UKPSC Prelims 2025 General Studies Paper-I · Question 130 of 149

Correct — B, Attorney General.

Article 88 gives every Minister and the Attorney General of India the right to speak in, and otherwise take part in, the proceedings of either House, a joint sitting, and any committee of Parliament he is named to.

The stem's phrase — invited to give his opinion in the Parliament — is that right in plainer words. Being heard on the floor is exactly what "speak in, and otherwise take part in, the proceedings" allows.

The same Article withholds the vote. He is heard, and he is not counted. That fits the office Article 76 creates: the President appoints as Attorney General a person qualified to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court, to advise the Government on legal matters.

So the House can hear the Union's legal position from the officer who actually holds it. Article 88 puts the Attorney General on the floor of both Houses alongside Ministers — with a voice, but no vote.

• (a)
  Auditor General — The office in the Constitution is the Comptroller and Auditor-General, created by Article 148, and the provision on taking part in the proceedings of a House — Article 88 — names Ministers and the Attorney General.

  The CAG reaches Parliament through his reports. Those relating to the accounts of the Union go to the President, who causes them to be laid before each House under Article 151, after which the Public Accounts Committee takes them up.

  He is the right answer to who audits the accounts of the Union and the States and whose reports the Public Accounts Committee examines.

• (c)
  Chief Justice of India — Article 88's right belongs to Ministers and to the Government's law officer; the head of the judiciary sits outside that provision.

  The channel the Constitution does open here runs the other way — under Article 143 the President may refer a question of law or fact to the Supreme Court for its opinion.

  He is the right answer to who administers the oath of office to the President under Article 60 — and in his absence, the senior-most available judge of the Supreme Court does it.

• (d)
  Governor — The Governor's constitutional relationship is with the legislature of his State. Article 168 makes him part of that legislature, and Article 176 gives him a special address to it.

  That address comes at the commencement of the first session after each general election to the Legislative Assembly, and at the commencement of the first session of each year.

  He is the right answer to who addresses the State Legislature at the commencement of its first session of each year, not to a question about Parliament.

Some office-holders may take part in Parliament's work without sitting in it as members. The Constitution settles this in Article 88.

Every Minister and the Attorney General of India may speak in, and otherwise take part in, the proceedings of either House, any joint sitting of the Houses, and any committee of Parliament of which he is named a member.

The permission is to participate, not to decide. Article 88 itself confers no right to vote, so the voice carries no share in the House's count.

• Article 88 gives every Minister and the Attorney General of India the right to speak in either House, a joint sitting, and committees of Parliament they are named to.
• Article 88 withholds the vote: the Attorney General takes part in proceedings but does not vote in them.
• Article 76 has the President appoint as Attorney General for India a person qualified to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court.
• The Attorney General holds office during the pleasure of the President and receives such remuneration as the President may determine.
• Article 76(3) gives the Attorney General a right of audience in all courts in India in the performance of his duties.
• Article 105(4) extends parliamentary privilege to persons entitled to speak in, or take part in the proceedings of, a House or its committees.
• Article 177 is the State parallel: the Advocate-General for a State may speak in and take part in the proceedings of the State Legislature, without a vote.
• Article 148 creates the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India, appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal.
• Article 151 has the CAG's reports on Union accounts submitted to the President, who causes them to be laid before each House of Parliament.
• Article 176 gives the Governor a special address to the State Legislature after each general election to the Assembly and at each year's first session.
• Article 60 has the Chief Justice of India administer the oath of office to the President, or the senior-most available Supreme Court judge in his absence.

• Article 88 is a Union provision. The State parallel in Article 177 belongs to the Advocate-General for a State, not to the Attorney General of India; swapping the two costs the mark.
• The option is printed as 'Auditor General'. The constitutional office is the Comptroller and Auditor-General, and recognising the full office behind a shortened label is part of the work.
• Article 88 grants speech and participation, then denies the vote. A statement that adds voting to the Attorney General's powers is aimed exactly at that limit.
• Article 76 asks for a person qualified to be appointed a Supreme Court judge. Reading that as 'must be a sitting or former judge' turns a correct statement into a wrong one.
• The Attorney General advises the Government, but he is not a member of the Union Council of Ministers; treating him as a Minister mixes two different offices.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Under which Article of the Constitution does the Attorney General of India have the right to speak in, and otherwise take part in, the proceedings of either House of Parliament?

  • (a)Article 76
  • (b)Article 88
  • (c)Article 105
  • (d)Article 143
  Answerb — Article 88 is the provision that lets the Attorney General speak in and take part in the proceedings of either House, a joint sitting, and any committee of Parliament he is named to.

  Article 76 creates the office and governs his appointment, duties and tenure, but not his place on the floor of the House. Article 143 is the President's power to seek the Supreme Court's opinion.

  Article 105 comes closest: its clause (4) extends parliamentary privilege to him, because he is entitled to speak in a House. But that privilege follows the right — the right to speak itself comes from Article 88.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which one of the following statements about the Attorney General of India is correct?

  • (a)He is a member of the Union Council of Ministers
  • (b)He may vote in the proceedings of either House of Parliament
  • (c)He is appointed by the President and holds office during the pleasure of the President
  • (d)He must be a sitting judge of the Supreme Court at the time of appointment
  Answerc — Article 76 has the President appoint the Attorney General, and the same Article has him hold office during the President's pleasure.

  Option (a) fails because he is the Government's law officer, not a member of the Council of Ministers. Option (b) fails because Article 88 gives him a voice in the House and withholds the vote.

  Option (d) fails because Article 76 asks only for a person qualified to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Under the Constitution, the reports of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India relating to the accounts of the Union are submitted to:

  • (a)The Speaker of the Lok Sabha
  • (b)The President
  • (c)The Prime Minister
  • (d)The Public Accounts Committee
  Answerb — Article 151 has these reports submitted to the President, who then causes them to be laid before each House of Parliament.

  Option (a) names the presiding officer of one House, but the laying is done on the President's direction and reaches both Houses. Option (c) has no role in Article 151.

  Option (d) describes what happens afterwards: the Public Accounts Committee examines the reports once they are before the House, rather than receiving them from the CAG.