UPSC Prelims 2017 · Question 61 of 99
UPSC Prelims 2017 question on Fundamental Duties Enforcement
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2017
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectPolity
- TopicFundamental Duties
- DifficultyHard
- TypeStatement
Which of the following statements is/are true of the Fundamental Duties of an Indian citizen?
1. A legislative process has been provided to enforce these duties.
2. They are correlative to legal duties.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Show answer
Answer: D. Neither 1 nor 2
Verdict
The answer is neither 1 nor 2. No legislative process has been provided to enforce the Fundamental Duties, and they are not correlative to legal duties.
Analysis
Statement 1 is INCORRECT. Like the Directive Principles, the Fundamental Duties in Article 51A are non justiciable, the Constitution provides no mechanism for their direct enforcement by courts, and no legal sanction attaches to their violation. Statement 2 is INCORRECT. A legal duty is the correlative of a legal right and is enforceable, whereas the Fundamental Duties are moral and civic obligations addressed to the citizen without any corresponding enforceable claim.
Source
M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity, chapter on Fundamental Duties.
How to crack it
Sort Part III, Part IV and Part IVA by enforceability once and the whole area follows. Fundamental Rights are justiciable, Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties are not, and Parliament may legislate to give effect to a duty without the duty itself becoming enforceable. Note the qualifier the question relies on: Parliament can and does pass laws touching subjects mentioned in Article 51A, but that is not a process for enforcing the duties as such.