Consider the following statements regarding the Constituent Assembly of India : (i) The final session of the Constituent Assembly was held on 24th January, 1950. (ii) Dr. Rajendra Prasad was declared to be duly elected to the office of President of India in this final session.
- (1)Neither (i) nor (ii) is correct.
- (2)Both (i) and (ii) are correct.
- (3)only (ii) is correct.
- (4)only (i) is correct.
Answer
Why
Correct — option (2), Both (i) and (ii) are correct.
Both statements match the Constituent Assembly's own record of 24 January 1950, so the answer is Both (i) and (ii) are correct.
Statement (i) is correct. The Assembly's plenary debates run from 9 December 1946 to 24 January 1950. On 24 January its President, Dr Rajendra Prasad, spoke of that sitting as "the last day", and the House adjourned sine die.
Statement (ii) is correct. At that sitting H. V. R. Iengar, the Returning Officer and Secretary of the Assembly, reported a single nomination for the office of President of India: Dr Rajendra Prasad, proposed by Jawaharlal Nehru and seconded by Vallabhbhai Patel.
Under sub-rule (1) of rule 8 of the Rules for the election of the President, he then declared "Dr. Rajendra Prasad to be duly elected to the Office of President of India."
24 January 1950 was the Assembly's last day, and the day the first President was declared elected.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)Neither (i) nor (ii) is correct. — Both statements are true, so "neither" fails twice.
The Debates record 24 January 1950 as the Assembly's last sitting, adjourned sine die, and record Dr Rajendra Prasad being declared duly elected President of India at that sitting.
- (3)only (ii) is correct. — This rejects statement (i), which is true. The Assembly's debates end on 24 January 1950, when the House adjourned sine die.
The last sitting came two days before commencement: under Article 394, the remaining provisions of the Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950.
- (4)only (i) is correct. — This rejects statement (ii), which is true. The election was declared at the same sitting of 24 January 1950.
The Returning Officer declared Dr Rajendra Prasad duly elected to the Office of President of India, on the only nomination received.
Concept
The Constituent Assembly first met on 9 December 1946. The Constituent Assembly Debates archive at constitutionofindia.net holds 167 days of plenary debates, the last on 24 January 1950.
On 26 November 1949 the Assembly adopted the motion "That the Constitution as settled by the Assembly be passed". Article 394 brought a few articles into force at once and the rest on 26 January 1950.
The articles in force at once included Article 380, headed "Provision as to President". The Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956 later omitted it with effect from 1 November 1956.
RPSC's 2023 Prelims syllabus lists "Constituent Assembly, Salient features of Indian Constitution, Constitutional Amendments" under Indian Constitution, Political System & Governance. The Assembly's sessions and last acts fall under that head.
The last sitting joined the making of the Constitution to its working. The same day the Assembly heard its President's statement that Jana Gana Mana is the National Anthem and that Vande Mataram shall be honoured equally with it, and members signed copies of the Constitution.
Nehru said that day that the Assembly would "emerge as the Parliament of the Republic of India".
Key facts
- The constitutionofindia.net archive holds 167 days of Constituent Assembly plenary debates, from 9 December 1946 to 24 January 1950.
- On 24 January 1950 Dr Rajendra Prasad was declared duly elected President of India on the only nomination received.
- His nomination was proposed by Jawaharlal Nehru and seconded by Vallabhbhai Patel.
- On 24 January 1950 members signed three copies of the Constitution: a hand-written illuminated English copy, a printed English copy and a hand-written Hindi copy.
- Under Article 394, the remaining provisions of the Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950.
Both statements describe the highlighted day.
Study next
Common traps
- 24 January and 26 January 1950 are two days apart. The Assembly's last sitting was the 24th; commencement of most of the Constitution was the 26th.
- The first President was declared elected by the Constituent Assembly, not chosen by the electoral college that the Constitution sets up for later elections.
- Options (3) and (4) each accept one statement. When both are true, a one-statement option fails.
A question can test two statements about the Assembly's last sitting, as this one does.
A question can also ask the date of the Assembly's first meeting, what happened on 26 November 1949, or who proposed the first President's nomination.
Related PYQs
The national executive of which political party called for the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly and its re-election by adult suffrage ?
- (1) Hindu Mahasabha
- (2) Socialist Party
- (3) Swaraj Party
- (4) Muslim League
Answer(2)
Same Assembly, its critics. That item asks which party's national executive called for the Assembly's dissolution and re-election by adult suffrage (RPSC's key: option (2), Socialist Party); this one is about the Assembly's final sitting.
Which of the following statement is incorrect regarding the election of the President of India ?
- (1) The President of India is elected by the members of an Electoral College consisting of (a) the elected members of both the Houses of Parliament and (b) the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States and the Union Territories with Legislative Assembly.
- (2) Value of vote for each of the members of the Electoral College is decided based on the population census of 1971 and it will continue to be so till population of the first census taken after the year 2026 have been published.
- (3) The elections are held in accordance with the system of Proportional Representation by means of single transferable vote.
- (4) Every elected member of the Legislative Assembly of a State shall have as many votes as there are multiples of one hundred in the quotient obtained by dividing the population of the State by the total number of the elected members of the Assembly.
Answer(4)
Same office, a different election. That item asks for the incorrect statement about the election of the President of India under the Constitution (RPSC's key: option (4)); this one is about the first President, declared elected by the Constituent Assembly.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Dr. Rajendra Prasad's nomination for the office of President of India, announced in the Constituent Assembly on 24 January 1950, was proposed by –
- (a)Jawaharlal Nehru
- (b)Vallabhbhai Patel
- (c)B. R. Ambedkar
- (d)H. V. R. Iengar
Answer(1) — The Debates record the nomination as proposed by Jawaharlal Nehru. Option (2), Vallabhbhai Patel, seconded it. Option (4), H. V. R. Iengar, was the Returning Officer who announced the result. Option (3), B. R. Ambedkar, is not named as proposer or seconder. - practice — not a real PYQ
On which date did the Constituent Assembly adopt the motion that the Constitution as settled by the Assembly be passed ?
- (a)9 December 1946
- (b)26 November 1949
- (c)24 January 1950
- (d)26 January 1950
Answer(2) — The motion was adopted on 26 November 1949. Option (1) is the Assembly's first sitting; option (3) is its last sitting, when the President was declared elected; option (4) is when the remaining provisions came into force under Article 394.