
Answer(2) — The Gazette of India notification of 2 February 2007 appointed him, then a Judge of the Gujarat High Court, as its Chief Justice. Option (1), Calcutta, is where the Rajasthan High Court's list records an earlier transfer. Options (3) and (4) are not named in these notifications.