Examius
🇮🇳 CLAT · flashcards
CLAT PG Constitutional Law (LLM) Flashcards
51 question-and-answer cards covering PG Constitutional Law (LLM) as it is examined in CLAT. 24 of them are printed below, taken from across the deck — no signup, no paywall on the preview.
24 sample cards from the PG Constitutional Law (LLM) deck
Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.
Which case recognised the right to privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21?
Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017), a nine-judge bench, unanimously held privacy is intrinsic to life and personal liberty under Article 21 (overruling ADM Jabalpur and M.P. Sharma/Kharak Singh on this point).
What is Article 21A and which amendment introduced it?
Article 21A guarantees free and compulsory education to children aged 6-14 as a fundamental right; it was inserted by the 86th Constitutional Amendment (2002).
What are the six freedoms originally guaranteed under Article 19(1)?
(a) Speech and expression, (b) assembly peacefully without arms, (c) form associations/unions, (d) move freely throughout India, (e) reside and settle anywhere, and (g) practise any profession/carry on trade. [Sub-clause (f), right to property, was deleted by the 44th Amendment.]
On what grounds can the State restrict freedom of speech under Article 19(2)?
Sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, contempt of court, defamation, and incitement to an offence.
What is the test for restricting freedoms under Article 19?
Restrictions must be 'reasonable' and imposed by law; courts assess reasonableness considering proportionality, the nature of the right, and the purpose—balancing individual liberty and social control.
What did Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (2015) decide?
It struck down Section 66A of the IT Act as unconstitutional for violating Article 19(1)(a), being vague and overbroad, distinguishing advocacy from incitement.
Which freedom did the Supreme Court hold includes the 'right to know' and freedom of the press?
Freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) impliedly includes freedom of the press and the right to receive information, though neither is expressly mentioned.
What is the difference between Article 19 and Article 21 protections regarding citizenship?
Article 19 freedoms are available only to citizens of India, whereas Article 21 (life and personal liberty) is available to all persons, including foreigners.
What are the writs available under Articles 32 and 226?
Five writs: Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition, Certiorari, and Quo Warranto.
What is the writ of Habeas Corpus?
Literally 'to have the body'; it commands a person detaining another to produce the detainee before the court to test the legality of the detention. It lies against both State and private individuals.
Distinguish the writs of Prohibition and Certiorari.
Both lie against judicial/quasi-judicial bodies. Prohibition is preventive—issued during proceedings to stop excess of jurisdiction. Certiorari is curative—issued after a decision to quash an order made without/in excess of jurisdiction or with an error of law.
What is the writ of Mandamus and against whom does it lie?
Mandamus ('we command') directs a public authority to perform a public/statutory duty it has failed to perform. It does not lie against a private individual, the President/Governor, or to enforce a discretionary duty.
What is the writ of Quo Warranto?
It ('by what authority') challenges a person's legal right to hold a public office, calling on them to show by what authority they occupy it; any person may apply, not only an aggrieved party.
How do Article 32 and Article 226 differ in scope?
Article 32 (a fundamental right itself) lies only before the Supreme Court and only for enforcing fundamental rights. Article 226 empowers High Courts to issue writs for fundamental rights AND any other legal right, giving it wider scope.
Why did Dr. B.R. Ambedkar call Article 32 the 'heart and soul' of the Constitution?
Because it makes the right to constitutional remedies itself a fundamental right, guaranteeing the Supreme Court as the protector and guarantor of all other fundamental rights; it is part of the basic structure and cannot be suspended except as provided.
What is the doctrine of judicial review in the Indian Constitution?
The power of courts to examine the constitutionality of legislative enactments and executive actions and to declare them void if they violate the Constitution. It flows from Articles 13, 32, 131-136, and 226, and is a basic feature.
What does Article 13 provide regarding judicial review?
Laws inconsistent with or in derogation of fundamental rights are void; the State shall not make any law abridging fundamental rights. 'Law' includes ordinances, orders, bye-laws, rules, customs, and usages.
What constitutional provisions secure the independence of the judiciary?
Security of tenure and fixed retirement age, salaries charged on the Consolidated Fund, removal only by impeachment, restriction on discussing judges' conduct in legislature, ban on post-retirement practice (SC judges), and separation of judiciary from executive (Art. 50).
What is the 'Collegium System' for the appointment of judges?
A judge-led system (evolved through the Second and Third Judges Cases, 1993 & 1998) where the CJI and senior-most Supreme Court judges recommend appointments and transfers of judges, giving primacy to the judiciary. The NJAC (99th Amendment) was struck down in 2015.
What is the procedure to remove a Supreme Court/High Court judge?
Under Article 124(4), removal requires a motion passed by each House by a majority of total membership AND a two-thirds majority of members present and voting, on grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity, in the same session, followed by a presidential order.
What are the Directive Principles of State Policy and are they enforceable?
Contained in Part IV (Articles 36-51), they are guidelines for the State in making laws to achieve social and economic justice. Under Article 37, they are non-justiciable (not enforceable by courts) but fundamental in governance.
How are conflicts between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles resolved?
Earlier FRs prevailed (Champakam Dorairajan, 1951). Minerva Mills (1980) held both must be balanced/harmonised, as the balance is part of the basic structure; neither has absolute primacy over the other.
What are Fundamental Duties and which amendment added them?
Contained in Article 51A (Part IVA), they are eleven duties of citizens (originally ten) added by the 42nd Amendment (1976) on the Swaran Singh Committee's recommendation; the 11th (duty of parents/guardians to provide education) was added by the 86th Amendment. They are non-justiciable.
What is Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and who pioneered it in India?
PIL allows any public-spirited person to approach the court on behalf of those unable to do so themselves, relaxing the rule of locus standi. It was pioneered in India by Justices P.N. Bhagwati and V.R. Krishna Iyer in the late 1970s-1980s.
What this deck covers
The PG Constitutional Law (LLM) deck follows the CLAT PG Constitutional Law (LLM) syllabus — 3 chapters and 9 topics — so questions land on material that is genuinely examinable rather than trivia around it. That works out to roughly 17.0 cards per chapter.
Answers are written to be recallable, not just readable — averaging about 216 characters, which is long enough to carry the reasoning and short enough to say out loud.
A deck like this earns its keep on the second and third pass. Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then use the cards to find the specific facts that have not stuck.
PG Constitutional Law (LLM) flashcards FAQ
How many PG Constitutional Law (LLM) flashcards are in this CLAT deck?
51 cards. This page previews 24 of them, sampled evenly across the deck so you can judge the difficulty before installing anything.
Are these CLAT flashcards free?
Yes. The preview here is free to read with no signup, and the full 51-card deck is free inside the Examius app.
What do the PG Constitutional Law (LLM) cards cover?
They follow the CLAT PG Constitutional Law (LLM) syllabus — 3 chapters and 9 topics — so the questions track what is actually examinable.
How should I use these flashcards?
Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then drill the deck. Examius schedules each card with spaced repetition, so cards you keep missing come back sooner and ones you know drift further apart.