The concept of ‘Independence of judiciary’ in the Indian Constitution is taken from the Constitution of:

Correct — D. In the standard borrowed-features table of Indian polity, independence of the judiciary is credited to the Constitution of the United States, which is what option (d) names.

The American borrowings come as a bundle, and it is worth learning as one: Fundamental Rights, judicial review, independence of the judiciary, the procedure for removing Supreme Court and High Court judges, the impeachment of the President and the office of the Vice-President.

Judicial independence sits in that bundle because the American model — a judiciary insulated from the executive and able to review its acts — is the one the Constituent Assembly worked from.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  France — France supplies the Republic and the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity that the Preamble carries. Judicial independence is not on the French side of the table.
• (b)
  Britain — Britain supplies the parliamentary system, the rule of law, single citizenship, the cabinet, the Speaker's office and the prerogative writs. The independence of the judiciary is credited to the USA instead.
• (c)
  Ireland — Ireland supplies the Directive Principles of State Policy, the nomination of members to the Rajya Sabha and the method of electing the President. None of those is judicial independence.

The Constitution was not modelled on any single document. The Constituent Assembly took feature after feature from several, and the exam tests the mapping rather than the reasoning.

The version worth memorising: Britain gives the parliamentary form, the rule of law, the writs and single citizenship. The USA gives Fundamental Rights, judicial review, judicial independence, the removal of judges and the Vice-President.

Ireland gives the Directive Principles and Rajya Sabha nominations, France the Republic, and Canada a federation with a strong Centre and residuary powers left with the Union.

Key facts

• Independence of the judiciary is credited to the Constitution of the United States.
• Judicial review and Fundamental Rights are also drawn from the American Constitution.
• The Directive Principles of State Policy come from the Irish Constitution.
• The idea of a Republic is credited to the French Constitution.

Common traps

• Sending judicial independence to Britain because the rule of law and the writs come from there.
• Confusing judicial review, which is American, with parliamentary sovereignty, which is British.

No directly related past PYQ was found.