particulars of document page no. of parts to part 1 part ii alone) · 2017. 11. 9. · index sl....

Index

Sl.

No.

Particulars of Document Page No. of Parts to

which it belongs

Remarks

Part 1

(Contents

of Paper

Book)

Part II

(Contents

of File

alone)

(i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v)

1. Court Fee A A

2. Listing Proforma A1-A2 A1-A2

3. Cover page of Paper Book A-3

4. Index of record of Proceedings A-4

5. Defect List A-5

6. Note Sheet NS1 to ...

7. Synopsis and List of Dates

B – W

8. Writ Petition with affidavit 1 – 48

9. Appendix : True Copy of relevant

portion of Art 14 of Constitution

of India 1949

49

10. Annexure P-1: True copy of the

National Council for Educational

Research and Training (NCERT),

9th Class (Democratic Politics),

Chapter 6: Democratic Rights

p.109 only, dated 2017

50 – 52


New NCERT, 11th Class,

Introduction to Indian

Constitution, pp.66-67 only,

dated 2017

53 – 55


‘Oxford Handbook on Indian

Constitution’, by Sujit Choudhry,

Oxford University Press, p.88

only, dated 2016

56 – 58


National Institute of Open

Schooling book: Ancient India,

Course Code 315, Module-1

Lesson-3: Harappan Civilization,

p.37 only, dated 2017

59


“A History of Ancient and Early

Medieval India From the Stone

Age to the 12th Century”,

pp.157-158 only, dated 2015

60 - 66


“Ancient India”, by Makhan Lal,

Old NCERT Text Book for Class

11th, p.74 only, dated 2002

67 – 68

16. Annexure P-7: True Copy of the

“History of Ancient India”, Motilal

Banarasi Dass Publishers, Rama

Shankar Tripathi, p.39 only,

dated 2014

69 – 70

17. Annexure P-8: True copy of the 71

Terracotta of Horse at National

Museum, New Delhi, dated 2017


“Harappan Civilization: An

Analysis in Modern Context” by

Deep Raj Gupta, Source:

http://ignca.nic.in/nl002308.html

, dated 2017

72 – 77


“The Wonder that was India” by

A.L. Basham, Picador Publication,

pp.17-18, dated 2016

78 – 81


Tamil Nadu State Government

Publication, Class 11, p.20, dated

2017

82 – 84


Old NCERT, 11th Class, Ancient

India by RS Sharma, pp.38-39,

dated 1990

85 – 89

22. Annexure P-13: True Copy of

R.C. Majumdar (Laxmi

Publications Pvt Ltd) Advanced

History of India, p.19, dated

2016

90 – 92


“Critical Habitat Information

System for Gulf of Khambhat,

Gujarat”, Department of Ocean

Development, Government of

India, p.5 only, dated 2002

93 – 94


Gujarat Government website

details on Bhavnagar:

https://bhavnagardp.gujarat.gov.

in/bhavnagar/english/jillavishe/hi

storical-places/nishkalank-

mahadev.htm, dated 2017

95


‘Tidal tables for Bhavnagar,

INCOIS, Hyderabad’

http://www.incois.gov.in/docume

96 – 97

nts/IMD%20Training_SRINIVAS_

INCOIS_tides.pdf,pp.16-17,dated

2014


Information on Chandipur,

Official

Website,’http://odishatourism.go

v.in/?q=node/97’, Government of

Odisha, dated 2017

98– 101


Email representations from

Petitioners no. 1-9, 11, 14, 15,

and 18 made to UPSC, dated

2017

102 – 116


Question No. 8, Set A of Civil

Services Preliminary Examination

2016., dated 2016

117


Official Answer Key of Civil


118-119

2016, dated 2016


Official document from the

website of International Finance

Corporation

http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/con

nect/corp_ext_content/ifc_extern

al_corporate_site/about+ifc_new

, dated 2017

120


World Bank Official website:

http://www.worldbank.org/en/w

ho-we-are, dated 2017

121 – 122


Civil Services Preliminary

Examination 2011 Q.11, Set A.,

dated 2011

123


Official Answer Key, Civil


2011, Set A, dated 2011

124-125


Constitutional 73rd Amendment

Act, dated 2017

126 – 144


Constitutional 74th Amendment

Act, dated 2017

145 – 166


Letter from UPSC to Mr. Shashi

Tharoor for UPSC CS Mains Essay

2016, dated 2016

167 – 168


Compilation of Notices,

Advertisements released from

various State Public Service

Commissions regarding

Objections over Answer keys and

Revised Answer Key release

subsequently, dated 2017

169 – 175


order of in Writ Petition 564 of

2017 which was dismissed by the

176 – 177

Supreme Court, dated 2017


email replies from the UPSC in

response to representation email

sent by petitioners, dated 2017

178 – 183

40. F/M

41. Vakalatnama

A-1

Proforma for First Listing

Section ______

The case pertains to (Please tick/check the correct box):

Central Act: (Title) _Constitution of India, 1949_

Section: _Article 14_________

Central Rule: (Title) _NA_________________

Rule No(s): _NA_________________

State Act: (Title) _NA_________________

Section: _NA_________________

State Rule: (Title) _NA_________________

Rule No(s) _NA_________________

Impugned Interim Order: (Date) _NA_________________

Impugned Final Order: (Date) _NA_________________

Name of Judges: _NA_________________

Tribunal/Authority: _NA_________________

1. Nature of matter:

2. (a) Petitioner/appellant No.1: _Mr Vishal Rathi_

(b) e-mail ID: [email protected]_

(c) Mobile phone number: _+917838846880_

3. (a) Respondent No.1: _Union Public Service Commission_

(b) e-mail ID: _NA_________________

(c) Mobile phone number: _NA_________________

4. (a) Main category classification: ____________________

(b) Sub classification: ____________________

A-2

5. Not to be listed before: _NA_________________

6. Similar/Pending matter: _NA_________________

7. Criminal Matters:

(a) Whether accused/convict has surrendered:

(b) FIR No. _NA________________ Date: _NA________________

(c) Police Station: _NA_________________

(d) Sentence Awarded: _NA________________

(e) Sentence Undergone: _NA________________

8. Land Acquisition Matters:

(a) Date of section 4 notification: _NA_________________

(b) Date of section 6 notification: _NA_________________

(c) Date of section 17 notification: _NA_________________

9. Tax Matters: State the tax effect: _NA_________________

10. Special Category (first petitioner/appellant only):

11. Vehicle Number (in case of Motor Accident Claim matters): _NA_

12. Decided cases with citation: _NA_________________

Date: 13.9.2017 Mr. Satya Mitra

AOR for petitioner(s)/appellant(s)

Registration No.1852

Email: [email protected]

A-3

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Civil Original Jurisdiction

Writ Petition (Civil) No. of 2017

(under Article 32 of the Constitution of India)

In the matter of:

Vishal Rathi & Ors. …Petitioner

Versus

Union Public Service Commission …Respondent

Paper Book

(for index, please see inside)

Delhi 12 September 2017

Advocate for the Petitioner: Mr Satya Mitra

A-4

Index of Record of Proceedings

Sn. Date of Records of Proceedings Pages

1. Court’s order dated……………………………………………















B

Synopsis

1. This writ petition is filed in respect of the Civil Services Preliminary

Examinations conducted by the UPSC on 18.6.2017 where

4,62,000 students participated. According to the UPSC there was

only one correct answer to each question. According to the

petitioners at least 4 questions out of 100 were framed in such a

manner as to be ambiguous and not structured coherently so that

there were 2 equally plausible correct answers. In such a

circumstance, a more astute student would know that from

authoritative texts two correct answers were possible. Such a

student would avoid answering the question at all since negative

marks were awarded for a wrong answer. The result would be

that such a student would either lose 2 marks for the question not

answered or lose 2.67 marks for choosing an answer not

corresponding to the ‘key’. Key is the list of correct answers. It has

not been disclosed by UPSC and it is said that it will be disclosed

at the end of the merit exam, almost after a year. This is arbitrary

and prevents the students from making good their case that the

correct answers were either not correct at all or were not the only

correct answer.

2. To explain this submission petitioner has prepared the following

table:

C

Q1. Right to

vote and to

be elected in

India is a

a) Fundamen

tal Right.

b) Natural

Right.

c) Constitutio

nal Right.

d) Legal Right

Answer 1: (c) Constitutional Right, because:

(i) “For example, the right to property is not a

Fundamental Right but it is a constitutional right.

Right to vote in elections is an important

constitutional right.” — ‘Democratic Politics’, p.109,

NCERT Text Book for Class 9th, (Annexure P-1,

pp.50-52)

(ii) “One of the important decisions of the framers of

India Constitution was to guarantee every adult

citizen in India, the right to vote (Article 326)” —

‘Introduction to Indian Constitution’, p.66, NCERT

Text Book for Class 11th, (Annexure P-2, pp.53-55)

(iii) “21. Therefore, in our opinion, the question

whether the right to vote at an election for either

the Lok Sabha or the Legislative Assembly is a

statutory right or a constitutional right is no more

res integra and stands concluded by the

abovementioned judgments, in PUCL (People's

Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) v. Union of India,

(2003) 4 SCC 399) and DMDK (Desiya Murpokku

Dravida Kazhagam(DMDK) v. Election Commission

of India, (2012) 7 SCC 340) cases — Rajbala v.

D

State of Haryana, (2016) 2 SCC 445

Answer 2: (d) Legal Right, because:

(i) “Section 62 Right to Vote (1) No person who is

not, and except as expressly provided by the Act,

every person who is, for the time being entered in

the electoral roll of any constituency shall be

entitled to vote in that constituency.” —

Representation of the People Act, 1951

(ii) “8. A right to elect, fundamental though it is to

democracy, is anomalously enough, neither a

fundamental right nor a common law right. It is

pure and simple, a statutory right. So is the right

to be elected. So is the right to dispute an election.

Outside of statute, there is no right to elect, no

right to be elected and no right to dispute an

election.”—Jyoti Basu vs. Debi Ghosal (1982) 1

SCC 691

(iii) “77. While the exercise of electoral franchise is an

essential component of a liberal democracy, it is a

well-settled principle in Indian law, that the right to

vote and contest elections does not have the

status of fundamental rights. Instead, they are in

E

the nature of legal rights which can be controlled

through legislative means.” — KK Krishna Murthy

(Dr) & Ors. v. Union of India & Anr., (2010) 7 SCC

202

(iv) “54. No doubt, the right to vote is a statutory right

but it is equally vital to recollect that this statutory

right is the essence of democracy...” “21. …In

succinct, the ratio of the judgment (2003) 4 SCC

399 was that though the right to vote is a statutory

right but the decision taken by a voter after

verifying the credentials of the candidate either to

vote or not is his right of expression under Article

19(1)(a) of the Constitution.” “22. As a result, the

judgments in Assn. for Democratic Reforms

[(2002) 5 SCC 294] and People's Union for Civil

Liberties [(2003) 4 SCC 399] have not disturbed

the position that right to vote is a statutory right.

Both the judgments have only added that the right

to know the background of a candidate is a

fundamental right of a voter so that he can take a

rational decision of expressing himself while

exercising the statutory right to vote.” “24. ...It is

clear that a fine distinction was drawn between the

F

right to vote and the freedom of voting as a

species of freedom of expression, while reiterating

the view in Jyoti Basu v. Debi Ghosal that a right to

elect, fundamental though it is to democracy, is

neither a fundamental right nor a common law

right, but pure and simple, a statutory right” ”25.

...Thus, there is no contradiction as to the fact that

right to vote is neither a fundamental right nor a

constitutional right but a pure and simple statutory

right. ...” — PUCL v. Union of India, (2013) 10 SCC

1

(v) “...These three decisions produced an internally

inconsistent and confusing electoral jurisprudence.

On the one hand, the right to vote is a statutory

privilege, which can be given and taken away by

ordinary legislative majorities. On the other hand,

the right to secrecy in voting and the right to cast a

negative vote are treated as fundamental rights

based on the structure of the Constitution, and are

immune from the ordinary political process. ...” —

Page- 88 ‘Oxford Handbook on Indian Constitution’,

by Sujit Choudhry, Oxford University Press, 2016

(Annexure P-3, pp.56-58)

G

Q2. With

reference to

the difference

between the

culture of Rig

Vedic Aryans

and Indus

Valley People,

which of the

following

statements

is/are

correct?

1. Rigvedic

Aryans

used the

coat of

mail and

helmet in

warfare

whereas

the people

of Indus

Answer 1: (a) 1 only, because:

Statement 1 is indisputably factually correct, statement

2 is indisputably incorrect, and statement 3, as later

explained, can be said to be incorrect. But statement 3

has remained controversial as stated below.

Answer 2: (c) 1 and 3 only, because:

This would be correct if statement 3 is so. But

statement 3 has remained controversial. There is no

agreement even among the established textbooks and

sources. Therefore, even an astute student would be

confused between choosing — ‘(a) 1 only’ (only

statement 1 is correct), and ‘(c) 1 and 3 only’ (both

statement 1 and 3 are correct) — as the correct

answer.

Below authorities would establish the controversy with

respect to statement 3, i.e. “…there is no evidence of

Indus Valley people having been aware of this animal.”

(i) “…It has led many scholars to argue that horse

was not known to the Harappan people though

there are others who do not accept this argument.”

— ‘Ancient India’, p.37, National Institute of Open

Schooling, Government of India, 2017 (Annexure

H

Valley

Civilization

did not

leave any

evidence

of using

them.

2. Rig Vedic

Aryans

knew gold,

silver and

copper

whereas

Indus

Valley

people

knew only

copper and

iron.

3. Rig Vedic

Aryans had

domesticat

ed the

P-4, p.59)

(ii) “The issue of horse is controversial and hinges on

the stratigraphic context in which the remains have

been found and the identification of the species

they belong to. For instance, it is not easy to

ascertain whether the bones in question belongs to

half ass or domesticated horse…. While horse

bones may not be completely absent at the

Harappan sites, they're not prolific either. Horse

remains have been reported at Harappa, Lothal,

Surkotada, Kuntasi and Kalibangan and at

superficial level at Mohenjo-daro” — ‘A History of

Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone

Age to the 12th Century’, page- 157-158, by

Upinder Singh, Pearson Publication, Essential Text

Book prescribed for History courses at Delhi

University (Annexure P-5, pp.60-66)

(iii) “Bones of horse have been reported from Lothal,

Surkotada, Kalibangan and several other sites.

Terracotta figurines of the horse have been found

at Nausharo and Lothal. But no unambiguous

depiction of this animal on seal has so far been

found.” — ‘Ancient India’, p.74, Makhan Lal, Old

I

horse

whereas

there is no

evidence

of Indus

Valley

people

having

been

aware of

this

animal.

Select the

correct

answer using

the code

given below:

(a) 1 Only

(b) 2 and 3

Only

(c) 1 and 3

Only

NCERT Text Book for Class 11th, Print-2002


(iv) ...The metals known to the Rigvedic Aryans were

gold, copper or bronze, and perhaps iron. The

Indus people have left no trace of iron; they used

silver more commonly than gold, and their utensils

and vessels 'were made of stone — a relic of the

Neolithic age — as well as of copper and bronze.

The weapons of offence were almost the same in

both the 'ages, but the defensive helmet and coat

of mail, known to the Rigvedic people, were not a

feature of the Indus civilisation. It appears from

the numerous seals discovered at Mohenjo-daro

that the bull was their most important animal, but

during the Rigvedic period the cow takes its place.

The horse was unfamiliar to the Indus valley

people, whereas the Rigvedic Aryans had

domesticated it.”- by Rama Shankar Tripathi,

History of Ancient India, Publication

Year:2014(Annexure P-7, pp.69-70)

(v) Terracotta horse figurine, excavated from an Indus

Valley Civilisation Site, at National Museum, Delhi

J

(d) 1, 2 and

3

(Annexure P-8, p.71)

(vi) “Horse bones have also been discovered at

Surkotada, indicating use of the animal” —

‘Harappan Civilization: An Analysis in Modern

Context’, by Deep Raj Gupta, The Indira Gandhi

National Centre for Arts, (Annexure P-9, pp.72-77)

(vii) “The Harrapan people may have known of the

horse....” — ‘The Wonder that was India’, pp.17-

18, by A.L Basham, Oxford Publications, 2016


(viii) “The use of horse is not yet firmly established.”

— ‘History, Higher Secondary, First Year’, p.20,

Tamil Nadu Text Book for Class 11th, dated 2017


(ix) “The remains of the horse have been reported

from Surakotada, situated on the west coast of

Gujarat, and belong to around 2000 B.C., but it is

clear that this animal was not in regular use in

Harrapan times.” — ‘Ancient Indian History’, RS

Sharma p.38-39, NCERT Text Book for Class 11th,

Print 1990, (Annexure P-12, pp.85-89)

(x) “The remains of skeletons prove that the humped

K

bull, buffalo, camel were domesticated. There are

some doubts about the horse.” — ‘Advanced

History of India’, p.19, RC Majumdar, Laxmi

Publications Pvt. Ltd. 2016 (Annexure P-13, pp.90-

92)

Q3. At one of

the places in

India, if you

stand on the

seashore and

watch the

sea, you will

find that the

seawater

recedes from

the shoreline

a few

kilometres

and comes

back to the

shore, twice a

day, and you

can actually

Answer 1: (a) Bhavnagar, because:

(i) “...Because of its unique position (nearness to the

Tropic of cancer), Gujrat experiences very high

tide; the highest anywhere along the Indian coast.

Because of the funnel shape and the semi enclosed

nature at the head, the tidal height increases

tremendously in the upstream. The mean tidal

elevation during spring is 4.7 m at Mahva Bandar

which rises to 6.5 m at Gopnath Point and 10.2

metres at Bhavnagar. The maximum spring tide

recorded at Bhavnagar is 12.5 m which is second

only to that of highest tide recorded anywhere in

the world (around 17 m at the Bay of Fundi on

Newfoundland coast of Canada). Because of the

high tidal amplitude, especially in the upper gulf, it

has huge inter tidal expanses of 1.5 to 5 km,

perhaps the widest along the Indian coast.” —

‘Critical Habitat Information System for Gulf of

L

walk on the

sea floor

when the

water

recedes. This

unique

phenomenon

is seen at:

a) Bhavnagar

b) Bheemuni

patnam

c) Chandipu

r

d) Nagapatti

nam

Khambhat, Gujarat’, p.5, Department of Ocean

Development, Government of India, 2002


(ii) “Nishkalank Mahadev Temple, Koliyak is located at

a distance of about 23 km to the east of

Bhavnagar. It has to be noted that the place gets

inundated under the tide.” — Article at Official

Website, Government of Gujarat (Annexure P-15,

p.95)

(iii) Tidal tables for Bhavnagar (Page 16-17,

http://www.incois.gov.in/documents/IMD%20Train

ing_SRINIVAS_INCOIS_tides.pdf) (Annexure P-16,

pp.96-97)

Answer 2: (c) Chandipur, because:

(i) “Unlike other beaches, the sea water here

recedes away from the shore line about five km

twice a day, an unusual phenomenon, rarely

found anywhere. You can see the sea literally

vanishing before your eyes and also watch it

coming back rhythmically at regular intervals, as

if playing hide and seek.” —

http://odishatourism.gov.in/?q=node/97, Official

M

Website, Government of Odisha (Annexure P-17,

pp.98-101)

Inference:

(i) There are three basic tidal patterns occur along

the Earth’s major shorelines. In general, most

areas have two high tides and two low tides

each day. When the two highs and the two

lows are about the same height, the pattern is

called a semi- daily or semidiurnal tide. If the

high and low tides differ in height, the pattern

is called a mixed semidiurnal tide. Some rare

areas, such as the Gulf of Mexico, have only

one high and one low tide each day. This is

called a diurnal tide.

(ii) Hence, the assertion in the question that semi-

diurnal or mixed semi-diurnal tide is unique at a

single place in India is factually incorrect. Most

of the places on the Indian Coast line

experience semi-diurnal or mixed semi-diurnal

coastline.

(iii) The evidences clearly prove that sea water

recedes twice a day for kilometres and people

N

can walk on the sea floor at both Bhavanagar

and Chandipur. Hence, the answer to this

question can be both option (a) and option (c)

Q4. For

election to

the Lok

Sabha, a

nomination

paper can be

filed by:

a) Anyone

residing

in India.

b) A

resident

of the

constitue

ncy from

which

the

election

is to be

In this question, none of the answers are correct.

Answer (a) is clearly not correct because a foreign

citizen residing in India cannot file nomination.

Answer (b) is not correct because candidates’

domicile/residence is immaterial for him to file

nomination from a constituency. Present Prime

Minister Hon. Mr Narendra Modi filed nomination, and

is elected, from the Constituency of Varanasi, UP,

even when His Honour has never been a resident

there.

Answer (c) is not correct because not “Any citizen “of

India can file nomination. Age requirement is to be

met, i.e. she/he needs to be 25 years or above.

Answer (d) is not correct for the same reasons as

answer (c).

O

conteste

d.

c) Any

citizen of

India

whose

name

appears

in the

electoral

roll of a

constitue

ncy.

d) Any

citizen of

India.

3. Petitioners nos. 1-9, 11, 14, 15, and 18 made representations to

UPSC in respect of the questions and answers. These

representations are at Annexure P-18 (pp.102-116). UPSC has given

identical replies to all such representations. One such reply, received

by petitioner no.3 is asunder:

P

“I am directed to refer to your email dated the 8th August 2017

on the above cited subject and to say that the Questions and

the corresponding Answer Keys of the Civil Services

(Preliminary) Examination, 2017 were prepared by the different

panels of experts. Subsequently, different sets of experts

reviewed the questions and the corresponding answer keys

on completion of examination.” (Annexure P-30, pp. 178-183)

4. A similar situation as in this case arose in Rajesh Kumar vs. State

of Bihar (2013) 4 SCC 690 where the Supreme Court held:

“2. Application of an erroneous "Model Answer Key" for

evaluation of answer scripts of candidates appearing in a

competitive examination is bound to lead to erroneous results

and an equally erroneous inter-se merit list of such

candidates…

5. In the writ petition filed by the aggrieved candidates, a

Single Judge of the High Court referred the "Model Answer

Key" to experts. The model answers were examined by two

experts, Dr. (Prof.) C.N. Sinha, and Prof. KSP Singh,

associated with NIT, Patna, who found several such answers

to be wrong. In addition, two questions were also found to be

wrong while two others were found to have been repeated.

Question No. 100 was also found to be defective as the

choices in the answer key were printed but only partially…

Q

15. The writ petitioners, it is evident, on a plain reading of the

writ petition questioned not only the process of evaluation of

the answer scripts by the Commission but specifically averred

that the “model answer key” which formed the basis for such

evaluation was erroneous. One of the questions that,

therefore, fell for consideration by the High Court directly was

whether the “model answer key” was correct. The High Court

had aptly referred that question to experts in the field who,

as already noticed above, found the “model answer key” to

be erroneous in regard to as many as 45 questions out of a

total of 100 questions contained in ‘A’ series question paper.

Other errors were also found to which we have referred

earlier. If the key which was used for evaluating the answer

sheets was itself defective the result prepared on the basis of

the same could be no different. The Division Bench of the

High Court was, therefore, perfectly justified in holding that

the result of the examination insofar as the same pertained to

‘A’ series question paper was vitiated. This was bound to

affect the result of the entire examination qua every

candidate whether or not he was a party to the proceedings.

It also goes without saying that if the result was vitiated by

the application of a wrong key, any appointment made on the

basis thereof would also be rendered unsustainable…

R

19. The submissions made by Mr Rao are not without merit.

Given the nature of the defect in the answer key the most

natural and logical way of correcting the evaluation of the

scripts was to correct the key and get the answer scripts re-

evaluated on the basis thereof. There was, in the

circumstances, no compelling reason for directing a fresh

examination to be held by the Commission especially when

there was no allegation about any malpractice, fraud or

corrupt motives that could possibly vitiate the earlier

examination to call for a fresh attempt by all concerned. The

process of re-evaluation of the answer scripts with reference

to the correct key will in addition be less expensive apart from

being quicker. The process would also not give any unfair

advantage to anyone of the candidates on account of the

time lag between the examination earlier held and the one

that may have been held pursuant to the direction of the High

Court. Suffice it to say that the re-evaluation was and is a

better option, in the facts and circumstances of the case…

20. That brings us to the submission by Mr Rao that while re-

evaluation is a good option not only to do justice to those

who may have suffered on account of an erroneous key being

applied to the process but also to the writ petitioners,

Respondents 6 to 18 in the matter of allocating to them their

rightful place in the merit list. Such evaluation need not

S

necessarily result in the ouster of the appellants should they

be found to fall below the “cut-off” mark in the merit list…

21. There is considerable merit in the submission of Mr Rao.

It goes without saying that the appellants were innocent

parties who have not, in any manner, contributed to the

preparation of the erroneous key or the distorted result.

There is no mention of any fraud or malpractice against the

appellants who have served the State for nearly seven years

now. In the circumstances, while inter se merit position may

be relevant for the appellants, the ouster of the latter need

not be an inevitable and inexorable consequence of such a re-

evaluation. The re-evaluation process may additionally benefit

those who have lost the hope of an appointment on the basis

of a wrong key applied for evaluating the answer scripts.

Such of those candidates as may be ultimately found to be

entitled to issue of appointment letters on the basis of their

merit shall benefit by such re-evaluation and shall pick up

their appointments on that basis according to their inter se

position on the merit list.”

5. Vikas Pratap Singh vs. State of Chhattisgarh (2013) 14 SCC 494

held:

“4. In the meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police and the

respondent Board received complaints in respect of

T

defects/mistakes in several questions of the main examination

papers. The respondent Board constituted an expert

committee to inquire into the complaints. Upon examination

of the two papers, two sets of defects were noticed: (a) eight

questions in paper II itself were incorrect; and (b) model

answers for evaluation of answer scripts to another eight

questions of paper II were incorrect. The respondent Board

directed for deletion of the first set of 8 questions in paper II

and preparation of correct model answers key for objective

questions in paper I and II and accordingly carried out

revaluation of answer scripts of the candidates. On 27-6-2009

a new revised merit list was published wherein the names of

twenty-six appellants did not figure at all and accordingly, the

appointment of the appellants were cancelled by the

respondent State.”

6. In the circumstances, any apprehension that this petition is likely

to affect adversely those finding themselves through to the merit

exam is misplaced. The only effect that this petition will have is

that an additional number of students who have been wrongly

excluded on account of the faulty questions and answers will be

allowed to participate in the main exams to be held from 28

October 2017.

U

7. In the alternative, it is prayed in this petition that once it is

decided that a certain number of students have been wrongly

excluded, they be permitted to appear in the preliminary

examination in the next year i.e. in June 2018 and the present

unsuccessful attempt be not counted towards the total permissible

attempts limit.

8. Hence, this petition is being filed on the main ground that the

petitioners should not be made to suffer on account of a mistake

made by the UPSC. That UPSC is bound to make a disclosure of

the answer key and justify the questions and answers said by

UPSC to be correct. Once it is determined by this Court that UPSC

has, indeed, made mistakes, this Court may pass appropriate

orders rectifying the mistakes. UPSC owes it to the students to be

fair and transparent. In writ petition 564 of 2017 which was

dismissed by the Supreme Court (see the order at Annexure P-29,

pp.176-177) the UPSC neither disclosed the answer key nor the

position of the student in the merit list. The UPSC blocked the

consideration of the case on merits by adopting a non-transparent

stand and by stating that the petitioner in that case had not made

a representation against the questions and answers. In the

present instance, the students have made such a representation.

9. Petitioners pray:

V

a) issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order

or direction to the UPSC to disclose the answer key as well as

the standing of the petitioners in the merit list with the

answers given by them to the questions in the preliminary

exam;

b) issue an order directing the formation of an Expert Committee

to make a report to this Court, should Your Lordships, prima

facie come to the conclusion that the petitioners are right in

their contention that the questions/answers were ambiguous

or structured wrongly and that the key to the correct answers

was wrong or that the questions corresponded to two

answers both of them correct;

c) issue an order directing that the concerned students be

allowed to participate in the main exams scheduled for 28

October 2017, if the Expert Committee gives an opinion partly

or wholly in favour of the petitioners; and

d) any other relief deemed fit and proper in the circumstance of

the present case.

List of Dates and Events

Date Events

22.2.2017 : UPSC Civil Services Examination 2017 application form

Notification released.

W

17.3.2017 : 10,00,000 approx. application forms received by UPSC.

18.6.2017 : 4,63,000 approx. applicants appear for UPSC Civil Services

Preliminary Examination 2017. Question paper has several

ambiguous questions.

22.7.2017 : ‘Ashita Chawla v. Union Public Service Commission,

WP(C)564 of 2017’ is filed, inter alia seeking allotment of

(full) marks against ambiguous questions. This petition is

filed by a single applicant, rest of the aggrieved students

numbering 100s are in the process of filing their

respective petition before this Hon’ble Court.

27.7.2017 : 13,400 approx. applicants are shortlisted for UPSC Civil

Services Mains Examination 2017.

WP(C)564 of 2017 is admitted for hearing.

31.7.2017 : UPSC files reply in WP(C)564 of 2017.

1.8.2017 : WP(C)564 of 2017 is dismissed.

14.9.2017 : Hence, this petition.

1





In the matter of:

1. Mr Vishal Rathi S/o Gurumel Singh Rathi

UPSC Roll No.0007846

R/o 960 Village Bhopa, PO Bhopa,

Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh 251308 …Petitioner no.1

2. Mr. Vaibhav Tiwari S/o Rajesh Kumar Tiwari


R/o Gas Godown Road, Meenakshi Nagar,

Durg, Chattisgarh 491001 …Petitioner no.2

3. Niraj Kumar Singh S/o Yogendra Prasad


R/o 39 New Type B, Bhulinagar, Dhanbad 828104...Petitioner no.3

4. Ravi Kant DwivediS/o Raghunandan Dhar Dwivedi


R/o Near Congress Office, Katra Lal Ganj,

Amethi, Uttar Pradesh 227409 ...Petitioner no.4

5. Iznallah S/o Munazirul Islam


2

R/o 3 SFB-2/7, Bahadurpur Housing Colony,

Kankarbagh, Patna, Bihar 800026 ...Petitioner no.5

6. Binita Sinha D/o Braj Kishore Sinha


R/o House No.137, Ground Floor,

Anandpuri North, Patna, Bihar 800001 ...Petitioner no.6

7. Shailendra Kumar Singh S/o Yogendra Prasad Singh


R/o 36 Maharajganj Tola,Simiri Kala, Kutumba,

PO Satgawan, Simri, Aurangabad, Bihar 824111 ...Petitioner no.7

8. Piyush Gade S/o Arun Gade


R/o 303, Shreyas Banerjee Layout,

Nagpur, Maharashtra 440027 ...Petitioner no.8

9. Anshu Kumar Chaturvedi S/o Rameshwar Chaubey


R/o 439, CD Indian Institute Colony, Mughalsarai,

District Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh 232101 ...Petitioner no.9

10. Suneel Kumar Patel S/o Ashok Kumar


R/o Sathi, Hanuman Mandir, Baberu, Sathi,

Banda, Uttar Pradesh 21021 ...Petitioner no.10

3

11. Lalit Kumar S/o Sharanpal Singh


R/o 10, Sector 7, Chandigarh 160019 ...Petitioner no.11

12. KM Anju Rani D/o Sharanpal Singh


R/o House No. 14, Gandhi Nagar, Nai Mandi,

Kukra, Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh 251001 …Petitioner no.12

13. Gaurav Kumar S/o Sharanpal Singh


R/o House No.14, GandhiNagar, NaiMandi,

Kukra, Muzaffarnagar, UttarPradesh251001 …Petitioner no.13

14. Vinod Kumar Chaudhary S/o Late Antoo Ram


R/o QN 216/C, D L W Colony, DLW, Varanasi,

Uttar Pradesh 221004 …Petitioner no.14

15. Neha Mishra D/o Kesari Prasad Mishra


R/o Sundar Nagar, Karni Mata ka mandir II,

Khatipura W.N 10, Jaipur 302012 …Petitioner no.15

16. Vijay S/o Ramesh Chander


4

R/o H. No. 16/1, Khuda Lahora,

Chandigarh 160014 …Petitioner no.16

17. Shahana Munazir D/o Munazirul Islam


R/o Room No. J 14, Rudra North,

St. Stephen’s College DU, Delhi 110007 …Petitioner no.17

18. Safdar Rahman S/o Tanvir Roshan Rahman


E1 Income Tax Officer Apartment, Phase 2

Khajpura, Patna, Bihar 800014 …Petitioner no.18

19. G Aloke Kumar S/o G Rajendra Kumar


H. No.5.3.128 Goshamahal, Mindi Nagar,

Hyderabad 500012 …Petitioner no.19

20. Sagar Anil Nagarkar S/o Nagarkar Anil Pandurang


R/o Sr. No. 19/8B, Hingane Home Col, Karve Nagar,

Pune, Maharahtra 411052 …Petitioner no.20

21. Saurabh S/o Ashok Kumar Dubey


R/o Shukla Colony, Hinoo, PS Doranda

Ranchi, Jharkhand 834002 …Petitioner no.21

5

22. Vibhnshu Kaushal Choudhary S/o Kaushal Kishor Chaudhary


R/o Shiv Shankar Path, Mithanpura

Mushahari, Muzaffarpur, Bihar 842002 …Petitioner no.22

23. Gyanendra Kumar Srivastava S/o Ram Lal Srivastava


R/o Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh …Petitioner no.23

24. Nandan Kumar Thakur

UPSC Roll No. Not Provided

R/o Rajendra Nagar, New Delhi …Petitioner no.24

25. Vikrant Khare S/o Ashok Khare


R/o P.H.C Chhuikhadan, Hospital Colony,

Rajnandgaon, Chhatisgarh 491441 …Petitioner no.25

26. Prema KumariD/o Sushil Prasad


R/o Barh Bazar, Gopinath Munna Medical Hall,

Barh Talimpur Karailiya, Barh

Patna, Bihar 803213 …Petitioner no.26

27. Sumit Kumar Dwivedi S/o Mithilesh Kumar Dwivedi


R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 …Petitioner no.27

6

28. Alok Kumar



29. Naresh Kumar S/o Deviram



30. Arnab Chatterjee S/o Tapan Kumar Chatterjee



31. Sonu Kumar



32. Avdhesh Kumar Gaur S/o Rakesh Kumar Gaur



33. Himanshu Chauhan S/o Ashok Kumar



34. Abhishek Kumar S/o Maheshwar Mahto


R/o Sonbarsa, Kashipur, Samastipur,

Bihar 848101 …Petitioner no.34

7

35. Chetendra Prasad S/o Brijesh Kumar



36. Alok Bhardwaj



37. Abhishek Saurabh



38. Sandip Kumar S/o Mithilesh Kumar



39. Pawan Kumar



40. Praveen Kumar



41. Akhilesh Kumar Saroj S/o Shitla Prasad Saroj


R/o 10/79 B, Shivaji Puram, Indira Nagar, Lucknow,

Uttar Pradesh 226016 …Petitioner no. 41

8

42. Umashankar Sonkar S/o Jag Prasad


R/o 276, Tarahati Kalinjar, Near Bus Stand,

Banda, Uttar Pradesh 210129 …Petitioner no.42

43. Sunil Kumar Chauhan, S/o Sugriv Chauhan


R/o House No. 25, Dindaspur, Dharahara,

Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh 232108 …Petitioner no.43

44. Deepak Kumar



45. Reetika Bansal



46. Md. Faiz Khan


R/o Sankalp Hostel, Dheerpur, Delhi 110009 ...Petitioner no.46

47. Gopal Kumar S/o Chandradip Prasad Singh



9

48. Sanjith Kumar KS



49. Abhishek Ravi S/o Krishnandan Singh



50. Jyoti Sonkar D/o Harish Chandra Sonkar


R/o F 550, Avenue B Road, Praveesh Coaldipo,

Lakdi Taal, Ward 46, Sec 6,

Civic Centre Bhilai, Chhatisgarh 490006 …Petitioner no.50

51. Abhishek Sigatia S/o Santosh Agarwal



52. Dheerendra



53. Balbeer Singh S/o Karan Singh



10

54. Vashisht Samrat S/o Sadanand Prasad Yadav



55. Abhishek Tiwari S/o Suresh Tiwari



56. Ankur Tiwari S/o Arun Kumar Tiwari


R/o 10, Padmanabhapur 12, Ward No. 45,

Village-Durg, Dist-Durg …Petitioner no.56

Versus

1. Union Public Service Commission of India

Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road, Delhi 110069 ...Respondent no.1

Petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India for issuance of

writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ

To

Hon. The Lord Chief Justice of India, and

His Lordship’s Companion Justices the Supreme Court of India

Petitioner respectfully sheweth:

1. This petition is filed in respect of the Civil Services Preliminary

Examinations conducted by the UPSC on 18.6.2017 where

11

4,62,000 candidates appeared. According to the petitioners

several questions were ambiguous and incoherent so that there

were at least 2 equally plausible answers. Petitioners have detailed

but 4 such questions. In such a circumstance, a more astute

student would know that from authoritative texts two correct

answers were possible. Such a student would avoid answering the

question at all since negative marks were awarded for a wrong

answer. The result would be that if the student chooses not to

answer the question he would lose 2 marks, and should he answer

but not as per the corresponding ‘key’ he would be marked

negatively and would lose 2.67 marks. The ‘key’ is the list of

correct answers. This ‘key’ has not been disclosed by UPSC and it

is always released at the end of the entire selection process

whereupon UPSC pleads Fait Accompli against any grievance of

the students. This is arbitrary and prevents the students from

making good their case that the correct answers were either not

correct at all or were not the ‘only’ correct answer.

1A. That the petitioners have not filed any other petition before the

Hon’ble Court for the same relief.

UPSC is Non-transparent

2. What is an opaque practice of the UPSC is to release the Answer

Key post completion of the entire selection process. This means

that answer key for UPSC CS Preliminary Examination2017 will be

12

released sometime in May-June 2018. By this time students

appeared for UPSC CS Mains Examination 2017 and UPSC CS

Personality Test 2017, and UPSC would have already published the

final selection list, i.e. entire selection process would be over. In fact,

selected candidates would be undergoing year long Civil Servants’

training. At that time UPSC would plead Fait Accompli and would

casually dismiss all such claims.

Questions are Ambiguous

3. To explain the ambiguity of the questions, petitioner has prepared

the following table. All reference in the table are from Government

approved/prescribed scholarly texts, such as Government NCERT

Government School Textbooks, Government websites, Government

Departments’ Official Publications, Constitution of India, Judgements

of this Hon’ble Court, etc. They are neither ‘fringe scholarship’ nor

some ‘conspiracy theories’.

Q1. Right to

vote and to be

elected in

India is a

a) Fundament

al Right.

b) Natural

Answer 1: (c) Constitutional Right, because:

(i) “For example, the right to property is not a

Fundamental Right but it is a constitutional right.

Right to vote in elections is an important

constitutional right.” — ‘Democratic Politics’, p.109,

NCERT Text Book for Class 9th, (True copy of the

National Council for Educational Research and

Training (NCERT), 9th Class (Democratic Politics),

13

Right.

c) Constitutio

nal Right.

d) Legal Right

Chapter 6: Democratic Rights p.109 only, dated

2017, Annexure P-1, pp.50-52)

(ii) “One of the important decisions of the framers of

India Constitution was to guarantee every adult

citizen in India, the right to vote (Article 326)” —

‘Introduction to Indian Constitution’, p.66, NCERT

Text Book for Class 11th, (True copy of the New

NCERT, 11th Class, Introduction to Indian

Constitution, pp.66-67 only, dated 2017, Annexure

P-2, pp.53-55)

(iii) “21. Therefore, in our opinion, the question whether

the right to vote at an election for either the Lok

Sabha or the Legislative Assembly is a statutory right

or a constitutional right is no more res integra and

stands concluded by the abovementioned

judgments, in PUCL (People's Union for Civil Liberties

(PUCL) v. Union of India, (2003) 4 SCC 399) and

DMDK (Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam(DMDK)

v. Election Commission of India, (2012) 7 SCC 340)

cases — Rajbala v. State of Haryana, (2016) 2 SCC

445

Answer 2: (d) Legal Right, because:

(i) “Section 62 Right to Vote (1) No person who is not,

14

and except as expressly provided by the Act, every

person who is, for the time being entered in the

electoral roll of any constituency shall be entitled to

vote in that constituency.” — Representation of the

People Act, 1951

(ii) “8. A right to elect, fundamental though it is to

democracy, is anomalously enough, neither a

fundamental right nor a common law right. It is pure

and simple, a statutory right. So is the right to be

elected. So is the right to dispute an election. Outside

of statute, there is no right to elect, no right to be

elected and no right to dispute an election.”—Jyoti

Basu vs. Debi Ghosal (1982) 1 SCC 691

(iii) “77. While the exercise of electoral franchise is an

essential component of a liberal democracy, it is a

well-settled principle in Indian law, that the right to

vote and contest elections does not have the status of

fundamental rights. Instead, they are in the nature of

legal rights which can be controlled through legislative

means.” — KK Krishna Murthy (Dr) & Ors. v. Union of

India & Anr., (2010) 7 SCC 202

(iv) “54. No doubt, the right to vote is a statutory right but

it is equally vital to recollect that this statutory right is

the essence of democracy...” “21. …In succinct, the

15

ratio of the judgment (2003) 4 SCC 399 was that

though the right to vote is a statutory right but the

decision taken by a voter after verifying the credentials

of the candidate either to vote or not is his right of

expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.”

“22. As a result, the judgments in Assn. for Democratic

Reforms [(2002) 5 SCC 294] and People's Union for

Civil Liberties [(2003) 4 SCC 399] have not disturbed

the position that right to vote is a statutory right. Both

the judgments have only added that the right to know

the background of a candidate is a fundamental right

of a voter so that he can take a rational decision of

expressing himself while exercising the statutory right

to vote.” “24. ...It is clear that a fine distinction was

drawn between the right to vote and the freedom of

voting as a species of freedom of expression, while

reiterating the view in Jyoti Basu v. Debi Ghosal that a

right to elect, fundamental though it is to democracy,

is neither a fundamental right nor a common law right,

but pure and simple, a statutory right” ”25. ...Thus,

there is no contradiction as to the fact that right to

vote is neither a fundamental right nor a constitutional

right but a pure and simple statutory right. ...” — PUCL

v. Union of India, (2013) 10 SCC 1

(v) “...These three decisions produced an internally

16

inconsistent and confusing electoral jurisprudence. On

the one hand, the right to vote is a statutory privilege,

which can be given and taken away by ordinary

legislative majorities. On the other hand, the right to

secrecy in voting and the right to cast a negative vote

are treated as fundamental rights based on the

structure of the Constitution, and are immune from the

ordinary political process...” — Page- 88 ‘Oxford

Handbook on Indian Constitution’, by Sujit Choudhry,

Oxford University Press, 2016 (True copy of the

‘Oxford Handbook on Indian Constitution’, by Sujit

Choudhry, Oxford University Press, p.88 only, dated

2016, Annexure P-3, pp.56-58)

Q2. With

reference to

the difference

between the

culture of Rig

Vedic Aryans

and Indus

Valley People,

which of the

following

statements

is/are correct?

Answer 1: (a) 1 only, because:

Statement 1 is indisputably factually correct, statement 2 is

indisputably incorrect, and statement 3, as later explained,

can be said to be incorrect.

But statement 3 has remained controversial as stated

below.

Answer 2: (c) 1 and 3 only, because:

This would be correct if statement 3 is so. But statement 3

has remained controversial. There is no agreement even

among the established textbooks and sources. Therefore,

17

1. Rigvedic

Aryans used

the coat of

mail and

helmet in

warfare

whereas the

people of

Indus Valley

Civilization

did not

leave any

evidence of

using them.

2. Rig Vedic

Aryans

knew gold,

silver and

copper

whereas

Indus Valley

people

knew only

copper and

iron.

even an astute student would be confused between

choosing — ‘(a) 1 only’ (only statement 1 is correct), and

‘(c) 1 and 3 only’ (both statement 1 and 3 are correct) —

as the correct answer.

Below authorities would establish the controversy with

respect to statement 3, i.e. “…there is no evidence of Indus

Valley people having been aware of this animal.”

(i) “…It has led many scholars to argue that horse was

not known to the Harappan people though there are

others who do not accept this argument.” — ‘Ancient

India’, p.37, National Institute of Open Schooling,

Government of India, 2017 (True copy of the National

Institute of Open Schooling book: Ancient India,

Course Code 315, Module-1 Lesson-3: Harappan

Civilization, p.37 only, dated 2017, Annexure P-4, p.59)

(ii) “The issue of horse is controversial and hinges on the

stratigraphic context in which the remains have been

found and the identification of the species they belong

to. For instance, it is not easy to ascertain whether the

bones in question belongs to half ass or domesticated

horse…. While horse bones may not be completely

absent at the Harappan sites, they're not prolific

either. Horse remains have been reported at Harappa,

Lothal, Surkotada, Kuntasi and Kalibangan and at

18

3. Rig Vedic

Aryans had

domesticate

d the horse

whereas

there is no

evidence of

Indus Valley

people

having been

aware of

this animal.

Select the

correct answer

using the code

given below:

(a) 1 Only

(b) 2 and 3

Only

(c) 1 and 3

Only

(d) 1, 2 and

3

superficial level at Mohenjo-daro” — ‘A History of

Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age

to the 12th Century’, page- 157-158, by Upinder

Singh, Pearson Publication, Essential Text Book

prescribed for History courses at Delhi University (True

copy of the “A History of Ancient and Early Medieval

India From the Stone Age to the 12th Century”,

pp.157-158 only, dated 2015, Annexure P-5, pp.60-66)

(iii) “Bones of horse have been reported from Lothal,

Surkotada, Kalibangan and several other sites.

Terracotta figurines of the horse have been found at

Nausharo and Lothal. But no unambiguous depiction of

this animal on seal has so far been found.” — ‘Ancient

India’, p.74, Makhan Lal, Old NCERT Text Book for

Class 11th, Print- 2002 (True copy of the “Ancient

India”, by Makhan Lal, Old NCERT Text Book for Class

11th, p.74 only, dated 2002, Annexure P-6, pp. 67-68)

(iv) ...The metals known to the Rigvedic Aryans were gold,

copper or bronze, and perhaps iron. The Indus people

have left no trace of iron; they used silver more

commonly than gold, and their utensils and vessels

'were made of stone — a relic of the Neolithic age —

as well as of copper and bronze. The weapons of

offence were almost the same in both the 'ages, but

the defensive helmet and coat of mail, known to the

19

Rigvedic people, were not a feature of the Indus

civilisation. It appears from the numerous seals

discovered at Mohenjo-daro that the bull was their

most important animal, but during the Rigvedic period

the cow takes its place. The horse was unfamiliar to

the Indus valley people, whereas the Rigvedic Aryans

had domesticated it.”- by Rama Shankar Tripathi,

History of Ancient India, Publication Year:2014(True

Copy of the “History of Ancient India”, Motilal Banarasi

Dass Publishers, Rama Shankar Tripathi, p.39 only,

dated 2014, Annexure P-7, pp. 69-70)

(v) Terracotta horse figurine, excavated from an Indus

Valley Civilisation Site, at National Museum, Delhi

(True copy of the Terracotta of Horse at National

Museum, New Delhi, dated 2017, Annexure P-8, p.71)

(vi) “Horse bones have also been discovered at Surkotada,

indicating use of the animal” — ‘Harappan Civilization:

An Analysis in Modern Context’, by Deep Raj Gupta,

The Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, News

Letter (True copy of the “Harappan Civilization: An

Analysis in Modern Context” by Deep Raj Gupta,

Source: http://ignca.nic.in/nl002308.html, dated 2017,

Annexure P-9, pp.72-77)

(vii) “The Harrapan people may have known of the

20

horse....” — ‘The Wonder that was India’, p.18, by A.L

Basham, Oxford Publications, 2016 (True copy of the

“The Wonder that was India” by A.L. Basham, Picador

Publication, pp.17-18, dated 2016, Annexure P-10,

pp.78-81)

(viii) “The use of horse is not yet firmly established.” —

‘History, Higher Secondary, First Year’, p.20, Tamil

Nadu Text Book for Class 11th, 2016 (True copy of the

Tamil Nadu State Government Publication, Class 11,

p.20, dated 2017, Annexure P-11, pp.82-84)

(ix) “The remains of the horse have been reported from

Surakotada, situated on the west coast of Gujarat, and

belong to around 2000 B.C., but it is clear that this

animal was not in regular use in Harrapan times.” —

‘Ancient Indian History’, RS Sharma p.38-39, NCERT

Text Book for Class 11th, 1990 (True copy of the Old

NCERT, 11th Class, Ancient India by RS Sharma,

pp.38-39, dated 1990, Annexure P-12, pp.85-89)

(x) “The remains of skeletons prove that the humped bull,

buffalo, camel were domesticated. There are some

doubts about the horse.” — ‘Advanced History of

India’, p.19, RC Majumdar, Laxmi Publications Pvt. Ltd.

2016 (True Copy of R.C. Majumdar (Laxmi Publications

Pvt Ltd) Advanced History of India, p.19, dated 2016,

21


Q3. At one of

the places in

India, if you

stand on the

seashore and

watch the sea,

you will find

that the

seawater

recedes from

the shoreline a

few kilometres

and comes

back to the

shore, twice a

day, and you

can actually

walk on the

sea floor when

the water

recedes. This

unique

phenomenon is

Answer 1: (a) Bhavnagar, because:

(i) “...Because of its unique position (nearness to the

Tropic of cancer), Gujrat experiences very high tide;

the highest anywhere along the Indian coast. Because

of the funnel shape and the semi enclosed nature at

the head, the tidal height increases tremendously in

the upstream. The mean tidal elevation during spring is

4.7 m at Mahva Bandar which rises to 6.5 m at

Gopnath Point and 10.2 metres at Bhavnagar. The

maximum spring tide recorded at Bhavnagar is 12.5 m

which is second only to that of highest tide recorded

anywhere in the world (around 17 m at the Bay of

Fundi on Newfoundland coast of Canada). Because of

the high tidal amplitude, especially in the upper gulf, it

has huge inter tidal expanses of 1.5 to 5 km, perhaps

the widest along the Indian coast…” — ‘Critical Habitat

Information System for Gulf of Khambhat, Gujarat’,

p.5, Department of Ocean Development, Government

of India, 2002 (True Copy of “Critical Habitat

Information System for Gulf of Khambhat, Gujarat”,

Department of Ocean Development, Government of

India, p.5 only, dated 2002, Annexure P-14, pp.93-94)

(ii) “Nishkalank Mahadev Temple, Koliyak is located at a

22

seen at:

a) Bhavnagar

b) Bheemuni

patnam

c) Chandipur

d) Nagapattin

am

distance of about 23 km to the east of Bhavnagar. It

has to be noted that the place gets inundated under

the tide.” — Article at Official Website, Government of

Gujarat (True Copy of Gujarat Government website

details on Bhavnagar:

https://bhavnagardp.gujarat.gov.in/bhavnagar/english

/jillavishe/historical-places/nishkalank-mahadev.htm,

dated 2017, Annexure P-15, p.95)

(iii) Tidal tables for Bhavnagar (Page 16-17,

http://www.incois.gov.in/documents/IMD%20Training

_SRINIVAS_INCOIS_tides.pdf) (True copy of the ‘Tidal

tables for Bhavnagar, INCOIS, Hyderabad’

http://www.incois.gov.in/documents/IMD%20Training

_SRINIVAS_INCOIS_tides.pdf, pp.16-17, dated 2014,


Answer 2: (c) Chandipur, because:

(i) “Unlike other beaches, the sea water here recedes

away from the shore line about five km twice a day,

an unusual phenomenon, rarely found anywhere. You

can see the sea literally vanishing before your eyes

and also watch it coming back rhythmically at regular

intervals, as if playing hide and seek…”—

http://odishatourism.gov.in/?q=node/97, Official

Website, Government of Odisha (True copy of the,

23

Information on Chandipur,

“http://odishatourism.gov.in/?q=node/97”

Official Website, Government of Odisha, dated 2017,


Inference:

(i) There are three basic tidal patterns occur along the

Earth’s major shorelines. In general, most areas

have two high tides and two low tides each day.

When the two highs and the two lows are about the

same height, the pattern is called a semi- daily or

semidiurnal tide. If the high and low tides differ in

height, the pattern is called a mixed semidiurnal

tide. Some rare areas, such as the Gulf of Mexico,

have only one high and one low tide each day. This

is called a diurnal tide.

(ii) Hence, the assertion in the question that semi-

diurnal or mixed semi-diurnal tide is unique at a

single place in India is factually incorrect. Most of

the places on the Indian Coast line experience

semi-diurnal or mixed semi-diurnal coastline.

(iii) The evidences clearly prove that sea water recedes

twice a day for kilometres and people can walk on

the sea floor at both Bhavanagar and Chandipur.

24

Hence, the answer to this question can be both

option (a) and option (c)

Q4. For

election to the

Lok Sabha, a

nomination

paper can be

filed by:

a) Anyone

residing

in India.

b) A

resident

of the

constitue

ncy from

which the

election

is to be

contested

.

c) Any

citizen of

In this question, none of the answers are correct.

Answer (a) is clearly not correct because a foreign

citizen residing in India cannot file nomination.

Answer (b) is not correct because candidates’

domicile/residence is immaterial for him to file

nomination from a constituency. Present Prime Minister

Hon. Mr Narendra Modi filed nomination, and is elected,

from the Constituency of Varanasi, UP, even when His

Honour has never been a resident there.

Answer (c) is not correct because not “Any citizen “of

India can file nomination. Age requirement is to be met,

i.e. she/he needs to be 25 years or above.

Answer (d) is not correct for the same reasons as

answer (c).

25

India

whose

name

appears

in the

electoral

roll of a

constitue

ncy.

d) Any

citizen of

India.

UPSC has no Grievance Redressal Mechanism

4. Among others, petitioner nos. 1-9, 11, 14, 15, and 18 made

representations to UPSC in respect of the questions and answers.

These representations are at (True copy of the Email

representations from Petitioners no. 1-9, 11, 14, 15, and 18 made

to UPSC, dated 2017, Annexure P-18, pp.102-116). UPSC has

given identical replies to all such representations. One such

identical reply received by petitioner no.3 is asunder:

“I am directed to refer to your email dated the 8th August

2017 on the above cited subject and to say that the

26

Questions and the corresponding Answer Keys of the Civil

Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2017 were prepared by

the different panels of experts. Subsequently, different sets

of experts reviewed the questions and the corresponding

answer keys on completion of examination.”

5. Fact is that UPSC has no Grievance Redressal Cell. The

abovementioned responses are a novelty, produced by the

reception desk at the Head Office in Delhi, as per institutional

instructions.

6. UPSC is responsible for conducting selection process for several

Class A Government posts, e.g. Indian Administrative

Service(IAS), National Defence Academy(NDA), Combined Defence

Services(CDS), Indian Engineering Services(IES), etc.

7. Roughly 30 lakh candidates appear yearly for various exam

conducted by UPSC. There is single feedback email namely

“[email protected]” and 4 Facilitation Counter Phone

Numbers (011-23098543 / 23385271 / 23381125 / 23098591).

Perhaps this is a ‘Grievance Redressal Cell’ as per UPSC. Petitioner

is confident that aforesaid gospel truth replies, redundant as they

are, are generated as saving grace by the UPSC after the issue

was raised in the said WP(C) 564/2017. It is unlikely that the

UPSC has ever responded to any student before WP(C) 564 of

2017 was filed.

27

UPSC Errors in the Past

8. In Writ Petition (Civil) 564 of 2017, which dealt with the same

issue, UPSC has replied on dated 31.7.2017 asunder:

“All the questions in both the papers were duly verified,

validated, and re-validated by panels of eminent subject

experts. The questions in both the papers are not ambiguous

and are capable of having only one answer.”

9. This is the stock argument of UPSC. If this is to be accepted, it

means that UPSC declares itself an authority beyond criticism.

Almost every year UPSC has made some inadvertent error in the

examination process — from wrong questions, to ambiguous

questions, to wrong answer keys, wrong Hindi/English translation of

questions, etc. The above table explains 4 problem questions from

2017 Examinations; below table explains 2 problem questions from

2016 and 2011 Examinations, as an example:

Civil Service

Preliminary

Examination 2016

(True copy of the

Question No.8, Set

A of Civil Services

Preliminary

As per the UPSC answer Key the correct answer is

option (c) which is incorrect. (True copy of the

Official Answer Key of Civil Services Preliminary

Examination 2016, dated 2016, Annexure P-20,

pp.118-119)

Statement 1 is wrong which UPSC has considered as

right.

28

Examination 2016.,

dated 2016, Set A,

Annexure P-19,

p.117):

Q8. With reference

to 'IFC Masala

Bonds', sometimes

seen in the news,

which of the

statements given

below is/are

correct?

1. The International

Finance

Corporation,

which offers

these bonds, is

an arm of the

World Bank.

2. They are the

rupee-

denominated

bonds and are a

UPSC has considered International Finance

Corporation as an arm of “World Bank” but in fact

International Finance Corporation(IFC) is part of the

“WORLD BANK GROUP”. “World Bank” and “World

Bank Group” are not identical. “World Bank” consists

of following two institutions only:

1. International Bank for Reconstruction and

Development(IBRD)

2. International development Association (IDA)

While “World Bank Group” Consists of following 5

institutions:

1. International Bank for Reconstruction and

Development(IBRD)

2. International development Association (IDA)

3. International Financial Corporation(IFC)

4. Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency(MIGA)

5. International Centre for Settlement of Investment

Disputes(ICSID)

So International Finance Corporation is not part of

World Bank as it is included in “WORLD BANK

GROUP.” only. This is as per the Official document

29

source of debt

financing for the

public and

private sector

Select the correct

answer using the

code given below.

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and

2

(d) Neither 1

nor 2

from the website of International Finance

Corporation explaining that it is part of World Bank

Group (True copy of the Official document from the

website of International Finance Corporation:

http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/corp_ext_cont

ent/ifc_external_corporate_site/about+ifc_new,

dated 2017, Annexure P-21, p.120), and information

available at the World Bank Official website (True

copy of the World Bank Official website:

http://www.worldbank.org/en/who-we-are, dated

2017, Annexure P-22, pp.121-122)

Civil Services

Preliminary

Examination 2011

(Set A) (True copy

of the Civil Services

Preliminary

Examination 2011

Q.11, Set A., dated

2011, Annexure P-

As per the UPSC Official answer key the correct

answer is option (d) i.e. all the three statements are

correct. (True copy of the Official Answer Key, Civil

Services Preliminary Examination 2011, Set A, dated

2011, Annexure P-24, pp.124-125)

But the correct answer is option (c)

‘District Planning Committees’ is under 74th

Constitutional Amendment Act and nowhere

30

23, p.123)

Q11. The

Constitution

(Seventy-Third

Amendment) Act.

1992, which aims at

promoting the

Panchayati Raj

Institutions in the

country provides for

which of the

following?

1. Constitution of

District Planning

Committees.

2. State Election

Commissions to

conduct all

panchayat

elections.

3. Establishment of

State Finance

mentioned in 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act.

73rd Amendment Act (True copy of the

Constitutional 73rd Amendment Act, dated 2017,


Constitutional 74th Amendment Act provides Article

243ZD for Committee for district planning.

“(1) There shall be constituted in every State at the

district level a District Planning Committee to

consolidate the plans prepared by the Panchayats

and the Municipalities in the district and to prepare

a draft development plan for the district as a

whole.

(2) The Legislature of a State may, by law, make

provision with respect to- (a) the composition of

the District Planning Committees; (b) the manner

in which the seats in such Committees shall be

filled” (True copy of the Constitutional 74th

Amendment Act, dated 2017, Annexure P-26,

pp.145-166)

31

Commissions.

Select the correct

answer using the

codes given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 2

only

(c) 2 and 3

only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

10. In the continuation of the above examples, in UPSC Mains

Examination 2016 the topic for essay writing was — ‘If

development is not engendered, it is endangered’. This was

ambiguous. The word ‘engendered’ could mean, one, ‘inclusive of

all genders’, or two, ‘to give rise to something ‘. UPSC paid no

heed to the grievances of the students, until a Member of

Parliament, Dr Shahi Tharoor (True copy of the Letter from UPSC

to Mr. Shashi Tharoor for UPSC CS Mains Essay 2016, dated 2016,

Annexure P-27, pp.167-168) wrote to UPSC on the request of the

students. It was this letter and intense public embarrassment that

32

forced UPSC to admit its mistake, and assess students writing

essays with either interpretation of the topic.

Case Law on the Issue

11. Kanpur University v. Samir Gupta, (1983) 4 SCC 309, held:

“15. The findings of the High Court raise a question of great

importance to the student community. Normally, one would

be inclined to the view, especially if one has been a paper

setter and an examiner, that the key answer furnished by the

paper setter and accepted by the University as correct, should

not be allowed to be challenged. One way of achieving it is

not to publish the key answer at all. If the University had not

published the key answer along with the result of the test, no

controversy would have arisen in this case. But that is not a

correct way of looking at these matters which involve the

future of hundreds of students who are aspirants for

admission to professional courses. If the key answer were

kept secret in this case, the remedy would have been worse

than the disease because, so many students would have had

to suffer the injustice in silence...”

12. UPSC and other State Public Service Commissions have similar

status and mandate under Article 320(1) of the constitution of

India. If other State public service commissions are releasing the

answer key before Mains examination and are inviting objections

33

for the answer key, what stops UPSC from following the same

procedure? At (True copy of the Compilation of Notices,

Advertisements released from various State Public Service

Commissions regarding Objections over Answer keys and Revised

Answer Key release subsequently, dated 2017, Annexure P-28,

pp.169-175), is the evidences of state public service commission

inviting the objections for the released answer key. Inviting

Objections for the answer key and releasing the answer key

before Mains examination will only ensure that no one will file

frivolous litigation. In the absence of such a mechanism and in

case of a genuine objection, one has to unnecessarily spend time

and resources on litigation. Transparency and Accountability are

fundamental to governance of any institution and especially to a

constitutional body like UPSC. It is considered to be the watchdog

of merit system and it should be a prime example of instilling

public faith in recruitment. Ignoring to resolve the issue at a very

early stage will only create unnecessary doubts on the

transparency and accountability of the process. Grievance

redressal is key factor in effective, efficient and speedy

governance. Not acknowledging grievances will invite litigations

and delay the governance. Following the procedure to release

answer key immediately after preliminary examination and inviting

objections for the answer key will ensure both transparency and

accountability in the process. Most importantly, it will create less

34

opportunities for litigations. It will save the time and resources of

the candidates, UPSC and this Hon’ble Court.

13. In Rajesh Kumar vs. State of Bihar (2013) 4 SCC 690 held:

“2. Application of an erroneous "Model Answer Key" for

evaluation of answer scripts of candidates appearing in a

competitive examination is bound to lead to erroneous results

and an equally erroneous inter-se merit list of such candidates…

5. In the writ petition filed by the aggrieved candidates, a Single

Judge of the High Court referred the "Model Answer Key" to

experts. The model answers were examined by two experts, Dr.

(Prof.) C.N. Sinha, and Prof. KSP Singh, associated with NIT,

Patna, who found several such answers to be wrong. In

addition, two questions were also found to be wrong while two

others were found to have been repeated. Question No. 100

was also found to be defective as the choices in the answer key

were printed but only partially… 15. The writ petitioners, it is

evident, on a plain reading of the writ petition questioned not

only the process of evaluation of the answer scripts by the

Commission but specifically averred that the “model answer

key” which formed the basis for such evaluation was erroneous.

One of the questions that, therefore, fell for consideration by

the High Court directly was whether the “model answer key”

was correct. The High Court had aptly referred that question to

experts in the field who, as already noticed above, found the

35

“model answer key” to be erroneous in regard to as many as 45

questions outof a total of 100 questions contained in ‘A’ series

question paper. Other errors were also found to which we have

referred earlier. If the key which was used for evaluating the

answer sheets was itself defective the result prepared on the

basis of the same could be no different. The Division Bench of

the High Court was, therefore, perfectly justified in holding that

the result of the examination insofar as the same pertained to

‘A’ series question paper was vitiated. This was bound to affect

the result of the entire examination qua every candidate

whether or not he was a party to the proceedings. It also goes

without saying that if the result was vitiated by the application

of a wrong key, any appointment made on the basis thereof

would also be rendered unsustainable… 19. The submissions

made by Mr Rao are not without merit. Given the nature of the

defect in the answer key the most natural and logical way of

correcting the evaluation of the scripts was to correct the key

and get the answer scripts re-evaluated on the basis thereof.

There was, in the circumstances, no compelling reason for

directing a fresh examination to be held by the Commission

especially when there was no allegation about any malpractice,

fraud or corrupt motives that could possibly vitiate the earlier

examination to call for a fresh attempt by all concerned. The

process of re-evaluation of the answer scripts with reference to

the correct key will in addition be less expensive apart from

36

being quicker. The process would also not give any unfair

advantage to anyone of the candidates on account of the time

lag between the examination earlier held and the one that may

have been held pursuant to the direction of the High Court.

Suffice it to say that the re-evaluation was and is a better

option, in the facts and circumstances of the case… 20. That

brings us to the submission by Mr Rao that while re-evaluation

is a good option not only to do justice to those who may have

suffered on account of an erroneous key being applied to the

process but also to the writ petitioners, Respondents 6 to 18 in

the matter of allocating to them their rightful place in the merit

list. Such evaluation need not necessarily result in the ouster of

the appellants should they be found to fall below the “cut-off”

mark in the merit list… 21. There is considerable merit in the

submission of Mr Rao. It goes without saying that the appellants

were innocent parties who have not, in any manner, contributed

to the preparation of the erroneous key or the distorted result.

There is no mention of any fraud or malpractice against the

appellants who have served the State for nearly seven years

now. In the circumstances, while inter se merit position may be

relevant for the appellants, the ouster of the latter need not be

an inevitable and inexorable consequence of such a re-

evaluation. The re-evaluation process may additionally benefit

those who have lost the hope of an appointment on the basis of

a wrong key applied for evaluating the answer scripts. Such of

37

those candidates as may be ultimately found to be entitled to

issue of appointment letters on the basis of their merit shall

benefit by such re-evaluation and shall pick up their

appointments on that basis according to their inter se position

on the merit list.”

14. Vikas Pratap Singh vs. State of Chhattisgarh (2013) 14 SCC 494

held:

“4. In the meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police and the

respondent Board received complaints in respect of

defects/mistakes in several questions of the main examination

papers. The respondent Board constituted an expert

committee to inquire into the complaints. Upon examination

of the two papers, two sets of defects were noticed: (a) eight

questions in paper II itself were incorrect; and (b) model

answers for evaluation of answer scripts to another eight

questions of paper II were incorrect. The respondent Board

directed for deletion of the first set of 8 questions in paper II

and preparation of correct model answers key for objective

questions in paper I and II and accordingly carried out

revaluation of answer scripts of the candidates. On 27-6-2009

a new revised merit list was published wherein the names of

twenty-six appellants did not figure at all and accordingly, the

appointment of the appellants were cancelled by the

respondent State.”

38

15. In Kanpur University v. Samir Gupta, (1983) 4 SCC 309 held:

“18. In a system of 'Multiple Choice Objective-type test', care

must be taken to see that questions having an ambiguous

import are not set in the papers. That kind of system of

examination involves merely the tick-marking of the correct

answer. It leaves no scope for reasoning or argument. The

answer is 'yes' or 'no'. That is why the questions have to be

clear and unequivocal. Lastly, if the attention of the University

is drawn to any defect in a key answer or any ambiguity in a

question set in the examination, prompt and timely decision

must be taken by the University to declare that the suspect

question will be excluded from the paper and no marks

assigned to it.”

16. Nafis Nawaz Khan and Ors. v. State of Bihar (2015) SCC OnLine

Pat 7219, held:

“36. In our considered view, the learned Single Judge has

rightly held that in a situation such as the present one,

wrongly framed questions should be deleted and the answer

sheets should be re-evaluated on the basis of remaining

questions. The view, taken by learned Single Judge, is not

only reasonable and rational view, it also ensures fair and

equal treatment to all candidates, who participate in such a

test, there being no disadvantage to any individual or undue

39

advantage to the other. We do not find any infirmity in the

order under appeal passed by learned Single Judge… 39.

Keeping in mind that there has been numerous instances,

where the questions have been found to be incorrect, giving

rise to several litigations, we are compelled to issue general

directions to the such statutory bodies or other agencies

holding tests based on multiple-choice questions for the

purpose of appointment to various posts under the State

within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India

or for the purpose of admission to various institutions

managed or controlled by the State… 40. Having considered

the matters in its entirety and in the interest of justice, we,

therefore, direct as follows: (a) Immediately after a multiple-

choice question test is held, it shall be obligatory for the

Committee or the Body, which conducts such a test, to

undertake an exercise, before evaluating the answer-sheets,

to ascertain whether the questions were correctly framed

having definite answers. In case any objections are invited

from the candidates and such objections are received, they

must be looked into by a body of the experts, who would not

only be required to ascertain whether the questions were

correctly framed or not, but they would also be required to

examine as to whether the model answers, prepared by the

question-setter, are correct or not, for the purpose of correct

40

evaluation of answer-sheets; (b) If the structure of a question

is found to be incorrect or if the option suggested is found to

be incorrect or if there is any printing mistake of such a

nature that the correct answer cannot be ascertained or more

than one option is found to be correct, such a question must

be rejected and should not be allowed to be evaluated; (c) If,

after publication of result, despite due care, it is found that

the model key answer/answers suggested was/were

incorrect, leading to wrong evaluation, remedial measures

must be taken and answer-sheets must be revaluated with

correct model answers."

17. In Manish Ujwal and Ors. Vs. Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati

University and Ors., (2005) 13 SCC 744, held:

“9. The High Court has committed a serious illegality in

coming to the conclusion that "it cannot be said with certainty

that answers to six questions given in the key answers were

erroneous and incorrect". As already noticed, the key answers

are palpably and demonstrably erroneous. In that view of the

matter, the student community, whether the appellants or

interveners or even those who did not approach the High

Court or this Court, cannot be made to suffer on account of

errors committed by the University. For the present, we say

no more because there is nothing on record as to how this

41

error crept up in giving the erroneous key answers and who

was negligent. At the same time, however, it is necessary to

note that the University and those who prepare the key

answers have to be very careful and abundant caution is

necessary in these matters for more than one reasons. We

mention few of those; first and paramount reason being the

welfare of the student and a wrong key answer can result in

the merit being made a casualty. One can well understand

the predicament of a young student at the threshold of his or

her career if despite giving correct answer, the student

suffers as a result of wrong and demonstrably erroneous key

answer; the second reason is that the courts are slow in

interfering in education matters which, in turn, casts a higher

responsibility on the University while preparing the key

answers; and thirdly, in cases of doubt, benefit goes in favour

of the University and not in favour of the students. If this

attitude of casual approach in providing key answer is

adopted by concerned persons, directions may have to be

issued for taking appropriate action, including the disciplinary

action, against those responsible for wrong and demonstrably

erroneous key answers but we refrain from issuing such

directions in the present case.”

18. In Pankaj vs State of Jammu and Kashmir & Ors (2008) 4 SCC 273

the Hon’ble Supreme court held:

42

“8. The learned Single Judge considered the rival contentions

of the parties, perused the relevant record and the affidavit

filed on behalf of the Commission as well as two separate

affidavits filed by two Members of the Commission who

dissented in the final process undertaken by the Commission

and issued following directions: "For the reasons stated above

and in the facts and circumstances of the case, I allow all the

writ petitions and direct the Public Service Commission as

follows: (a) To delete the following questions of each paper of

"A" series and their corresponding questions in "B", "C" and

"D" series and distribute their marks pro-rata to remaining

questions of the papers: (i) to (xi); (b) To separately redraw

the merit of all the unselected candidates for the Main

Examination in respect of compulsory paper of General

Studies; (c) To redraw the merit of all the unselected

candidates for the Main Examination as per direction (a) in

respect of said ten optional subjects; (d) To separately

redraw a combined merit list of such candidates who have

appeared in the compulsory paper of General Studies and

optional subject-papers, as mentioned in direction (a); (e)

Also, to redraw a combined merit of compulsory paper of

General Studies and optional papers of those candidates, in

whose optional subject-papers there was no discrepancy, i.e.,

12 remaining optional subjects, which include the subject-

43

papers of Animal Husbandry, Botany, Indian History and

Physics, and who have not been short-listed; (f) To conduct

the special Main Examination of all such candidates, whose

such combined redrawn merit is equal to or more than the

merit of last short-listed candidate, in accordance with the

procedure prescribed by the Examination Rules; (g) To

complete the whole exercise within a period of six weeks; (h)

To pay an amount of rupees one lac and thirty thousand as

costs to the writ petitioners, at the rate of rupees ten

thousands in each writ petition, to be shared by them

equally...".

19. In Mrunal Patel Case, 2013 SCC Online CIC 3512 it was held:

“5. We have carefully considered facts of the case. If there is

nothing like any model answer paper in material form, we

cannot obviously compel the CPIO to produce one. However,

in regard to the answer keys for the Preliminary Examination

2011 and 2012, we would tend to allow the disclosure of this

information because, in our opinion, this examination has no

bearing on the entire Civil Services Examination process being

of a qualifying nature. The marks obtained by a candidate in

this examination are not added to the marks in the

succeeding stages of the examination to determine the status

of the candidate. Therefore, it is entirely a standalone

44

examination. In the light of this, we direct the CPIO to

provide the answer keys for the Preliminary Examination 2011

and 2012 to the Appellant within 10 working days of receiving

this order.”

20. In Abhijit Sen & Ors. v. State of UP & Ors., (1984) 2 SCC 319

held:

“4. It is a case of a tricky question being set by the paper

setter where one of the essential aspects namely the range

has not been indicated anywhere in the question. The

appellant ticked Alternative No. 4 as being the correct answer

to the question...”

Petitioners’ Solution

21. In the circumstances, any apprehension that this petition is likely

to affect adversely those finding themselves through to the merit

exam is misplaced. The only effect that this petition will have is

that an additional number of students who have been wrongly

excluded on account of the faulty questions and answers will be

allowed to participate in the main exams to be held from

28.10.2017. It is not the intention of the petitioners to delay or

stall the examination.

22. In the alternative, it is prayed in this petition that once it is

decided that a certain number of students have been wrongly

45

excluded, that they be permitted to attempt the preliminary

examination in the next year i.e. in June 2018 and that the

present unsuccessful attempt not be counted towards the total

permissible attempts limit.

23. Hence, this petition is being filed on the main ground that the

petitioners should not be made to suffer on account of a mistake

made by the UPSC. That UPSC is bound to make a disclosure of

the answer key and justify the questions and answers said by

UPSC to be correct. Once it is determined by this Court that UPSC

has, indeed, made mistakes, this Court may pass appropriate

orders rectifying the mistakes. UPSC owes it to the students to be

fair and transparent. In writ petition 564 of 2017 which was

dismissed by the Supreme Court (True copy of the order of in Writ

Petition 564 of 2017 which was dismissed by the Supreme Court,

dated 2017, Annexure P-29, pp.176-177) the UPSC neither

disclosed the answer key nor the position of the student in the

merit list. The UPSC blocked the consideration of the case on

merits by adopting a non-transparent stand and by stating that

the petitioner in that case had not made a representation against

the questions and answers. In the present instance, the students

have made such a representation. To the grievances raised by the

students UPSC has responded in the most mechanical manner.

(True copy of the email replies from the UPSC in response to

46

representation email sent by petitioners, dated 2017, Annexure P-

30, pp.178-183.)

24. UPSC, a constitutional body under Article 320, is entrusted with

conducting free and fair examination for the selection to various

services. Here, UPSC has failed to do the same, violating

fundamental rights of petitioners inter alia, Article 14 and 16(c).

25. No other petition seeking similar relief has been filed by the

petitioners in this Hon. Court or any other Court of law.

Prayer

26. It is, therefore, prayed that Your Lordships may be pleased to:

a) issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order

or direction to the UPSC to disclose the answer key as well as

the standing of the petitioners in the merit list with the

answers given by them to the questions in the preliminary

exam;

b) issue an order directing the formation of an Independent

Expert Committee appointed by this court to make a report to

this Court, should Your Lordships, prima facie come to the

conclusion that the petitioners are right in their contention

that the questions/answers were ambiguous or structured

wrongly and that the key to the correct answers was wrong

47

or that the questions corresponded to two answers both of

them correct;

c) issue an order directing UPSC that the concerned students be

allowed to participate in the main exams scheduled for 28

October 2017, if the Expert Committee gives an opinion partly

or wholly in favour of the petitioners; and

d) any other relief deemed fit and proper in the circumstance of

the present case.

Drawn by: CHOUDHARY Ali Zia Kabir, Adv. Filed by:

Drawn on: ___.9.2017

Filed on: (Satya Mitra)

Advocate for the Petitioner

48





In the matter of:

Vishal Rathi & Ors. …Petitioner

Versus

Union Public Service Commission …Respondent

Affidavit

I, Vishal Rathi S/o Gurumel Singh Rathi, age about 29 years, R/o

House No. 960 Village Bhopa, Post Bhopa, Uttar Pradesh 251308,

presently at Delhi, do, hereby, solemnly affirm and declare as under:

1. That I am the petitioner no.1 in the above captioned petition and

accompanying applications, and am well conversant with the facts

and circumstances of this case, hence, competent to swear this

affidavit. Contents of the petition and accompanying applications

are not repeated herein for the sake of brevity but the same be

read as part and parcel of this petition.

2. I have read the contents of the synopsis and list of dates on pages

B to _____, as well as the contents of the petition from paragraph 1

to _____ at page nos. _____ to _____ and accompanying

49

applications as shown and explained to me, and I say that I have

understood the contents thereof, which are true and correct to the

best of my knowledge and belief.

3. The annexures to the petition/applications are true and correct

copies of the respective originals.

Deponent

Verified at Delhi on this the _____ day of September 2017 that the

contents of the above affidavit are true and correct to my knowledge

and belief.

Deponent

50

Appendix

The Constitution of India, 1949

Article 14 Equality before law: The State shall not deny to any person

equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the

territory of India.

(True Copy)

51

Annexure P-1

NCERT 9th Class (Democratic Politics), Chapter 6: Democratic Rights

(Page 109), dated 2017

...victims and punishment to the violators. We have already seen in

Chapter Five that the judiciary in our country is independent of the

government and the parliament. We also noted that our judiciary is

very powerful and can do whatever is needed to protect the rights of

the citizens.

In case of any violation of a Fundamental Right the aggrieved person

can go to a court for remedy. But now, any person can go to court

against the violation of the Fundamental Right, if it is of social or public

interest. It is called Public Interest Litigation (PIL). Under the PIL any

citizen or group of citizens can approach the Supreme Court or a High

Court for the protection of public interest against a particular law or

action of the government. One can write to the judges even on a

postcard. The court will take up the matter if the judges find it in

public interest.

Activity

Is there a State Human Rights Commission in your state? Find out

about its activities.

Write a petition to the NHRC if you know any instances of human

rights violation in your area

52

Expanding Scope of Rights

We began this chapter by discussing the significance of rights. In much

of the chapter we have focused only on Fundamental Rights in the

Constitution. You might think that Fundamental Rights granted by the

Constitution are the only rights citizen have. This is not true. While

Fundamental Rights are the source of all rights, our Constitution and

law offers a wider range of rights. Over the years, the scope of rights

has expanded.

Sometimes it leads to expansion in the legal rights that the citizen can

enjoy. From time to time, the courts gave judgments to expand the

scope of rights. Certain rights like right to freedom of press, right to

information, and right to education are derived from the Fundamental

Rights. Now school education has become a right for Indian citizens.

The governments are responsible for providing free and compulsory

education to all children up to the age of 14 years. Parliament has

enacted a law giving the right to information to the citizens. This Act

was made under the Fundamental Right to freedom of thought and

expression. We have a right to seek information from government

offices. Recently the Supreme Court has expanded the meaning of the

right to life to include the right to food. Also, rights are not limited only

to Fundamental Rights as enumerated in the Constitution. Constitution

provides many more rights, which may not be Fundamental Rights. For

example, the right to property is not a Fundamental Right but it is a

53

constitutional right. Right to vote in elections is an important

constitutional right.

Sometimes the expansion takes place in what is called human rights.

These are universal moral clams that may or may not have been

recognised by law. In that sense, these claims are not rights going by

the definition that we presented earlier. With the expansion of

democracy all over the world, there is greater pressure on

governments to accept these claims...

(True Copy)

54

Annexure P-2

New NCERT, 11th Class (Introduction to Indian Constitution), Page 66-

67, dated 2017

Chapter3: Election and Representation (Page 66-67)

Check your progress

The proportion of Muslims in the population of India is about 13.5 per

cent. But the number of Muslim MPs in the Lok Sabha has usually been

less than 6 per cent. less than half of their share in population. A

similar situation prevails in most State Assemblies. Three students

drew different conclusions from this fact. Write down whether and why

you agree or disagree with each of them.

Hilal: This demonstrates the unfairness of the FPTP system. We should

have opted for PR system.

Arif: This shows the wisdom of granting reservations to SC and ST.

What is needed is a reservation of seats for Muslims on the same lines

as for SC and ST.

Saba: There is no point in talking about Muslims as a whole. Muslim

women are not going to get any share in any of these systems. We

need a separate quota for Muslim women.

Universal franchise and right to contest

55

Apart from laying down a method of elections, the Constitution

answers two basic questions about elections: Who are the voters? Who

can contest elections? In both these respects our Constitution follows

the well established democratic practices.

You already know that democratic elections require that all adult

citizens of the country must be eligible to vote in the elections. This is

known as universal adult franchise. In many countries, citizens had to

fight long battles with the rulers to get this right. In many countries.

women could get this right very late and only after struggle. One of

the important decisions of the framers of the Indian Constitution was

to guarantee every adult citizen in India, the right to vote.

Till 1989, an adult Indian meant an Indian citizen above the age of 21.

An amendment to the Constitution in 1989 reduced the eligibility age

to 18. Adult franchise ensures that all citizens are able to participate in

the process of selecting their representative. This is consistent with the

principle of equality and non-discrimination that we studied in the

chapter on rights. Many people thought and many think so today that

giving the right to vote to everyone irrespective of educational

qualification was not right. But our Constitution makers had a firm

belief in the ability and worth of all adult citizens as equals in the

matter of deciding what is good for the society, the country and for

their own constituencies. What is true of the right to vote is also true

of right to contest election. All citizens have the right to stand for

56

election and become the representative of the people. However. there

are different minimum age requirements for contesting elections. For

example. In order to stand for Lok Sabha or Assembly election, a

candidate must be at least 25 years old. There are some other

restrictions also. For instance. there is a legal provision that a person

who has undergone imprisonment for two or more years for some

offence is disqualified from contesting elections. But there are no

restrictions of income, education or class or gender on the right to

contest elections. In this sense. our system of election is open to all

citizens.

Independent Election Commission

Several efforts have been made in India to ensure the free and fair

election system and process. The most important among these is the

Why is universal adult franchise compared to an elephant? Is it

unmanageable? Or is it like the story in which everyone describes the

elephant only by its part...

(True Copy)

57

Annexure P-3

Oxford Handbook on Indian Constitution, by Sujit Choudhry, Oxford

University Press, 2016, page 88

After all, India’s status as an inclusive, participatory democracy forms

part of the basic scheme of the Constitution, and it is questionable

whether excluding a large class of people from the vote is consistent

with that scheme.

The next electoral case was Lily Thomas v Union of India, in which a

two-judge bench interpreted constitutional provisions concerning the

disqualifications for membership of Parliament and the State

legislatures. Section 8(4) of the RPA gives sitting legislators a period of

three months before disqualification operates, enabling them to appeal

against their conviction. This statutory provision was challenged on the

basis that it contravened Articles 102(1) and 191(1), dealing with the

disqualifications for membership of Parliament and the State

legislatures. Patnaik J adopted a highly textualist reading of the

provisions, stating that their language made it clear that the

disqualifications for sitting legislators and those who planned to

contest elections had to be coextensive.

At issue before a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court in the third

electoral case was whether the rules governing the casting of ‘none-of-

the-above’ votes, which in effect denied such votes of the benefit of

secret ballot, violated the freedom of speech and expression.

58

Sathasivam CJ’s opinion was replete with references to the structure

and scheme of the Constitution, of which free and fair elections is a

cornerstone. He struck down the relevant rules on the basis that the

right to cast a ‘none-of-the-above’ vote—which he mistakenly equated

with a negative vote —was an essential part of the right to expression

of a voter in a parliamentary democracy, which had to be recognised

and given effect in the same manner as the right to cast a regular

vote.

These three decisions produced an internally inconsistent and

confusing electoral jurisprudence.

On the one hand, the right to vote is a statutory privilege, which can

be given and taken away by ordinary legislative majorities. On the

other hand, the right to secrecy in voting and the right to cast a

negative vote are treated as fundamental rights based on the structure

of the Constitution, and are immune from the ordinary political

process. Franchise can be denied to a large section of society (as per

Jan Chaukidar), electoral disqualifications can be imposed liberally—

albeit uniformly (as per Lily Thomas)—but those who have the vote

must be able to cast an anonymous negative vote (People’s Union for

Civil Liberties).

In each of the three electoral cases, the Supreme Court ascribed a

very specific role to itself—that of an institution which was entrusted

59

with ‘cleaning’ the political process. This emerges quite clearly from the

following observations:

For democracy to survive, it is essential that the best available men

should be chosen as people’s representatives for proper governance of

the country. This can be best achieved through men of high moral and

ethical values, who win the elections on a positive vote. Thus, in a

vibrant democracy, the voter must be given an opportunity to choose

none of the above (NOTA) button, which will indeed compel the

political parties to nominate a sound candidate. This situation palpably

tells us the dire need of negative voting. So, in order to fit into their

version of the Court’s decision-making role, three benches of the

Supreme Court relied on different interpretive approaches (in two

cases, textualism and in the third, structuralism) and produced

doctrinally inconsistent jurisprudence. Sophisticated reasoning about

the rights issues at stake before the Court, including whether it was

proportionate to deny the vote to all prisoners or permissible to

distinguish between sitting parliamentarians and future

parliamentarians, became the unfortunate casualty of the Court’s self-

conception.

Two judgments delivered by two-judge benches of the Supreme Court

on the rights of sexual...

(True Copy)

60

Annexure P-4

National Institute of Open Schooling book: Ancient India, Course Code

315, Module-1 Lesson-3: Harappan Civilization, page 37, dated 2017

...animals there is no representation of horse on these. It has led many

scholars to argue that horse was not known to the Harappan people

though there are others who do not accept this argument. Besides

various kinds of animals, the Harappan seals contain some signs in the

Harappan script which however has not been deciphered so far. The

most famous of the seals is the one with a horned male deity

represented on it. He has three heads and is sitting in a yogic posture

surrounded by four animals viz elephant, tiger, rhinoceros and a

buffalo. He has been identified by many scholars with the ancient form

of the god Pashupati (Lord of beasts) though there are others who

dispute this identification.

(True Copy)

61

Annexure P-5

A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India From the Stone Age to

the 12th Century, Print 2015 (Page 157-158)

...Given the area covered by the civilization, naturally there were

regional variations in the plants grown by farmers. Wheat has been

found at Mohenjodaro and Harappa; barley at Mohenjodaro, Harappa,

and Kalibangan; and sesamum at Harappa. Harappa has also given

evidence of watermelon seeds, peas, and dates. Rice occurs at

Harappa, Kalibangan, Lothal, and Rangpur. Millets have been identified

at Harappa, Surkotada, and Shortughai. Grapes were known, so was

henna (mehendi). Cotton may also have been grown. Detailed

evidence of the plant economy of the early and mature Harappan

phase is available from Balu (in Haryana) (Saraswat and Pokharia,

2001-02). The crop remains identified here included various types of

barley wheat, rice, horse gram green gram, chickpea, field pea, grass

pea, sesamum, melon, watermelon, date, grapes, and the earliest

evidence of garlic. Apart from the wide range of cereals, pulses,

vegetables, and fruits gown by the Harappans, another striking point is

the similarity of the past and present plant economies in the various

regions.

Modern cropping practices provide some clues to protohistoric

patterns. Today, in Sindh, rainfall levels are low, but the Indus brings

down flood waters and silt. The fertile land requires no deep

62

ploughing, irrigation or manuring. Sesamum and cotton were probably

sown in June/July and reaped 'September/October, as kharif (summer)

crops. Crops such as wheat and barley would have been own in

November and reaped in March/April as rabi (winter) crops. In Gujarat,

rice is a kharif crop, and it must have been so in Harappan times as

well. Reference has already been made to the discovery of a ploughed

field at early Harappan levels at Kalibangan. The continuing use of the

plough into the mature Harappan phase can be inferred. Terracotta

models of ploughs at Bahawalpur and Banawali give further evidence

of the use of this implement. The fact that no actual ploughs have

survived is no doubt because they were made of wood.

Farmers must have built bunds (embankments) of mud or stone to

divert river water, as they do today in areas like Baluchistan Irrigation

canals have been found at Shortughai. Fairservis suggested that a well

and associated drains at Allahdino may represent an irrigation system,

but the evidence is from conclusive. Similarly, Leshnik's hypothesis that

the dockyard at Lothal is actually an irrigation reservoir is not

convincing. Even if the Harappans did dig canals in the alluvial plains,

itwould be very difficult to identify them. However. H. P. Francfort

(1992) has identified remains of a 11-scale canal network in the

Haryana area, and some of the ancient canals traced in the Ghaggar-a

plain may belong to the Harappan phase.

63

Bones of wild animals have been found at Harappan sites. These

include many varieties of deer, pig boar, sheep, goat, ass (?), and pig.

Bones of tortoise and fish have also been found. Rhinoceros bones

occur only at Amri. Although this animal is depicted on numerous seals

and in terracotta figurines. Elephant and camel bones occur in very

small quantities, although the elephant appears on seals. Tigers are

represented often in figurines, leopards more rarely. Rabbits,

peacocks, pigeons, ducks. monkeys. and wild fowl are represented in

figurines and paintings on pottery. The Harappans exploited riverine

and marine resources where these were available. At coastal sites in

Gujarat. molluscs provided an important protein-rich element in

people's diet. The discovery of marine catfish bones at Harappa

suggests that coastal communities may have traded in dried fish in

inland cities.

Harappan sites have also yielded remains of domesticated animals

such as humped and hump less cattle, buffalo. sheep, and goat. Cattle

and buffaloes were the most important domesticated animals. They

would have been used for meat, milk and also as draught animals.

Goats and sheep could have been used for meat, wool, milk and as

pack animals (they are still used to carry loads of salt and grain in

some of the Himalayan stretches). Dog figurines suggest the

domestication of this animal.

64

The issue of the horse is controversial and hinges on the stratigraphic

context in which the remains have been found and the identification of

the species they belong to. For instance, it is not easy to ascertain

whether the bones in question belong to the half-ass

(Equushemionuskhur) or domesticated horse (Equuscaballus). Horse

remains have been reported at Harappa. Lothal, Surkotada, Kuntasi,

and Kalibangan, and at superficial levels at Mohenjodaro. Sandor

Bokonyi(1997) examined the equid bone samples from Surkotada and

concluded that at least six of them probably belonged to the true

horse. His conclusions were challenged by Meadow and Patel (1997).

Brigadier Ross (1946) reported horse teeth at pre-Harappan levels at

Rana Ghundai, but this 'identification was questioned by Zeuner

(1963). While horse bones may not be completely absent at Harappan

sites. They are not prolific either.

New Directions In Animal bones at Shikarpur

Shikarpur is a Harappan site in Kutch district in Gujarat. excavated by

the Gujarat State Department of Archaeology in 1987-90. The

excavation was a small one. It revealed an over 3 m thick deposit, of

which the lower layers (layers 10-19) represent an early Harappan

phase and the upper layers (layers 1-9) the mature Harappan phase.

The animal remains found at the site were sent to the Archaeozoology

Laboratory at Deccan College. Pune. The preliminary results of the

detailed investigations by P. K. Thomas, P. P. Joglekar, Arati

65

Deshpande-Mukherjee, and S. J. Pawankar have given important

information about the subsistence patterns of the Harappans in Gujarat

A total of 15.483 pieces of bone were unearthed in the excavations. It

was possible to identify 53.46 per cent of them i.e. 8,267 fragments.

There were cut marks and signs of charring on some of the bones.

indicating slaughtering and cooking. The faunal assemblage consisted

of 47 species-23 mammals, 3 birds, 2 reptiles, 5 fish, 13 molluscs, and

1 crustacea. The wild animals included wild buffalo, nilgai, chowsingha,

blackbuck gazelle, various kinds of deer, wild pig, wild ass, Jackal,

hare, and rhinoceros. The domesticated animals included cattle,

buffalo, sheep/goat, Horse, pig, and dog.

The bones of domesticated animals comprised over 85 per cent of the

total faunal assemblage in both the early and mature Harappan

phases. Cattle bones were most numerous. In the early Harappan

phase 77.48 per cent of the bones were of cattle while in the mature

Harappan phase their percentage was 77.84 per cent. Sheep/goat

bones (it is difficult to distinguish the two) amounted to 11.26 per cent

of the early Harappan phase and were reduced to 4.63 per cent in the

mature Harappan phase. Buffalo bones were 4.28 per cent and 4.61

per cent in the early and mature Harappan phases respectively. Dog

bones were only found in the mature Harappan phase. and that too in

very small quantities (0.116 per cent). Very few horse bones were

66

found (0.13 per cent). and these occur only in the mature Harappan

phase.

The evidence shows that the consumption of meat of domesticated

animals was an important part of the diet of the people of Shilcarpur.

The contribution of wild and aquatic animals varied considerably in

different layers.

The analysis of bones and teeth showed that domesticated animals

were killed at different ages. Most of the cattle and buffaloes lived up

to the age of maturity—about 3 years—and were killed at various ages

up to the age of about 8 years. The fact that some were older than 8

years suggests that they were also valued for secondary products and

used for draught purposes. Sheep/ goats were killed at relatively

younger ages—between 6 months to their respective ages of maturity.

suggesting they were primarily reared for meat.

Towards the end of the mature Harappan phase at Shikarpur. there

seems to have been an increase in the exploitation of wild animals. It

is not clear whether this was the result of a decline in agricultural

production, failure of rains. population pressure. or a combination of

several such factors (Source Thomas et al.. 1995)

Harappan Crafts and Techniques

Earlier writings tended to contrast the plainness of Harappan artefacts

with the opulence of their Egyptian and Mesopotamian counterparts.

67

Nowadays, the technological sophistication and beauty of some of the

Harappan artefacts are recognized. There is a great variety of

standardized, mass-produced craft items at Harappan sites. The artefacts

are far greater in quantity and range, and show greater technical finesse

than those found in earlier cultural phases. While some sites specialized

in the production of a single or a few items, others such as Harappa

manufactured a wide range of goods. Craft activity was often localized in

a certain part of the settlement.Ceramics include all items involving the

heating of clay such as bricks, terracotta, and faience. The Harappan

pottery reflects efficient mass-production. Pottery kilns were found at

Mohenjodaro. Harappa, Nausharo, and Chanhudaro. The pots were fired

in funnel-shaped up-draft closed kilns, although open-firing kilns may also

have been used. There is a great variety of pottery, including black-on-

red, grey. buff and black-and-red wares. Most pots were wheel turned.

Both fine and coarse fabrics occur and their thickness varies. The typical

Harappan pottery is a fine, sturdy, wheel-made ware with a bright red

slip, decorated with painted black designs. Polychrome painting is rare.

The red colour for the slip was made from red ochre (iron oxide, known

as geru), while black was made by combining dark reddish-brown iron

oxide with black manganese. Distinctive shapes include the dish-on-

stand, vase with s-profile, small vessel with knobbed decoration, large

slender-footed bowl, cylindrical perforated jar, and goblet with pointed

foot. The decorative patterns range from simple horizontal lines to

geometric patterns and pictorial motifs. Some of the designs such as fish

scales, pipal leaves. and intersecting circles have their roots in the early

68

Harappan phase. Human figures are rare and crude. At the earliest levels

of Mohenjodaro, a burnished grey ware with a dark purplish slip and

vitreous glaze may represent one of the earliest examples of glazing in

the world. Although there is a certain level of uniformity in pottery styles

and techniques across the Harappan culture zone. there are also

differences between regions...

(True Copy)

69

Annexure P-6

‘Ancient India’, page-74, Makhan Lal, Old NCERT Text Book for Class 11th,

Print 2002

...kodon, sanwa, and jowar were cultivated, as also peas and beans.

Remains of rice have been found mainly from Gujarat and Haryana areas.

Other crops include dates, varieties of legumes, sesame and mustard.

Fragments of cotton cloth found at Mohenjodaro and other sites show that

cotton was also grown. Cotton has been found at Mehrgarh at least 2000

years before the mature phase of the Civilization. This is the oldest evidence

of cotton in the world.

Agriculture was generally practiced along the river banks most of which

were flooded during the summer and monsoons. The flood deposited every

year fresh alluvial silt which is highly productive and for which no major

furrowing and certainly no manures and irrigation are required. The

cultivated field excavated at Kalibangan (period I) shows crisscross furrow-

marks indicating that two crops were grown simultaneously. This method is

followed even today in the Rajasthan, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.

For tilling fields, wooden plough with a copper or wooden ploughshare was

used. Terracotta models of the plough have been found at Mohenjodaro and

Banawali. Harvesting of crops would have been done with copper sickles as

well as stone blades hafted in wood.

The range of animals domesticated by the Harappan people is quite large.

Bones of several animals have been found in excavations. Skeletal remains

include sheep, goat, bull, buffalo, Elephant, camel, pig, dog and cat, which

70

were all domesticated. A large number of animal have been depicted on the

seals. These include sheep, goat, humped bull, buffalo, elephant, etc.

Bones of wild animals like spotted deer, sambhar deer, hog deer, wild

pig, etc. are also found which evidently were hunted for food. Several

types of birds as well as fishes were also hunted for food. The bones of

camels have been found in large number from various sites but the

animal is not depicted on seals. Bones of horses have been reported from

Lothal, Surkotada, Kalibangan and several other sites.

Terracotta figurines of the horse have been found at Nausharo and

Lothal. But no unambiguous depiction of this animal on seal has so far

been found.

Arts

A large variety of objects such as seals, stone statues, terracotta, etc. are

superb examples of art activities. The most outstanding pieces are a yogi

from Mohenjodaro and two small figurines from Harappa. Bronzes are

rare, the most famous being a small female statue of about 11.5 cm. in

height identified as dancing girl, from Mohenjodaro. Significantly, this has

been made by the lost wax method of casting. Daimabad bronze animal

workmanship most probably belong to Harappan period. The red

sandstone torso found at Harappa is made of detachable limbs and head

and the grey stone torso perhaps shows a dancing figure. Both these are

so realistic...

71

(True Copy)

72

Annexure P-7

History of Ancient India, Motilal Banarasi Dass Publishers, Publication

Year:2014, Rama Shankar Tripathi, Page 39

Indus & Rigvedic Cultures Contrasted

...tama, Tusratta, for Mitani princes; and even some of the Kassites,

who ruled in Babylonia between c. 1746- 1180 B.C., bore such names

as Shurias (Skt. Surya) and Marytas (Skt. Marutas), etc. Considering all

this evidence, it may be reasonably supposed, with some margin for

error, that the beginnings of Vedic poetry and civilisation go back to

about the sixteenth century B.C.

Indus and Rigvedic Cultures Contrasted

It may be interesting to note the dissimilarities between the Indus and

Rigvedic cultures. The Indo- Aryans were still in the village state, living

in small thatched houses of bamboo. The Indus people, on the other

hand, had developed a complex city life with commodious houses of

brick, equipped with bath- rooms, wells, and sanitation. The metals

known to the Rigvedic Aryans were gold, copper or bronze, and

perhaps iron. The Indus people have left no trace of iron; they used

silver more commonly than gold, and their utensils and vessels 'were

made of stone — a relic of the Neolithic age — as well as of copper

and bronze. The weapons of offence were almost the same in both the

'ages, but the defensive helmet and coat of mail, known to the

73

Rigvedic people, were not a feature of the Indus civilisation. It appears

from the numerous seals discovered at Mohenjo-daro that the bull was

their most important animal, but during the Rigvedic period the cow

takes its place. The horse was unfamiliar to the Indus valley people,

whereas the Rigvedic Aryans had domesticated it. Further, in the

Indus…

(True Copy)

74

Annexure P-8

Terracotta of Horse at National Museum, New Delhi, dated 2017

http://www.museumsofindia.gov.in/repository/record/nat_del-DK-

4732-237-10788 dated 2017

(True Copy)

75

Annexure P-9

Harappan Civilization: An Analysis in Modern Context (Deep Raj

Gupta), dated 2017

The Harappan Civilization has significance for not only historians and

archaeologists but also the common man. Though the first Harappan

sites were discovered way backing 1920-21, by archaeologists Dr. D.R.

Sahni and Dr. R.D. Banerjee (Harappa in Punjab and Mohenjo-Daro in

Sind - both in Pakistan now) fresh sites are still being unearthed,

adding insight into the rich culture of the Harappan civilization.

Some of the most striking aspects of the discoveries are the town

planning and architecture, art and crafts and the social, religious and

economic condition of that era. Much has been known about the town

planning and architecture of the Harappan civilization. The cities

boasted of well-planned roads wide and straight, houses provided with

an efficient drainage system and ventilation.

The excavations have yielded a rich collection of objects in stone,

bronze and terracotta. One of the most known figurines is perhaps the

`dancing girl' (in bronze) naked but for a necklace and a series of

bangles almost covering one arm, her hair dressed in a complicated

coiffure, standing in a provocative posture, with one arm on her hip

and one lanky leg half bent. This face has an air of lively pertness

quite unlike anything in the work of other ancient civilizations. Her

thin boyish figure and those of the mother goddesses found here,

76

indicate incidentally, that the ideas of female beauty among the

Harappan people were very different from those of later India. It has

been suggested that this `dancing girl' is representative of a class of

temple dancers and prostitutes, such as existed in contemporary

Middle Eastern civilizations and were an important feature of later

Hindu culture, but this cannot be proved. It is not certain that the girl

is a dancer much less a temple dancer.

In stone much discussed are two male figures - one is a the torso in

red sandstone and the other is the bust of a bearded man. In the

former, the limbs have been made separately and fitted into sockets.

The Harappan people also made rough terracotta statuettes of women,

usually naked, but with elaborate head dresses, these are certainly

icons of the mother goddess and are so numerous that they seem to

have been kept in nearly every home. They are crudely fashioned so

historians assume that the Goddess was not favoured by the upper

classes who commanded the services of the best craftsmen, but that

her effigies were mass produced by humble potters to meet popular

demand. In terracotta we also find a few figurines of bearded male

with coiled hair, their posture rigidly upright, legs slightly apart, and

the arms parallel, to the sides of the body. The repetition of this figure

in exactly the same position would suggest that he was a deity. A

terracotta mask of a horned deity has also been found.

77

Archaeologists have discovered thousands of seals with beautiful

figures of animals, such as unicorn bull, rhinoceros, tiger, elephant,

bison, goat, buffalo etc. The most remarkable seal is Pashupati Seal

(size: 1/2" to 2" with square and rectangular shape). From the seals it

appears certain that the Indus valley civilization had trade links with

Mesopatomia and perhaps merchants from India even visited and

stayed there. The standard Harappan seal was a square plaque 2 x 2

sq. inches usually made from the soft river stone steatite. Every seal is

engraved in a pictographic script (yet to be deciphered). It appears

that the seals were also used as amulets, carried on the persons of

their owners, perhaps as modern day identity cards. Some seals have

also been found in gold, ivory or blue or white. They all bear a great

variety of designs, most often of animals including bull, with or without

hump, elephant, tiger, goat and also monsters. Sometimes trees or

human figures were also depicted.

The jewellery in gold and silver-bangles, necklaces and other

ornaments are well crafted. They are "so well finished and so highly

polished that they might have come out of a Bond Street Jeweller's of

today rather than from a pre-historic house of thousands years ago"

says Marshall. The Harappan people also made brilliantly naturalistic

models of animals, specially monkeys and squirrels, used as pin-heads

and beads. They also made toys in terracotta with movable heads,

monkeys which would slide down a string, little toy carts (one of the

oldest example of a wheeled vehicle) and whistles shaped like birds.

78

Tools of stone, copper and bronze have been found, which in many

respects were technologically sound. The blades were flat and easily

bent while the axe heads had to be lashed to their shafts. In the

design of one tool, however, the Harappans had been superior; they

had devised a saw with undulating teeth, which allowed the dust to

escape freely from the cut and much simplified the carpenter's craft.

The origin and the race of the Harappan are still a matter of dispute.

While one section of scholars believes that they were Dravidian,

definitely Indo-Aryan, another section believes that they were the

same as Sumerians or the Cretans. The Harappan script has not been

deciphered but the discovery of writing material clearly indicates that

the Harappans were educated.

The discovery of a large number of spindles of various sizes indicate

that threads both of cotton and woolen must have been spun in those

days. Spindle whorls made of pottery, shell and faience have been

found. From the statues it appears both men and women wore two

separate pieces of clothes similar to dhoti and shawl (covering lower

and upper parts of the body respectively). The `shawl' covered the

left shoulder, passing below the right shoulder. No footwear has

survived nor is it shown in any of the figures. Both men and women

wore ornaments. While necklaces, fillets, armlets and finger-rings

were common to both sexes, women wore girdles, earrings and

anklets. Ornaments were made of gold, silver, copper, ivory, precious

79

and semi-precious stones, bones and shells etc. From archaeological

findings it appears that the Harappans were conscious of fashion.

Different hairstyles and beards were in vogue. Cinnabar was used as a

cosmetic and face-paints, lipsticks and collyrium (eye liners) were also

known to them.

The main diet consisted of wheat, barley and milk products. Fruits,

vegetables, fish and meat were also consumed. Music and dance

appear to be the main sources of entertainment.

No temple has yet been discovered. From the Pashupati seal, it is

certain that they worshipped Shiva. There is an image of Shiva,

seated on a stool flanked by an elephant. Numerous pottery figurines

of Mother Goddesses have also been found. Nature worship must

have been part of their ritual as revealed in the seals. There is a scene

of a horned goddess, before whom another horned deity is kneeling

and animals as some male figures wearing the horns of a goat or a

bull, some animals standing on rectangular pedestals, composite

animals having body of a ram and trunk of an elephant, a limestone

bull having a garland round his neck and a unicorn being carried in a

procession.

Agriculture was their main occupation. Rainfall in Sind and Punjab was

heavy. There is evidence of the cultivation of wheat, barley, peas,

mustard, cotton and rice. Domesticated animals were kept in the

80

house. Horse bones have also been discovered at Surkotda, indicating

use of the animal.

(The author works in Kala Nidhi)

Select Bibliography:

1. Kenoyer, J.M., Ancient Cities of the Harappan Civilization, Karachi,

1998

2. Sharma D.P., Bharat aur Sindhu Sabhayata, New Delhi, 1999

3. Possehl, G.L., Indus Age the Beginning, New Delhi, 2000

4. Puratattva, No. 28-31, India Archaeological Society, New Delhi

5. Lal, B.B., The Saraswati Flows on, New Delhi, 2001

6. Ratnagar Shereen, Understanding Harappa Civilization in

the Greater Harappan, Mumbai, 2001

7. Sharma D.P., Harappan Art, Vol.I., New Delhi, 20018. Joshi,

Jagatpati, Harappan Civilization as seen at the Close of the Twentieth

Century in Man and Environment, XXV(1), Poona, 2001

Source: http://ignca.nic.in/nl002308.html

(True Copy)

81

Annexure P-10

“The Wonder that was India” by A.L. Basham, Picador Publication,

Publication year-2016, Page- 17-18

…class larger and more important in the social scale than those of the

contemporary civilizations of Sumer and Egypt. Remains of workmen's

dwellings have also been discovered at both sites—parallel rows of

two-roomed cottages, at Mohenjodaro with a superficial area of 20 x

12 feet each, but at Harappa considerably larger: they bear a striking

resemblance to the "coolie lines" of modern Indian tea and other

estates. At Harappa rows of such buildings have been found near the

circular brick floors on which grain was pounded, and they were

probably the dwellings of the workmen whose task was to grind corn

for the priests and dignitaries who lived in the citadel. Drab and tiny as

they were, these cottages were better dwellings than those in which

many Indian coolies live at the present day.

The most striking of the few large buildings is the great bath in the

citadel area of Mohenjo Daro. This is an oblong bathing pool 39 x 23

foot in area and 8 feet deep, constructed of beautiful brickwork

made watertight with bitumen (pl. Vlb). It could be drained by an

opening in one corner and was surrounded by a cloister, on to which

opened a number of small rooms. Like the "tank" of a Hindu temple, it

probably had a religious purpose, and the cells may have been the

homes of priests. The special attention paid by the people of the

82

Harapp5 culture to cleanliness is hardly due to the fact that they had

notions of hygiene in advance of those of other civilizations of their

time, but indicates that, like the later Hindus, they had a strong belief

in the purificatory effects of water from a ritual point of view.

The largest building so far excavated is one at MohenjoDaro with a

superficial area of 230 x 78 feet, which may have been a palace. At

Harappa a great granary has been discovered to the north of the

citadel; this was raised on a platform of some 150 x 200 feet in area to

protect it from floods, and was divided into storage blocks of 60 x 20

feet each. It was doubtless used for storing the corn which was

collected from the peasants as land tax, and we may assume that it

had its counterpart at MohenjoDaro. The main food crops were wheat,

barley, peas, and sesamum, the latter still an important crop in India

for its seeds, which provide edible oil. There is no clear evidence of the

cultivation of rice, but the Harappa people grew and used cotton. It is

not certain that irrigation was known, although this is possible. The

main domestic animals known to modern India had already been

tamed -humped and hump-less cattle, buffaloes, goats, sheep, pigs,

asses, dogs, and the domestic fowl. The elephant was well known, and

may also have been tamed. The Harappa people may have known of

the horse, since a few horse's teeth have been found in the lowest

stratum of the Baluchistan site of Rana Ghundai, probably dating from

several centuries earlier than the foundation of Harappa. This would

indicate that horse-riding nomads found their way to N.-W. India in

83

small numbers long before the Aryan invasion; but it is very doubtful

whether the Harappa people possessed domestic horses themselves,

and if they did they...

Page-18

...must have been very rare animals. The bullock was probably the

usual beast of burden.

On the basis of this thriving agricultural economy the Harappa people

built their rather unimaginative but comfortable civilization. Their

bourgeoisie had pleasant houses, and even their workmen, who may

have been bondmen or slaves, had the comparative luxury of two-

roomed brick-built cottages. Evidently a well organized commerce

made these things possible. The cities undoubtedly traded with the

village cultures of Baluchistan, where outposts of the Harappa culture

have been traced, but many of their metals and semi-precious stones

came front much longer distances. From Saurashtra and the Deccan

they obtained conch shell, which they used freely in decoration, and

several types of stone. Silver, turquoise and lapis lazuli were imported

from Persia and Afghanistan. Their copper came either from Rajasthan

or from Persia, while jadeite was probably obtained from Tibet or

Central Asia.

Whether by sea or land, the products of the Indus reached Mesopo-

tamia, for a number of typical Indus seals and a few other objects

from the Indus Valley have been found in Sumer at levels dating

84

between about 2300 and 2000 B.C., and some authorities believe that

the land of Melukka, reached by sea from Sumer, and referred to in

Sumerian documents, was the Indus Valley. Evidence of Sumerian

exports to India is very scant and uncertain, and we must assume that

they were mainly precious metals and raw materials. The finding of

Indus seals suggests that merchants from India actually resided in

Mesopotamia; their chief merchandise was probably cotton, which has

always been one of India's staple exports, and which is known to have

been used in later Babylonia. The recently excavated site at Lothal in

Gujarat has revealed harbour works, and the Harappa people may

have been more nautically inclined than was formerly supposed. No

doubt from their port of Lothal they were in touch with places farther

south, and it is possibly thus that certain distinctive features of the

Harappan culture penetrated to South India.

It seems that every merchant or mercantile family had a seal, bearing

an emblem, often of a religious character, and a name or brief

inscription in the tantalizingly indecipherable script. The standard

Harappa seal was a square or oblong plaque, usually made of the soft

stone called steatite, which was delicately engraved and hardened by

heating (pl. IX). The Mesopotamian civilizations employed cylinder

seals, which were rolled on clay tablets, leaving an impressed band

bearing the device and inscription of the seal; one or two such seals

have been found in…

85

(True Copy)

Annexure P-11

Tamil Nadu State Government Publication, Class 11, Print 2017, Page-

20

...much later. It was surrounded by a massive brick wall as flood

protection. Lothal remained an emporium of trade between the

Harappan civilization and the remaining part of India as well as

Mesopotamia.

Date of the Harappan Culture

In 1931, Sir John Marshall estimated the duration of the occupation of

Mohenjodaro between 3250 and 2750 B.C. Subsequently, as and when

new sites were discovered, the dating of the Harappan culture is

modified. The advent of the radiocarbon method paves way for fixing

almost accurate dates. By 1956, Fairservis brought down the dating of

the Harappan culture to between 2000 and 1500 B.C. on the basis of

radiocarbon dates of his findings. In 1964, D.P. Agarwal came to the

conclusion that the total span of this culture should be between 2300

and 1750 B.C. Yet, there is further scope of modification of these

dates.

Salient Features of the Harappan Culture

86

Town Planning

The Harappan culture was distinguished by its system of town-

planning on the lines of the grid system — that is streets and lanes

cutting across one another almost at right angles thus dividing the city

into several rectangular blocks. Harappa, Mohenjodaro and Kalibangan

each had its own citadel built on a high podium of mud brick. Below

the citadel in each city lay a lower town containing brick houses, which

were inhabited by the common people. The large-scale use of burnt

bricks in almost all kinds of constructions and the absence of stone

buildings are the important characteristics of the Harappan culture.

Another remarkable feature was the underground drainage system

connecting all houses to the street drains which were covered by stone

slabs or bricks.

The most important public place of Mohenjodaro is the Great Bath

measuring 39 feet length, 23 feet breadth and 8 feet depth. Flights of

87

steps at either end lead to the surface. There are side rooms for

changing clothes. The floor of the Bath was made of burnt bricks.

Water was drawn from a large well in an adjacent room, and an outlet

from one corner of the Bath led to a drain. It must have served as a

ritual bathing site. The largest building in Mohenjodaro is a granary

measuring 150 feet length and 50 feet breadth. But in the citadel of

Harappa we find as many as six granaries.

Economic life

There was a great progress in all spheres of economic activity such as

agriculture, industry and crafts and trade. Wheat and barley were the

main crops grown besides sesame, mustard and cotton. Surplus grain

is stored in granaries. Animals like sheep, goats and buffalo were

domesticated. The use of horse is not yet firmly established. A number

of other animals were hunted for food including deer…

(True Copy)

88

Annexure P-12

Old NCERT, 11th Class (Ancient India by RS Sharma, Print 1990, Page

38-39)

...carried far more alluvial soil than the Nile in Egypt and deposited it

on the flood plains Just as the Nile created Egypt and supported its

people, so also the Indus created Sindh and fed its people The Indus

people sowed seeds in the flood plains in November, when the flood

water receded, and reaped their harvests of wheat and barley in April

before the advent of the next flood. No hoe or ploughshare has been

discovered, but the furrows discovered in the pre-Harappan phase at

Kalibangan show that the fields were ploughed in Rajasthan in the

Harappan period The Harappans probably used the wooden

ploughshare. Wo do not know whether the plough was drawn by men

or oxen Stone sickles may have been used for harvesting the crops

Gabarbands or stales enclosed by dams for storing water were a

feature in parts of Baluchistan and Afghanistan, but channel or canal

irrigation seems to have been absent.

The Harappan villages, mostly situated near the flood plains, produced

sufficient foodgrains not only to feed themselves but also the town

people. They must have worked very hard to meet their own

requirements as well as those of the artisans, merchants and, others,

who lived in the city and who were not directly concerned with food-

producing activities.

89

The Indus people produced wheat, barley, peas, etc. They produced

two types of wheat and barley. A good quantity of barley has been

discovered at Banawali. In addition to this, they produced sesamum

and mustard. But the position seems to have been different with the

Harappans at Lethal. It seems that as early as 1800 B C., the people of

Lothal used rice whose remains have been found Foodgrains wore

stored in huge granaries in both Mohenjo-daro and Harappa and

possibly in Kalibangan. Probably, cereals ware received as taxes from

peasants and stored in granary for the payment of wages. This can be

said on the analogy of Mesopotamian cities where wages were paid in

barley. The Indus people were the earliest people to produce cotton

Because cotton was that produced in this area the Greeks called it

Sindon, which is derived from Sindh.

Domestication of Animals

Although the Harappans practised agriculture, animals were kept on a

largescale Oxen, buffaloes, goats, sheep and pigs were domesticated

The humped bulls were favoured by the Harappans From the very

beginning dogs were regarded as pots Cats wore also domesticated.

and signs of the feet of both dogs and cats have been noticed They

also kept asses and camels, which were possibly used as beasts of

burden. Evidence of the horse comes froth a superficial level of

Mohenjo-daro and from a doubtful terracotta figurine from Lethal. The

90

remains of the horse have been reported from Surkotada, situated on

the west of Gujarat, and belong to around'2000 B C., but it is clear

Page 39:

that this animal was not in regular use in Harappan times. Elephants

were welt known to the Harappans, who ware also acquainted with the

rhinoceros The contemporary Sumerian cities in Mesopotamia

practically produced the same foodgrains and domesticated the same

animals as the Harappans did But the Harappan people in Gujarat

produced rice and domesticated elephants, which was not the case

with the people of Mesopotamian cities.

Technology and Crafts

The Harappan culture belongs to the Bronze Age. The people of

Harappa used many tools and implements of stone, but they were very

well acquainted with the manufacture and use of bronze. Bronze was

made by the smiths by mixing tin with copper. Since none of the two

metals was easily available to the Harappans, bronze tools are not

prolific in Harappa. The impurities of the ores show that copper was

obtained from the Khetri copper mines of Rajasthan, although it could

also be brought from Baluchistan Tin was possibly brought with

difficulty from Afghanistan although its old workings are stated to have

been found in Hazaribagh in Bihar. The bronze tools and weapons

recovered from the Harappan sites contain a smaller percentage of tin

However, the kit of bronze goods left by the Harappans is

91

considerable, which suggests that the bronze smiths constituted an

important group of artisans in the Harappan society. They produced

not only images and utensils but also various tools and weapons such

as axes, saws, knives and spears. Several other important crafts

flourished in the Harap-pan towns. A piece of woven cotton has been

recovered from Mohenjo-daro, and textile impressions found on

several objects. Spindle whorls were used for spinning Weavers wove

cloth of wool and cotton. Hugo brick structures suggest that brick-

laying was an important craft. They also attest' the existence of a class

of masons The Harappans also practised boat-making. As will be

shown later, seal-making and terracotta manufacture were also impor-

tant crafts Th6 goldsmiths made jewellery of silver, gold and precious

stones; the first two may have been obtained from Afghanistan and

the last from south India. The Harappans were also experts in

beadmaking. The potter's wheel was in full use, and the Harappans

produced their own characteristic pottery, which was made glossy and

shining.

Trade

The Harappan cities did not possess the necessary raw material for the

commodities they produced, They did not use metallic money. We

have no idea about their currency. Most probably they carried on all

exchanges through barter In return for finished goods and possibly

foodgrains, they procured metals from the neighbouring areas by

92

boats and bullock-carts. They practised navigation on the coast of the

Arabian Sea They knew the use of wheel, and carts with solid wheels

wore in use in Harappa. It also appears that the Harappans used

some kind of modern ekka.

The Harappans had commercial links with Rajasthan, Afghanistan and

Iran. Their cities also carried on commerce with those in the land of

the Tigris and Euphrates. Many Harap-pan seals have been discovered

in Mesopotamia, and it seems that the Harappansimitated some

cosmetics used by the urban people of Mesopotamia. The

Mesopotamian records from about 2350 B.C. refer to trade relations

with Meluha, which was the ancient name given to the Indus region.

The Mesopotamian texts speak of two intermediate trading stations

called Dilmun and Makan, which lay between Mesopotamia and

Meluha, Dilmun can probably be identified with Bahrain on the Persian

Gulf. Thousands of graves await excavation in that post city.

(True Copy)

93

Annexure P-13

R.C. Majumdar (Laxmi Publications Pvt Ltd, Print 2016) Advanced

History of India, page 19

...wore made of gold, silver, ivory, copper and both precious and semi-

precious stones like jade, crystal, agate, carnelian, and lapis lazuli.

Household articles

The earthenware vessels, of rich variety, were made with the potter's

wheel and were either plain or painted. In rare cases they were glazed.

Vessels of copper, bronze, silver, and porcelain were known, though

very rarely used. It is important to hear in mind that not a scrap of iron

tools been found, and that metal was obviously unknown.

Among other articles of domestic use may be mentioned spindles and

spindle whorls made of baked earth, porcelain and shell ; needles and

combs, made of bone or ivory; axes, chisels, knives, sickle, fishhooks

and razors made of copper and bronze; small cubical blocks of hard

stone, probably used as weights.

The children's toys included, in addition to familiar articles, small-

wheeled carts and chairs, and we may easily infer that these were

used in actual life. The discovery of dice-pieces shows the prevalence

of that game.

94

Domesticated animals

The remains of skeletons prove that the humped bull, the buffalo,

sheep, elephant and camel were domesticated. There are some doubts

about the horse. The carvings of dogs on children's toys show that that

animal was also familiar.

Weapons of War

These include axes, spears, daggers, maces and slings, with

comparatively fewer specimens of bows and arrows. The absence of

swords is significant. Shields, helmets or any other defensive armor are

conspicuous by their absence. The weapons of war, all offensive in

character, are usually made 'of copper and bronze, though a few stone

implements have also been found.

Seals

More than five hundred seals have been discovered. These are made

of terra cotta and small in size. Some contain fine representations of

animal figures—both mythical and real—engraved on them. All of them

contain a short record inscribed in a sort of pictorial writing, which still

remains undeciphered.

Fine Art

The representations of the animals carved on these seals often exhibit

a high degree of excellence. A few stone images found at Harappa

95

recall the finish and excellence of Greek statues and show a high

degree of development in the sculptor's art.

Trade and Commerce

The seals were most probably used in connection with trade. Indeed

there is abundant evidence that the people traded not only with other

parts of India but also with many countries of Asia. It is certain that

they accrued tin, copper and precious stones from beyond India.

(True Copy)

96

Annexure P-14

Critical Habitat Information System for Gulf of Khambhat, Gujarat, page-

5, Department of Ocean Development, Government of India, dated 2002

…The depth of the Gulf ranges from 18 to 27 m and is less than 20 m

over most of its length. However, the depth at the head is as low as 5 m

and in the channel on the eastern side of the Piram Bet it is about 50m.

The tides are of mixed semi-diurnal type, with large diurnal inequality and

varying amplitude, which decrease from north to south. Because of its

unique position (nearness to the Tropic of Cancer), Gujarat coast

experiences very high tides; the highest anywhere along the Indian coast.

Because of the funnel shape and the semi-enclosed nature at the head,

the tidal height increases tremendously in the upstream. The mean tidal

elevation during spring is 4.7 m at Mahuva Bandar which rises to 6.5 m at

Gopnath Point and10.2 m at Bhavnagar. The maximum spring tide

recorded at Bhavnagar is 12.5 m, which is second only to that of the

highest tide recorded anywhere in the world (around 17 m at the Bay of

Fundy on Newfoundland coast of Canada). Because of the high tidal

amplitude, especially in the upper Gulf, it has huge inter-tidal expanses

of 1.5 to 5 km, perhaps the widest along the Indian coast. Long-shore

currents with low wave dominate the open coasts along the Arabian Sea.

However, due to exceptionally strong flood and ebb tides, powerful tidal

currents with a speed of 3 to 4 knots dominate the flow. Maximum

velocities of 6 knots associated with high wave energy occur during mid-

tide. Currents in the Gulf, though tidal, are monsoonal in origin and

97

dominated by barotropic tides (Unnikrishnan et al., 1999). The flow

adjusts its directional orientation with the changing direction of wind

effected by changing seasons of the year. The turnover residence times

are quite short because of its shallow depth, large tidal amplitude and

strong tidal current.

Development of GI S based Information System

The information system for Gulf of Khambhat integrates the existing

diverse coastal and environmental data set collected on the biodiversity

with data on land use and developmental activities to facilitate planners

to manage and protect the health and wealth of the ecosystem.

The Information System incorporates the following:

Land use / Land cover and geomorphology of the area

Present status of mangrove cover in the area and causes of its

degradation

Water and sediment quality

Present status of distribution of phytoplankton, zooplankton,

benthos, seaweeds and fishes.

Commercial activities in area and their impact on marine

biodiversity

Socio-economics of the area

98

(True Copy)

99

Annexure P-15

Gujarat Government website details on Bhavnagar, dated 2017

Nishkalank mahadev temple, Koliyak

Koliyak is located at a distance of about 23 km to the east of

Bhavnagar. It is said that Pandavas established Nishkalank or Nakalank

Mahadev on a new moon night of the Indian calendar month of

Bhadarva. The famous fair popularly known as ‘Bhadarvi’ is held on the

new moon night in month of Sharvan, as per the Indian calender. An

idol of god Shankar was established in an island, over the sea about 3

km to the east of Koliyak. This temple can be reached between 9.00

am to 12.00 pm on the day next to the new moon night. It has to be

noted that the place gets inundated under the tide so the visitors

should leave the place before 1.00 pm.

Source:

https://bhavnagardp.gujarat.gov.in/bhavnagar/english/jillavishe/histori

cal-places/nishkalank-mahadev.htm

(True Copy)

100

Annexure P-16

Tidal tables for Bhavnagar, INCOIS, page 16-17, INCOIS, Hyderabad

dated 2014

Training Workshop on Ocean Information Services for Cyclone

Forecasters April 2, 2014

Tide Forecasting

K. Srinivas

Ocean State Forecast Lab (ISG) INCOIS, Hyderabad

E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 040-23886057, 040-23895017

Why forecasting of the tide is important!!

“The tides are the heartbeat of the ocean, a pulse that can be felt all

over the world” Defant, 1958.

Tides are generated by astronomical phenomena and are, therefore,

highly predictable.

The Indian situation and Peculiarities!

BHAVNAGAR

Approx. 10 metres tidal range

101

Source:

http://www.incois.gov.in/documents/IMD%20Training_SRINIVAS_INC

OIS_tides.pdf

(True Copy)

102

Annexure P-17

Information on Chandipur, Official Website, Government of Odisha,

dated 2017

Chandipur Beach Odisha has a long coastline of over 480 km. on the

Bay of Bengal interspersed by a couple of lovely beaches. Added to

their seductive beauty is a vast hinterland of antiquities and holy

shrines. Backed up by musical sway of casuarina trees and creepered

sand dunes, Chandipur is one such beach, but with a unique distinction

on its own. Unlike other beaches, the sea water here recedes away

from the shore line about five km twice a day, an unusual

phenomenon, rarely found anywhere. You can see the sea literally

vanishing before your eyes and also watch it coming back rhythmically

at regular intervals, as if playing hide and seek.

Elsewhere, the waves come and go dashing on the shore like madcap

but here they are like a musical fountain, soothing to the eyes and

ears. Elsewhere, the waters wait for the visitors but here the visitors

have to wait for the waters. Elsewhere, the waves go wild and the

visitors calm but here the ecstasy of visitors will go wild while the

waves remain calm.

This marvel of Nature gives the bathers an unexpected pleasure of

fearlessly walking into the sea and happily playing with the waves.

When the waters disappear, you can even take jeep ride on, the widest

beach. The beauty of the exposed bosom of the beach is further

103

enhanced by the small red crabs. If a beach comber, you will be

delighted with its abundant wealth of sea shells and drift wood.

To enjoy Chandipur in all its entirety, a minimum stay of twenty-four

hours is recommended.

Hardly 2 km away is Balaramgadi where the river Budhabalang meets

the sea. A trip through the mouth of the meandering river on a

fisherman's boat is a pleasant experience. Watching them cast their

nets and pull their catch of fish is memorable.

Excursion:

There are a few places to which day trips can be made from

Chandipur, OTDC has provision to organise conducted tours to some of

the places (Contact : Manager, Panthanivas Ph. (06782) 370051.

Panchalingeswar (45 km)

Ensconced in the verdant of Nilagiri Hills with panoramic views around,

it is a place of scenic beauty, sanctified by the five lingams over which

runs a perennial stream. Popular as a Saiva Shrine, you have to lie flat

on the rock parallel to the stream to touch and worship the lingams,

which is itself as exciting as adventurous. Herds of elephants can be

seen occasionally moving up and down the hill. It is also an ideal base

for trekking the Nilagiri hills. There is a Panthasala of Odisha Tourism

Department for night stay. (Reservation - Tourist Officer, Balasore, ph.

362048)

104

Remuna (25 km)

Famous for the shrine of Khirachora Gopinath, it is a seat of

Vaishnavite culture for centuries. Sri Chaitanya, his teacher

Madhavendrapuri and disciple jeevaswami Goswami are said to have

visited the shrine and worshipped the lord. Khira (a special milk

preparation) is the most delicious offering of the temple. Champak and

Kadamba trees inside the courtyard fill the air with sweet and scented

fragrance all the time.

Nilagiri (40 km)

Harbouring the Kuldiha Sanctuary, which is also an ideal base for

trekking, Nilagiri is known for the Jagannath Temple. Headquarters of

an ex-princely state, set against the green mountain, it is a charming

placeonthe lap of nature.

Sajanagarh (45 km)

About 5 km from Nilagiri is Sajanagarh, the shrine of Bhudara Chandi.

A seat of sakti cult, the place is archaeologically rich.

Similipal (100 km)

Covering an area of about 2750.sq. km, it is a wildlife sanctuary and

one of the few Tiger Reserves of India. Apart from Tigers, it is the

home of leopards, Elephants, Deer,Crocodiles and Reptiles. Over 230

species of birds including the talking Mayna and dancing peacocks fill

the air with their chirpings.

105

Filled with lush green forest covers, especially luxuriant sal trees and

vast expanse of grassy meadows, cloud kissing peaks, the wild beauty

is enhanced by the sparkling water fails and unique orchids. There is

an Aranyanivas of the OTDC (Reservation,Tourist Office, Batipada, Ph.

06792-52710) at lulung for night stay. There are also Forest

Bungalows at different places inside, (Reservation: Field Director,

Similipal Tiger Reserve Project, Baripada, Dist: Mayurbhanj, Odisha,

Tel: (06792) 52593.

Deokund

It is an enchanting place with a series of waterfalls and a Sakti shrine,

set against the outer periphery of Similipal.

http://odishatourism.gov.in/?q=node/97 dated 2017

(True Copy)

106

Annexure P-18

Email representations from Petitioners no. 1-9, 11, 14, 15, and 18

made to UPSC, dated 2017

Petitioner No. 1 Representation to UPSC:

vishal rathi <[email protected]> Tue, Aug 8, 2017 at 13:06

To: [email protected]

Dear Sir/Madam,

I, Vishal Rathi, bearing roll number 0007846 for UPSC CSP examination

-2017, would like to sincerely bring to your kind and immediate

attention, the scope of ambiguity in a few questions that were asked in

Paper 1 of UPSC CSP 2017.

I humbly request you to examine the file attached

(ambiguous_questions_CSP2017.pdf) in this email and to initiate the

needful measures.

Thanking you,

Yours Sincerely,

Vishal Rathi


Roshu Tiwari <[email protected]> Tue, Aug 8, 2017 at 4:27 PM


Dear Sir/Madam,

107

I, Vaibhav Tiwari, bearing roll number 0709271 for UPSC CSP

examination - 2017, would like to sincerely bring to your kind and

immediate attention, the scope of ambiguity in a few questions that

were asked in Paper 1 of UPSC CSP 2017.



needful measures.

Thanking you,

Yours Sincerely,

Vaibhav Tiwari


Niraj Singh <[email protected]> Tue 8 Aug, 2017 at 12:56am


Respected Sir/Madam,

Myself Niraj Kumar Singh, Roll No." 0019408 " appeared for UPSC Civil

Services Prelims examination held on 18/06/2017. I noticed few

questions asked in GS Paper 1 were of ambiguous nature which I have

attached in this mail.

Though Prelims result has been declared, I am unable to judge my

performance due to ambiguous nature of questions asked.

Regarding ambiguities no communication has been conveyed from

esteemed UPSC till date.

108

Please look at attached pdf list of Ambiguous Questions List. Request

you to do needful.

Thanks & Regards,

Yours Sincerely,

Niraj Kumar Singh


Mob. #: 9560144927

UPSC Roll No.: 0019408


From: "Ravi Kant Dwivedi"<[email protected]> Date: 9Aug

2017 12:42 p.m.

Subject: Scope of ambiguity in questions of CSP Pre 2017

To:<[email protected]>

Dear Sir/Madam,

I, Ravi Kant Dwivedi, bearing roll number 0280768 for UPSC CSP Pre

Examination- 2017, would like to bring your kind attention, the scope

of ambiguity in many questions that were asked in Paper - 1 of UPSC

CSP Pre 2017.

Sir, the result is out and I am not able to assess my performance, and

in absence of self-evaluation I find it very difficult to take corrective

action, and thus my career is at stake for future examinations.

109

Therefore, I humbly request to kindly examine the file

attached(ambiguous_questions_CSP2017.pdf) in this email and to

initiate the needful measures.

Thanking you,

Yours Sincerely,

Ravi Kant Dwivedi


From: iznallah iznallah<[email protected]>

Date: 19 August 2017 at 00:32

Subject: Regarding ambiguity in a few questions of UPSC CSP 2017

and demanding redressal


Dear Madam/Sir,

I, Iznallah, bearing roll no.0026617, have appeared for UPSC Civil

Services (Preliminary) Examination 2017 and I would like to sincerely

bring to your kind attention that there were some questions in the

Paper-1 which had a very high degree of subjectivity, so much so that

they could have multiple 'correct' answers.

To illustrate my point, in a question which read as:

"At one of the places in India, if you stand on the seashore and watch

the sea, you will find that the sea water recedes from the shore line a

few kilometres and comes back to the shore, twice a day, and you can

110

actually walk on the sea floor when the water recedes. This unique

phenomenon is seen at

(a)Bhavnagar

(b)Bheemunipatnam

(c)Chandipur

(d)Nagapattinam."

In this question, a unique phenomenon of diurnal tidal submergence of

a coast is being discussed about but the unfortunate part is that the

options in this question are so framed that two of them exhibit the

exact same phenomenon. These places are Chandipur (Odisha) as well

as Bhavnagar (Gujarat). The reality fact check about Chandipur is

clearly backed by the Odisha government tourism website and

regarding Bhavnagar, too there are more than sufficient credible

testimony (both government as well as non-government sources).

Another question pertaining to Indus Valley Civilization people having

been aware of horses or not was also clearly an ambiguous question

which has been sufficiently and credibly argued either ways by the

best of academia and books.

As a result, I am unable to judge my performance in the exam and the

mere feeling of such subjectivity in an objective exam has seriously put

my career into jeopardy.

111

Therefore, I request you to kindly look into this serious lapse (a list of

ambiguous questions are attached herewith for your kind perusal) and

grant an immediate and necessary respite cum redressal in the interest

of meritocracy if not my own individual interest or the interest of many

thousand "rather unlucky" candidates.

Regards,

Iznallah


From: "twishi" <[email protected]>

Date: 18-Aug-2017 11:59 PM

Subject: Regarding ambiguity in a few questions of UPSC CSP 2017

and demanding redressal


Dear Madam/Sir,

I, Binita Sinha, bearing roll no. 0274718, have appeared for UPSC Civil

Services (Preliminary) Examination 2017 and I would like to sincerely

bring to your kind attention that there were some questions in the

question paper which had a very high degree of subjectivity, so much

so that it can have multiple 'correct' answers. To illustrate my point, in

a question which read as:



112




(a)Bhavnagar

(b)Bheemunipatnam

(c)Chandipur

(d) Nagapattinam."







regarding Bhavnagar, too there are more than sufficient credible

(government as well as non-government sources) information. As a

matter of fact, I have been to Nishkalank Mahadev Temple in

Bhavnagar where the exact same phenomenon is observed daily by

hundreds of tourists and devotees.




best of academia and books.

113

Therefore, I request you to kindly look into this serious lapse and grant

an immediate and necessary respite cum redressal in the interest of

meritocracy if not my own individual interest or the interest of many


Regards,

Binita Sinha


From: "Shailendra Kumar" <[email protected]>

Date: Aug 31, 2017 12:47 PM

Subject: Regarding ambiguous question in CSP 2017

To: <[email protected]>


Myself Shailendra kumar Singh, Roll No."0548783 " appeared for UPSC

Civil Services Prelims examination held on 18/06/2017. I noticed few







114


you to do needful.

Thanks & Regards,

Yours Sincerely,

Yours Name Shailendra kumar Singh


Mob. #: 7903117911


Petitioner No. 8 Representation:

Piyush Stoicist <[email protected]> Tue, Aug 8, 2017 at 1:54PM


Dear Sir,

I, Piyush Gade, bearing Roll number 0474121, for UPSC CSP

examination -2017, would like to sincerely bring to your kind and

immediate attention, the scope for ambiguity in a few questions and

the options given, which were asked in Paper 1 of UPSC CSP 2017.

I thus humbly request you to examine the file attached (Ambiguous-

Questions_CSP2017.pdf) in this email and to initiate the needful

measures.

Thanking you,

Yours Sincerely,

Piyush Gade.

115


From: "anshu chaturvedi" <[email protected]>

Date: 23 Aug 2017 4:05 p.m.

Subject: Regarding ambiguous question asked in civil services

preliminary examination2017

To: <[email protected]>

Dear Madam/Sir,

I, ANSHU KUMAR CHATURVEDI, bearing roll no. 0008842, have

appeared for UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2017 and I

would like to sincerely bring to your kind attention that there were

some questions in the Paper-1 which had a very high degree of

subjectivity, so much so that they could have multiple 'correct'

answers.

To illustrate my point, in a question which read as:






(a) Bhavnagar

(b) Bheemunipatnam

(c) Chandipur

116

(d) Nagapattinam."







regarding Bhavnagar, there are more than sufficient credible

testimonies primarily from the government sources from Gujarat

government website as well as backed by reality check and from

personal experiences of thousands of tourists.




best of academia and books. As a result, I am unable to judge my

performance in the exam and the mere feeling of such subjectivity in

an objective exam has seriously put my career into jeopardy.

Therefore, I request you to kindly look into this serious lapse (a list of

ambiguous questions are attached herewith for your kind perusal) and

grant an immediate and necessary respite cum redressal in the interest

of meritocracy if not my own individual interest or the interest of many


117

Regards,

Anshu


From: "Lalit Kumar" <[email protected]>

Date: 31 Aug 2017 10:13

Subject: subject: Reporting the scope of ambiguity in questions of CSP

2017


Dear Sir/Madam,

I, Lalit Kumar, bearing roll number 0594046 for UPSC CSP examination

2017, would like to sincerely bring to your kind and immediate

attention, the scope of ambiguity in a few questions that were asked in

Paper 1 of UPSC CSP 2017.



needful measures.

Thanking you,

Yours Sincerely,

Lalit kumar

Petitioner No. 14 Representation to UPSC :

vinod chaudhary <[email protected]>


118

Dear Sir/Madam,

I, Vinod Kumar Chaudhary, bearing roll number 0140305 for UPSC CSP

examination - 2017, would like to sincerely bring to your kind and

immediate attention, 2017.

I humbly request you to examine the file

attached(ambiguous_questions_CSP2017.pdf) in this email and to

initiate the needful measures.

Thanking you,

Yours Sincerely,

Vinod Kumar Chaudhary

Petitioner No. 15 Representation to UPSC :

From: neha mishra <[email protected]>

Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2017 at 11:48 AM

Subject: Ambiguous questions in upsc pre 2017

To: [email protected] <[email protected]>


Myself Neha Mishra, Roll No. 0450054 appeared for UPSC Civil Services

Prelims examination held on 18/06/2017. I noticed few questions

asked in GS Paper 1 were of ambiguous nature which I have attached

in this mail. Though Prelims result has been declared, I am unable to

judge my performance due to ambiguous nature of questions asked.

119




you to do needful.

Thanks & Regards,

Yours Sincerely,

Neha Mishra


Mob. #: 9119124800



Safdar Rahman <[email protected]>



Myself Safdar Rahman, Roll No." 0594852 " appeared for UPSC Civil

Services Prelims examination held on 18/06/2017.I noticed few





120



Thanks & Regards,

Yours Sincerely,

Safdar Rahman


Mob. #: 8375900065

UPSC Roll No: 0594852

(True Copy)

121

Annexure P-19

Question No. 8, Set A of Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2016:

8. With reference to 'IFC Masala Bonds', sometimes seen in the news,

which of the statements given below is/are correct?

1. The International Finance Corporation, which offers these bonds,

is an arm of the World Bank.

2. They are the rupee-denominated bonds and are a source of debt

financing for the public and private sector

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

(True Copy)

122

Annexure P-20

Official Answer Key of Civil Services Preliminary Exam, 2016:

Examination Civil Services(Preliminary) Exam. 2016

Series A Subject General

Studies Paper-

I

Maximum Marks 200 No. Of items 100

No. Of Items to be

taken for scoring

100 No. Of items

dropped

NIL

1 B 16 C 31 B 46 C 61 A 76 C 91 C

2 C 17 C 32 A 47 A 62 B 77 B 92 B

3 C 18 D 33 C 48 C 63 D 78 D 93 D

4 B 19 C 34 C 49 A 64 D 79 D 94 C

5 C 20 B 35 B 50 B 65 B 80 D 95 D

6 B 21 B 36 A 51 B 66 B 81 A 96 D

7 D 22 D 37 C 52 C 67 B 82 B 97 B

8 C 23 A 38 D 53 A 68 D 83 C 98 B

9 C 24 B 39 B 54 D 69 B 84 C 99 A

123

10 B 25 D 40 B 55 A 70 A 85 B 100 B

11 A 26 C 41 D 56 C 71 C 86 B

12 D 27 B 42 A 57 A 72 D 87 D

13 C 28 D 43 C 58 C 73 A 88 C

14 D 29 A 44 A 59 D 74 D 89 D

15 C 30 C 45 A 60 B 75 B 90 D

(True Copy)

124

Annexure P-21

Official document from the website of International Finance

Corporation,dated 2017

Overview

We work with the private sector in developing countries to create market

that open up opportunities for all.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development

institution focused exclusively on the private sector in developing countries.

We utilize and leverage our products and services—as well as products and

services of other institutions in the World Bank Group—to provide

development solutions customized to meet clients’ needs. We apply our

financial resources, technical expertise, global experience, and innovative

thinking to help our partners overcome financial, operational, and political

challenges.

Clients view IFC as a provider and mobilizer of scarce capital, knowledge,

and long-term partnerships that can help address critical constraints in areas

such as finance, infrastructure, employee skills, and the regulatory

environment.

IFC is also a leading mobilizer of third-party resources for its projects. Our

willingness to engage in difficult environments and our leadership in

crowding-in private finance enable us to extend our footprint and have a

development impact well beyond our direct resources.

Source:http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/corp_ext_content/ifc_external

_corporate_site/about+ifc_new

125

(True Copy) Annexure P-22

World Bank Official website, dated 2017

The World Bank Group is one of the world’s largest sources of funding

and knowledge for developing countries. Its five institutions share a

commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and

promoting sustainable development.

IBRD

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

(http://www.worldbank.org/en/who-we-are/ibrd)

IDA

The International Development Association

(http://ida.worldbank.org)

IFC

The International Finance Corporation

(http://www.ifc.org)

MIGA

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency

(http://www.miga.org)

ICSID

The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes

(https://icsid.worldbank.org)

126

Partnering With Governments

Together, IBRD and IDA form the World Bank, which provides

financing, policy advice, and technical assistance to governments of

developing countries. IDA focuses on the world’s poorest countries,

while IBRD assists middle-income and creditworthy poorer countries.

One World Bank Group

While our five institutions have their own country membership,

governing boards, and articles of agreement, we work as one to serve

our partner countries. Today’s development challenges can only be

met if the private sector is part of the solution. But the public sector

sets the groundwork to enable private investment and allow it to

thrive. The complementary roles of our institutions give the World

Bank Group a unique ability to connect global financial resources,

knowledge, and innovative solutions to the needs of developing

countries.

Source: http://www.worldbank.org/en/who-we-are

(True Copy)

127

Annexure P-23

Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2011 Q.11, Set A., dated 2011

Q.11 Set A, Civil Services Preliminary Examination, 2011

The Constitution (Seventy-Third Amendment) Act. 1992, which aims at

promoting the Panchayati Raj Institutions in the country provides for

which of the following?

1. Constitution of District Planning Committees.

2. State Election Commissions to conduct all panchayat elections.

3. Establishment of State Finance Commissions.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

a.) 1 only

b.) 1 and 2 only

c.) 2 and 3 only

d.) 1, 2 and 3

(True Copy)

128

Annexure P-24

Official Answer Key of Civil Services Preliminary Exam, 2011:

Examination Civil Services(Preliminary) Exam. 2011

Series A Subject General

Studies Paper-

I

Maximum Marks 200 No. Of items 100

No. Of Items to be

taken for scoring

100 No. Of items

dropped

NIL

1 B 16 D 31 B 46 D 61 D 76 D 91 C

2 D 17 D 32 A 47 D 62 D 77 A 92 C

3 A 18 B 33 C 48 C 63 A 78 B 93 C

4 B 19 A 34 D 49 D 64 C 79 B 94 A

5 C 20 C 35 B 50 C 65 A 80 A 95 C

6 A 21 B 36 B 51 B 66 A 81 D 96 C

7 C 22 B 37 C 52 D 67 B 82 D 97 B

8 B 23 A 38 D 53 D 68 A 83 A 98 B

9 B 24 B 39 D 54 B 69 B 84 D 99 B

129

10 D 25 C 40 C 55 D 70 B 85 D 100 C

11 D 26 D 41 D 56 C 71 B 86 B

12 A 27 D 42 B 57 A 72 B 87 B

13 C 28 B 43 D 58 C 73 A 88 A

14 B 29 A 44 A 59 B 74 B 89 A

15 D 30 C 45 D 60 A 75 C 90 B

(True Copy)

130

Annexure P-25

The Constitution (Seventy-Third Amendment) Act, 1992 (dated 2017)

Statement of Objects and Reasons appended to the Constitution

(Seventy-Second Amendment) Bill, 1991 which was enacted as the

Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992

Statement Of Objects And Reasons

1. Though the Panchayati Raj Institutions have been in existence for a

long time, it has been observed that these institutions have not

been able to acquire the status and dignity of viable and responsive

people's bodies due to a number of reasons including absence of

regular elections, prolonged supersessions, insufficient

representation of weaker sections like Scheduled Castes, Scheduled

Tribes and women, inadequate devolution of powers and lack of

financial resources.

2. Article 40 of the Constitution which enshrines one of the Directive

Principles of State Policy lays down that the State shall take steps to

organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers and

authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units

of self-government. In the light of the experience in the last forty

years and in view of the short-comings which have been observed,

it is considered that there is an imperative need to enshrine in the

131

Constitution certain basic and essential features of Panchayati Raj

Institutions to impart certainty, continuity and strength to them.

3. Accordingly, it is proposed to add a new Part relating to Panchayats

in the Constitution to provide for among other things ,Gram Sabha

in a village or group of villages; constitution of Panchayats at village

and other level or levels; direct elections to all seats in Panchayats

at the village and intermediate level, if any, and to the offices of

Chairpersons of Panchayats at such levels; reservation of seats for

the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their

population for membership of Panchayats and office of Chairpersons

in Panchayats at each level; reservation of not less than one-third of

the seats for women; fixing tenure of 5 years for Panchayats and

holding elections within a period of 6 months in the event of

supersession of any Panchayat; disqualifications for membership of

Panchayats; devolution by the State Legislature of powers and

responsibilities upon the Panchayats with respect to the preparation

of plans for economic developments and social justice and for the

implementation of development schemes; sound finance of the

Panchayats by securing authorisation from State Legislatures for

grants-in-aid to the Panchayats from the Consolidated Fund of the

State, as also assignment to, or appropriation by, the Panchayats of

the revenues of designated taxes, duties, tolls and fees; setting up

of a Finance Commission within one year of the proposed

amendment and thereafter every 5 years to review the financial

132

position of Panchayats; auditing of accounts of the Panchayats;

powers of State Legislatures to make provisions with respect to

elections to Panchayats under the superintendence, direction and

control of the chief electoral officer of the State; application of the

provisions of the said Part to Union territories; excluding certain

States and areas from the application of the provisions of the said

Part; continuance of existing laws and Panchayats until one year

from the commencement of the proposed amendment and barring

interference by courts in electoral matters relating to Panchayats.

4. The Bill seeks to achieve the aforesaid objectives.

The 10th September, 1991.

The Constitution (Seventy-Third Amendment) Act, 1992 [20th April,

1993.]

An Act further to amend the Constitution of India.

Be it enacted by Parliament in the Forty-third Year of the Republic

of India as follows:-

5. Short title and commencement. –

(1) This Act may be called the Constitution (Seventy-third

Amendment) Act, 1992.

(2) It shall come into force on such date__ as the Central

Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

133

1. Insertion of new Part IX.- After Part VIII of the Constitution, the

following Part shall be inserted, namely:

Part IX

The Panchayats

243. Definitions.- In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) "district" means a district in a State;

(b) "Gram Sabha" means a body consisting of persons registered in the

electoral rolls relating to a village comprised within the area of

Panchayat at the village level;

(c) "Intermediate level" means a level between the village and district

levels specified by the Governor of a State by public notification to be

the intermediate level for the purposes of this Part;

(d) "Panchayat" means an institution (by whatever name called) of

self-government constituted under article 243B, for the rural areas;

(e) "Panchayat area" means the territorial area of a Panchayat;

(f) "population" means the population as ascertained at the last

preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published;

(g) "village" means a village specified by the Governor by public

notification to be a village for the purposes of this Part and includes a

group of villages so specified.

134

243A. Gram Sabha- A Gram Sabha may exercise such powers and

perform such functions at the village level as the Legislature of a State

may, by law, provide.

243B. Constitution of Panchayats- (1) There shall be constituted in

every State, Panchayats at the village, intermediate and district levels

in accordance with the provisions of this Part.

(2) Notwithstanding anything in clause (1), Panchayats at the

intermediate level may not be constituted in a State having a

population not exceeding twenty lakhs.

243C. Composition of Panchayats- (1) Subject to the provisions of this

Part, the Legislature of a State may, by law, make provisions with

respect to the composition of Panchayats:

Provided that the ratio between the population of the territorial area of

a Panchayat at any level and the number of seats in such Panchayat to

be filled by election shall, so far as practicable, be the same

throughout the State.

(2) All the seats in a Panchayat shall be filled by persons chosen by

direct election from territorial constituencies in the Panchayat area

and; for this purpose, each Panchayat area shall be divided into

territorial constituencies in such manner that the ratio between the

population of each constituency and the number of seats allotted to it

135

shall, so far as practicable, be the same throughout the Panchayat

area.

(3) The Legislature of a State may, by law, provide for the

representation-

(a) of the Chairpersons of the Panchayats at the village level, in the

Panchayats at the intermediate level or, in the case of a State not

having Panchayats at the intermediate level, in the Panchayats at the

district level;

(b) of the Chairpersons of the Panchayats at the intermediate level, in

the Panchayats at the district level;

(c) of the members of the House of the People and the members of

the Legislative Assembly of the State representing constituencies which

comprise wholly or partly a Panchayat area at a level other than the

village level, in such Panchayat;

(d) of the members of the Council of States and the members of the

Legislative Council of the State, where they are registered as electors

within-

(i) a Panchayat area at the intermediate level, in Panchayat at the

intermediate level;

(ii) a Panchayat area at the district level, in Panchayat at the district

level.

136

(4) The Chairperson of a Panchayat and other members of a

Panchayat whether or not chosen by direct election from territorial

constituencies in the Panchayat area shall have the right to vote in the

meetings of the Panchayats.

(5) The Chairperson of –

(a) a Panchayat at the village level shall be elected in such manner as

the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide; and

(b) a Panchayat at the intermediate level or district level shall be

elected by, and from amongst, the elected members thereof.

243D. Reservation of seats.-

(1) Seats shall be reserved for-

(a) the Scheduled Castes; and

(b) the Scheduled Tribes, in every Panchayat and the number of

seats of reserved shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same

proportion to the total number of seats to be filled by direct

election in that Panchayat as the population of the Scheduled

Castes in that Panchayat area or of the Scheduled Tribes in that

Panchayat area bears to the total population of that area and

such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies

in a Panchayat.

137

(2) Not less than one-third of the total number of seats reserved under

clause (1) shall be reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled

Castes or, as the case may be, the Scheduled Tribes.

(3) Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for

women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes)

of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every

Panchayat shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted

by rotation to different constituencies in a Panchayat.

(4) The offices of the Chairpersons in the Panchayats at the village or

any other level shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes, the

Scheduled Tribes and women in such manner as the Legislature of a

State may, by law, provide:

Provided that the number of offices of Chairpersons reserved for the

Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in the Panchayats at each

level in any State shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion

to the total number of such offices in the Panchayats at each level as

the population of the Scheduled Castes in the State or of the

Scheduled Tribes in the State bears to the total population of the

State:

Provided further that not less than one-third of the total number of

offices of Chairpersons in the Panchayats at each level shall be

reserved for women:

138

Provided also that the number of offices reserved under this be

allotted by rotation to different Panchayats at each level.

(5) The reservation of seats under clauses (1) and (2) and the

reservation of offices of Chairpersons (other than the reservation for

women) under clause (4) shall cease to have effect on the expiration

of the period specified in article 334.

(6) Nothing in this Part shall prevent the Legislature of a State from

making any provision for reservation of seats in any Panchayat or

offices of Chairpersons in the Panchayats at any level in favour of

backward class of citizens.

243E. Duration of Panchayats, etc.- (1) Every Panchayat, unless

sooner dissolved under any law for the time being in force, shall

continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting

and no longer.

(2) No amendment of any law for the time being in force shall have

the effect of causing dissolution of a Panchayat at any level, which is

functioning immediately before such amendment, till the expiration of

its duration specified in clause (1).

(3) An election to constitute a Panchayat shall be completed-

(a) before the expiry of its duration specified in clause (1);

(b) before the expiration of a period of six months from the date of its

dissolution:

139

Provided that where the remainder of the period for which the

dissolved Panchayat would have continued is less than six months, it

shall not be necessary to hold any election under this clause for

constituting the Panchayat for such period.

(4) A Panchayat constituted upon the dissolution of a Panchayat Before

the expiration of its duration shall continue only for the remainder of

the period for which the dissolved Panchayat would have continued

under clause (1) had it not been so dissolved.

243F. Disqualifications for membership. –

(1) A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a

member of a Panchayat- (a) if he is so disqualified by or under any law

for the time being in force for the purposes of elections to the

Legislature of the State concerned:

Provided that no person shall be disqualified on the ground that he is

less than twenty-five years of age, if he has attained the age of

twenty-one years;

(b) if he is so disqualified by or under any law made by the Legislature

of the State.

(2) If any question arises as to whether a member of a Panchayat has

become subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in clause (1),

the question shall be referred for the decision of such authority and in

such manner as the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide.

140

243G. Powers, authority and responsibilities of Panchayats. – Subject

to the provisions of this Constitution, the Legislature of a State may, by

law, endow the Panchayats with such powers and authority as may be

necessary to enable them to function as institutions of self-government

and such law may contain provisions for the devolution of powers and

responsibilities upon Panchayats at the appropriate level, subject to

such conditions as may be specified therein, with respect to-

(a) the preparation of plans for economic development and social

justice;

(b) the implementation of schemes for economic development and

Social justice as may be entrusted to them including those in relation

to the matters listed in the Eleventh Schedule.

243H. Powers to impose taxes by, and Funds of, the Panchayats- The

Legislature of a State may, by law,-

(a) authorise a Panchayat to levy, collect and appropriate such taxes,

duties, tolls and fees in accordance with such procedure and subject

to such limits;

(b) assign to a Panchayat such taxes, duties, tolls and fees levied and

collected by the State Government for such purposes and subject to

such conditions and limits;

(c) provide for making such grants-in-aid to the Panchayats from the

Consolidated Fund of the State; and

141

(d) provide for Constitution of such Funds for crediting all moneys

received, respectively, by or on behalf of the Panchayats and also for

the withdrawal of such moneys therefrom, as may be specified in the

law.

243-I. Constitution of Finance Commission to review financial position.-

(1) The Governor of a State shall, as soon as may be within one year

from the commencement of the Constitution (Seventy – third

Amendment) Act, 1992, and thereafter at the expiration of every fifth

year, constitute a Finance Commission to review the financial position

of the Panchayats and to make recommendations to the Governor as

to-

(a) the principles which should govern-

(i) the distribution between the State and the Panchayats of the net

proceeds of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees leviable by the State,

which may be divided between them under this Part and the allocation

between the Panchayats at all levels of their respective shares of such

proceeds;

(ii) the determination of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees which may be

assigned to, or appropriated by, the Panchayat;

(iii) the grants-in-aid to the Panchayats from the Consolidated Fund of

the State;

142

(b) the measures needed to improve the financial position of the

Panchayats;

(c) any other matter referred to the Finance Commission by the

Governor in the interests of sound finance of the Panchayats.

(2) The Legislature of a State may, by law, provide for the composition

of the commission, the qualifications which shall be requisite for

appointment as members thereof and the manner in which they shall

be selected.

(3) The Commission shall determine their procedure and shall

havesuch powers in the performance of their functions as the

Legislature of the State may, by law, confer on them.

(4) The Governor shall cause every recommendation made by The

Commission under this article together with an explanatory

Memorandum as to the action taken thereon to be laid before the

Legislature of the State.

243J. Audit of accounts of Panchayats: The Legislature of a State may,

by law, make provisions with respect to the maintenance of accounts

by the Panchayats and the auditing of such accounts.

243K. Elections to the Panchayats:(1) The superintendence, direction

and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for, and the conduct of,

all elections to the Panchayats shall be vested in a State Election

143

Commission consisting of a State Election Commissioner to be

appointed by the Governor.

(2) Subject to the provisions of any law made by the Legislature of a

State, the conditions of service and tenure of office of the State

Election Commissioner shall be such as the Governor may by rule

determine:

Provided that the State Election Commissioner shall not be removed

from his office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a

Judge of a High Court and the conditions of service of the State

Election Commissioner shall not be varied to his disadvantage after his

appointment.

(3) The Governor of a State shall, when so requested by the State

Election Commission, make available to the State Election Commission

such staff as may be necessary for the discharge of the functions

conferred on the State Election Commission by clause (1).

(4) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Legislature of a

State may, by law, make provision with respect to all matters relating

to, or in connection with, elections to the Panchayats.

243L. Application to Union territories.-The provisions of this Part shall

apply to the Union territories and shall, in their application to a Union

territory, have effect as if the references to the Governor of a State

were references to the Administrator of the Union territory appointed

144

under article 239 and references to the Legislature or the Legislative

Assembly of a State were references, in relation to a Union territory

having a Legislative Assembly, to that Legislative Assembly:

Provided that the President may, by public notification, direct that the

provisions of this Part shall apply to any Union territory or part thereof

subject to such exceptions and modifications as he may specify in the

notification.

243M. Part not to apply to certain areas-(1) Nothing in this Part shall

apply to the Scheduled Areas referred to in clause (1), and the tribal

areas referred to in clause (2), of article 244.

(2) Nothing in this Part shall apply to (a) the States of Nagaland,

Meghalaya and Mizoram; (b) the Hill Areas in the State of Manipur for

which District Councils exist under any law for the time being in force.

(3) Nothing in this Part-

(a) relating to Panchayats at the district level shall apply to the hill

areas of the District of Darjeeling in the State of West Bengal for which

Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council exists under any law for the time being

in force;

(b) shall be construed to affect the functions and powers of the

Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council constituted under such law.

(4) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution,-

145

(a) the Legislature of a State referred to in sub-clause (a) of clause (2)

may, by law, extend this Part to that State, except the areas, if any,

referred to in clause (1), if the Legislative Assembly of that State

passes a resolution to that effect by a majority of the total membership

of that House and by a majority of not less than two thirds of the

members of that House present and voting;

(b) Parliament may, by law, extend the provisions of this Part to the

Scheduled Areas and the tribal areas referred to in clause (1) subject

to such exceptions and modifications as may be specified in such law,

and no such law shall be deemed to be an amendment of this

Constitution for the purposes of article 368.

243N. Continuance of existing laws and Panchayats.- Notwithstanding

anything in this P art, any provision of any law relating to Panchayats

in force in a State immediately before the commencement of the

Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992, which is

inconsistent with the provisions of this Part, shall continue to be in

force until amended or repealed by a competent Legislature or other

competent authority or until the expiration of one year from such

commencement, whichever is earlier:

Provided that all the Panchayats existing immediately before such

commencement shall continue till the expiration of their duration,

unless sooner dissolved by a resolution passed to that effect by the

146

Legislative Assembly of that State or, in the case of a State having a

Legislative Council, by each House of the Legislature of that State.

243-O. Bar to interference by courts in electoral matters.-

Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution,- (a) the validity of any

law relating to the delimitation of constituencies or the allotment of

seats to such constituencies, made or purporting to be made under

article 243K, shall not be called in question in any court;

1. no election to any Panchayat shall be called in question

except by an election petition presented to such authority

and in such manner a s is provided for by or under any law

made by the Legislature of a State.'.

(a) “...Constitution, after sub-clause (b), the following

sub-clause shall be inserted, namely:-

"(bb) the measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a

State to supplement the resources of the Panchayats in the State on

the basis of the recommendations made by the Finance Commission of

The State;".

Constitution, the following Schedule shall be added, namely:-

"Eleventh Schedule (Article 243G)

1. Agriculture, including agricultural extension.

147

2.Land improvement, implementation of land reforms, land

consolidation and soil conservation.

3. Minor irrigation, water management and watershed development.

4. Animal husbandry, dairying and poultry.

5. Fisheries.

6. Social forestry and farm forestry.

7. Minor forest produce.

8. Small scale industries, including food processing industries.

9. Khadi, village and cottage industries.

10. Rural housing.

11. Drinking water.

12. Fuel and fodder.

13. Roads, culverts, bridges, ferries, waterways and other means of

communication.

14. Rural electrification, including distribution of electricity.

15. Non-conventional energy sources.

16. Poverty alleviation programme.

17. Education, including primary and secondary schools.

148

18. Technical training and vocational education.

19. Adult and non-formal education.

20. Libraries.

21. Cultural activities.

22. Markets and fairs.

23. Health and sanitation, including hospitals, primary health centres

and dispensaries.

24. Family welfare.

25. Women and child development.

26. Social welfare, including welfare of the handicapped and mentally

retarded.

27. Welfare of the weaker sections, and in particular, of the Scheduled

Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.

28. Public distribution system.

29. Maintenance of community assets."

(True Copy)

150

Annexure P-26

The Constitution (Seventy-Fourth Amendment) Act, 1992 (printed

2017)

Statement of Objects and Reasons appended to the Constitution:

(Seventy-third Amendment) Bill, 1991 which was enacted as the

Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992

In many States local bodies have become weak and ineffective on

account of a variety of reasons, including the failure to hold regular

elections, prolonged supersessions and inadequate devolution of

powers and functions. As a result, Urban Local Bodies are not able to

perform effectively as vibrant democratic units of self-government.

2. Having regard to these inadequacies, it is considered necessary that

provisions relating to Urban Local Bodies are incorporated in the

Constitution particularly for-

(i) putting on a firmer footing the relationship between the State

Government and the Urban Local Bodies with respect to-

(a) the functions and taxation powers; and

(b) arrangements for revenue sharing;

(ii) Ensuring regular conduct of elections;

(iii) ensuring timely elections in the case of supersession; and

151

(iv) providing adequate representation for the weaker sections like

Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women.

3. Accordingly, it is proposed to add a new part relating to the Urban

Local Bodies in the Constitution to provide for-

(a) constitution of three types of Municipalities:

(i) Nagar Panchayats for areas in transition from a rural area to urban

area;

(ii) Municipal Councils for smaller urban areas;

(iii) Municipal Corporations for larger urban areas.

The broad criteria for specifying the said areas is being provided in the

proposed article 243-0;

(b) composition of Municipalities, which will be decided by the

Legislature of a State, having the following features:

(i) persons to be chosen by direct election;

(ii) representation of Chairpersons of Committees, if any, at ward or

other levels in the Municipalities;

(iii) representation of persons having special knowledge or experience

of Municipal Administration in Municipalities (without voting rights);

(c) election of Chairpersons of a Municipality in the manner specified in

the State law;

152

(d) constitution of Committees at ward level or other level or levels

within the territorial area of a Municipality as may be provided in the

State law;

(e) reservation of seats in every Municipality-

(i) fo r Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their

population of which not less than one-third shall be for women;

(ii) for women which shall not less than one-third of the total number

of seats;

(iii) in favour of backward class of citizens if so provided by the

Legislature of the State;

(iv) for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women in the office of

Chairpersons as may be specified in the State law;

(f) fixed tenure of 5 years for the Municipality and re-election within six

months of end of tenure. If a Municipality is dissolved before expiration

of its duration, elections to be held within a period of six months of its

dissolution;

(g) devolution by the State Legislature of powers and responsibilities

upon the Municipalities with respect to preparation of plans for

economic development and social justice, and for the implementation

of development schemes as may be required to enable them to

function as institutions of self-government;

153

(h) levy of taxes and duties by Municipalities, assigning of such taxes

and duties to Municipalities by State Governments and for making

grants-in-aid by the State to the Municipalities as may be provided in

the State law;

(i) a Finance Commission to review the finances of the Municipalities

and to recommend principles for-

(1) determining the taxes which may be assigned to the Municipalities;

(2) Sharing of taxes between the State and Municipalities;

(3) grants-in-aid to the Municipalities from the Consolidated Fund of

the State;

(j) audit of accounts of the Municipal Corporations by the Comptroller

and Auditor-General of India and laying of reports before the

Legislature of the State and the Municipal Corporation concerned;

(k) making of law by a State Legislature with respect to elections to

the Municipalities to be conducted under the superintendence,

direction and control of the chief electoral officer of the State;

(l) application of the provisions of the Bill to any Union territory or part

thereof with such modifications as may be specified by the President;

(m) exempting Scheduled areas referred to in clause (1), and tribal

areas referred to in clause (2), of article 244, from the application of

154

the provisions of the Bill. Extension of provisions of the Bill to such

areas may be done by Parliament by law;

(n) disqualifications for membership of a Municipality;

(o) bar of jurisdiction of Courts in matters relating to elections to the

Municipalities.

4. The Bill seeks to achieve the aforesaid objectives.

THE CONSTITUTION (SEVENTY-FOURTH AMENDMENT) ACT,1992

An Act further to amend the Constitution of India.

Be it enacted by Parliament in the Forty-third Year of the Republic of

India as follows:-

1. Short title and commencement.-(1) This Act may be called the

Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992.

(2) It shall come into force on such date_681 as the Central

Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

2. Insertion of new Part IXA -After Part IX of the Constitution, the

following Part shall be inserted, namely:-

PART IXA

THE MUNICIPALITIES

243P. Definitions-In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,-

155

(a) "Committee" means a Committee constituted under article 243S;

(b) "district" means a district in a State;

(c) "Metropolitan area" means an area having a population of ten lakhs

or more, comprised in one or more districts and consisting of two or

more Municipalities or Panchayats or other contiguous areas, specified

by the Governor by public notification to be a Metropolitan area for the

purposes of this Part;

(d) "Municipal area" means the territorial area of a Municipality as is

notified by the Governor;

(e) "Municipality" means an institution of self-government constituted

under article 243Q;

(f) "Panchayat" means a Panchayat constituted under article 243B;

(g) "population" means the population as ascertained at the last

preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published.

243Q. Constitution of Municipalities.-(1) There shall be constituted in

every State,-

(a) a Nagar Panchayat (by whatever name called) for a transitional

area, that is to say, an area in transition from a rural area to an urban

area;

(b) a Municipal Council for a smaller urban area; and

156

(c) a Municipal Corporation for a larger urban area, in accordance with

the provisions of this Part:

Provided that a Municipality under this clause may not be constituted

in such urban area or part thereof as the Governor may, having regard

to the size of the area and the municipal services being provided or

proposed to be provided by an industrial establishment in that area

and such other factors as he may deem fit, by public notification,

specify to be an industrial township.

(2) In this article, "a transitional area", "a smaller urban area" or "a

larger urban area" means such area as the Governor may, having

regard to the population of the area, the density of the population

therein, the revenue generated for local administration, the percentage

of employment in non-agricultural activities, the economic importance

or such other factors as he may deem fit, specify by public notification

for the purposes of this Part.

243R. Composition of Municipalities- (1) Save as provided in clause

(2), all the seats in a Municipality shall be filled by persons chosen by

direct election from the territorial constituencies in the Municipal area

and for this purpose each Municipal area shall be divided into territorial

constituencies to be known as wards.

(2) The Legislature of a State may, by law, provide-

(a) for the representation in a Municipality of-

157

(i) persons having special knowledge or experience in Municipal

administration;

(ii) the members of the House of the People and the members of the

Legislative Assembly of the State representing constituencies which

comprise wholly or partly the Municipal area;

(iii) the members of the Council of States and the members of the

Legislative Council of the State registered as electors within the

Municipal area;

(iv) the Chairpersons of the Committees constituted under clause (5)

of article 243S:

Provided that the persons referred to in paragraph (i) shall not have

the right to vote in the meetings of the Municipality;

(b) the manner of election of the Chairperson of a Municipality. 243S.

Constitution and composition of Wards Committees, etc.

(1) There shall be constituted Wards Committees, consisting of one or

more wards, within the territorial area of a Municipality having a

population of three lakhs or more.

(2) The Legislature of a State may, by law, make provision with

respect to-

(a) the composition and the territorial area of a Wards Committee;

(b) the manner in which the seats in a Wards Committee shall be filled.

158

(3) A member of a Municipality representing a ward within the

territorial area of the Wards Committee shall be a member of that

Committee.

(4) Where a Wards Committee consists of-

(a) one ward, the member representing that ward in the Municipality;

or

(b) two or more wards, one of the members representing such wards

in the Municipality elected by the members of the Wards Committee,

shall be the Chairperson of that Committee.

(5) Nothing in this article shall be deemed to prevent the Legislature of

a State from making any provision for the constitution of Committees

in addition to the Wards Committees.

243T. Reservation of seats.-(1) Seats shall be reserved for the

Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in every Municipally and

the number of seats so reserved shall bear, as nearly as may be, the

same proportion to the total number of seats to be filled by direct

election in that Municipality as the population of the Scheduled Castes

in the Municipal area or of the Scheduled Tribes in the Municipal area

bears to the total population of that area and such seats may be

allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Municipality.

159

(2) Not less than one-third of the total number of seats reserved under

clause (1) shall be reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled

Castes or, as the case may be, the Scheduled Tribes.

(3) Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for

women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes)

of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every

Municipality shall be reserved for women and such seats may be

allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Municipality.

(4) The officers of Chairpersons in the Municipalities shall be reserved

for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and women in such

manner as the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide.

(5) The reservation of seats under clauses (1) and (2) and the

reservation of offices of Chairpersons (other than the reservation for

women) under clause (4) shall cease to have effect on the expiration

of the period specified in article 334.

(6) Nothing in this Part shall prevent the Legislature of a State from

making any provision for reservation of seats in any Municipality or

offices of Chairpersons in the Municipalities in favour of backward class

of citizens.

243U. Duration of Municipalities, etc.-(1) Every Municipality, unless

sooner dissolved under any law for the time being in force, shall

160

continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting

and no longer:

Provided that a Municipality shall be given a reasonable opportunity of

being heard before its dissolution.

(2) No amendment of any law for the time being in force shall have

the effect of causing dissolution of a Municipality at any level, which is

functioning immediately before such amendment, till the expiration of

its duration specified in clause (1).

(3) An election to constitute a Municipality shall be completed,-

(a) before the expiry of its duration specified in clause (1);

(b) before the expiration of a period of six months from the date of its

dissolution:

Provided that where the remainder of the period for which the

dissolved Municipality would have continued is less than six months, it

shall not be necessary to hold any election under this clause for

constituting the Municipality for such period.

(4) A Municipality constituted upon the dissolution of a Municipality

before the expiration of its duration shall continue only for the

remainder of the period for which the dissolved Municipality would

have continued under clause (1) had it not been so dissolved.

161

243V. Disqualifications for membership.-(1) A person shall be

disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of a

Municipality-

(a) if he is so disqualified by or under any law for the time being in

force for the purposes of elections to the Legislature of the State

concerned:

Provided that no person shall be disqualified on the ground that he is

less than twenty-five years of age, if he has attained the age of

twenty-one years;

(b) if he is so disqualified by or under any law made by the Legislature

of the State.

(2) If any question arises as to whether a member of a Municipality

has become subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in clause

(1), the question shall be referred for the decision of such authority

and in such manner as the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide.

243W. Powers, authority and responsibilities of Municipalities, etc.-

Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Legislature of a State

may, by law, endow-

(a) the Municipalities with such powers and authority as may be

necessary to enable them to function as institutions of self-government

and such law may contain provisions for the devolution of powers and

162

responsibilities upon Municipalities, subject to such conditions as may

be specified therein, with respect to-

(i) the preparation of plans for economic development and social

justice;

(ii) the performance of functions and the implementation of schemes

as may be entrusted to them including those in relation to the matters

listed in the Twelfth Schedule;

(b) the Committees with such powers and authority as may be

necessary to enable them to carry out the responsibilities conferred

upon them including those in relation to the matters listed in the

Twelfth Schedule

243X. Power to impose taxes by, and Funds of, the Municipalities.-The

Legislature of a State may, by law,-

(a) authorize a Municipality to levy, collect and appropriate such taxes,

duties, tolls and fees in accordance with such procedure and

subject to such limits;

(b) assign to a Municipality such taxes, duties, tolls and fees levied and

collected by the State Government for such purposes and subject to

such conditions and limits;

(c) provide for making such grants-in-aid to the Municipalities from the

Consolidated Fund of the State; and

163

(d) provide for constitution of such Funds for crediting all moneys

received, respectively, by or on behalf of the Municipalities and also for

the withdrawal of such moneys there from as may be specified in the

law.

243Y. Finance Commission.-(1) The Finance Commission constituted

under article 243-I shall also review the financial position of the

Municipalities and make recommendations to the Governor as to-

(a) the principles which should govern

(i) the distribution between the State and the Municipalities of the net

proceeds of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees leviable by the State,

which may be divided between them under this Part and the allocation

between the Municipalities at all levels of their respective shares of

such proceeds;

(ii) the determination of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees which may be

assigned to, or appropriated by, the Municipalities;

(iii) the grants-in-aid to the Municipalities from the Consolidated Fund

of the State;

(b) the measures needed to improve the financial position of the

Municipalities;

(c) any other matter referred to the Finance Commission by the

Governor in the interests of sound finance of the Municipalities.

164

(2) The Governor shall cause every recommendation made by the

Commission under this article together with an explanatory

memorandum as to the action taken thereon to be laid before the

Legislature of the State.

243Z. Audit of accounts of Municipalities.-The Legislature of a State

may, by law, make provisions with respect to the maintenance of

accounts by the Municipalities and the auditing of such accounts.

243ZA. Elections to the Municipalities.-(1) The superintendence,

direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for, and the

conduct of, all elections to the Municipalities shall be vested in the

State Election Commission referred to in article 243K.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Legislature of a

State may, by law, make provision with respect to all matters relating

to, or in connection with, elections to the Municipalities.

243ZB. Application to Union territories.-The provisions of this Part shall

apply to the Union territories and shall, in their application to a Union

territory, have effect as if the references to the Governor of a State

were references to the Administrator of the Union territory appointed

under article 239 and references to the Legislature or the Legislative

Assembly of a State were references in relation to a Union territory

having a Legislative Assembly, to that Legislative Assembly:

165

Provided that the President may, by public notification, direct that the

provisions of this Part shall apply to any Union territory or part thereof

subject to such exceptions and modifications as he may specify in the

notification.

243ZC. Part not to apply to certain areas.-(1) Nothing in this Part shall

apply to the Scheduled Areas referred to in clause (1), and the tribal

areas referred to in clause (2), of article 244.

(2) Nothing in this Part shall be construed to affect the functions and

powers of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council constituted under any law

for the time being in force for the hill areas of the district of Darjeeling

in the State of West Bengal.

(3) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, Parliament may,

bylaw, extend the provisions of this Part to the Scheduled Areas and

the tribal areas referred to in clause (1) subject to such exceptions and

modifications as may be specified in such law, and no such law shall

be deemed to be an amendment of this Constitution for the purposes

of article 368.

243ZD. Committee for district planning.-(1) There shall be constituted

in every State at the district level a District Planning Committee to

consolidate the plans prepared by the Panchayats and the

Municipalities in the district and to prepare a draft development plan

for the district as a whole.

166


respect to-

(a) the composition of the District Planning Committees;

(b) the manner in which the seats in such Committees shall be filled:

Provided that not less than four-fifths of the total number of members

of such Committee shall be elected by, and from amongst, the elected

members of the Panchayat at the district level and of the Municipalities

in the district in proportion to the ratio between the population of the

rural areas and of the urban areas in the district;

(c) the functions relating to district planning which may be assigned to

such Committees;

(d) the manner in which the Chairpersons of such Committees shall be

chosen.

(3) Every District Planning Committee shall, in preparing the draft

development plan,-

(a) have regard to-

(i) matters of common interest between the Panchayats and the

Municipalities including spatial planning, sharing of water and other

physical and natural resources, the integrated development of

infrastructure and environmental conservation;

167

(ii) the extent and type of available resources whether financial or

otherwise;

(b) consult such institutions and organisations as the Governor may, by

order, specify.

(4) The Chairperson of every District Planning Committee shall forward

the development plan, as recommended by such Committee, to the

Government of the State.

243ZE. Committee for Metropolitan planning-(I) There shall be

constituted in every Metropolitan area a Metropolitan Planning

Committee to prepare a draft development plan for the Metropolitan

area as a whole.


respect to-

(a) the composition of the Metropolitan Planning Committees;

(b) the manner in which the seats in such Committees shall be filled:

Provided that not less than two-thirds of the members of such

Committee shall be elected by, and from amongst, the elected

Members of the Municipalities and Chairpersons of the Panchayats in

the Metropolitan area in proportion to the ratio between the population

of the Municipalities and of the Panchayats in that area;

(c) the representation in such Committees of the Government of India

168

and the Government of the State and of such organisations and

institutions as may be deemed necessary for carrying out the functions

assigned to such Committees;

(d) the functions relating to planning and coordination for the

Metropolitan area which may be assigned to such Committees;

(e) the manner in which the Chairpersons of such Committees shall be

chosen.

(3) Every Metropolitan Planning Committee shall, in preparing the draft

development plan,-

(a) have regard to-

(i) the plans prepared by the Municipalities and the Panchayats in the

Metropolitan area;

(ii) matters of common interest between the Municipalities and the

Panchayats, including co-ordinated spatial planning of the area,

sharing of water and other physical and natural resources, the

integrated development of infrastructure and environmental

conservation;

(iii) the overall objectives and priorities set by the Government of India

and the Government of the State;

(iv) the extent and nature of investments likely to be made in the

Metropolitan area by agencies of the Government of India and of the

169

Government of the State and other available resources whether

financial or otherwise;

(b) consult such institutions and organisations as the Governor may, by

order, specify.

(4) The Chairperson of every Metropolitan Planning Committee shall

forward the development plan, as recommended by such Committee,

to the Government of the State.

243ZF. Continuance of existing laws and Municipalities.-

Notwithstanding anything in this Part, any provision of any law relating

to Municipalities in force in a State immediately before the

commencement of THE CONSTITUTION (Seventy-fourth Amendment)

Act, 1992,which is inconsistent with the provisions of this Part, shall

continue to be in force until amended or repealed by a competent

Legislature or other competent authority or until the expiration of one

year from such commencement, whichever is earlier:

Provided that all the Municipalities existing immediately before such

commencement shall continue till the expiration of their duration,

unless sooner dissolved by a resolution passed to that effect by the

Legislative Assembly of that State or, in the case of a State having a

Legislative Council, by each House of the Legislature of that State.

243ZG. Bar to interference by courts in electoral matters.-

170

Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution,-

(a) the validity of any law relating to the delimitation of constituencies

or the allotment of seats to such constituencies, made or purporting to

be made under article 243ZA shall not be called in question in any

court;

(b) no election to any Municipality shall be called in question except by

an election petition presented to such authority and in such manner as

is provided for by or under any law made by the Legislature of a

State.'.

3. Amendment of article 280.- In clause (3) of article 280 of the

Constitution, sub-clause (c) shall be re lettered as sub-clause (d) and

before sub-clause (d) as so re lettered, the following sub-clause shall

be inserted, namely:-

"(c) the measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a

State to supplement the resources of the Municipalities in the State on

the basis of the recommendations made by the Finance Commission of

The State;".

4. Addition of Twelfth Schedule.-After the Eleventh Schedule to the

Constitution, the following Schedule shall be added, namely:-

"TWELFTH SCHEDULE

(Article 243W)

171

1. Urban planning including town planning.

2. Regulation of land-use and construction of buildings.

3. Planning for economic and social development.

4. Roads and bridges.

5. Water supply for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes.

6. Public health, sanitation conservancy and solid waste management.

7. Fire services.

8. Urban forestry, protection of the environment and promotion of

ecological aspects.

9. Safeguarding the interests of weaker sections of society, including

the handicapped and mentally retarded.

10. Slum improvement and upgradation.

11. Urban poverty alleviation.

12. Provision of urban amenities and facilities such as parks, gardens,

playgrounds.

13. Promotion of cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects.

14. Burials and burial grounds; cremations, cremation grounds and

electric crematoriums.

15. Cattle pounds; prevention of cruelty to animals.

172

16. Vital statistics including registration of births and deaths.

17. Public amenities including street lighting, parking lots, bus stops

and public conveniences.

18. Regulation of slaughter houses and tanneries.''.

(True Copy)

173

Annexure P-27

Letter from UPSC to Mr. Shashi Tharoor for UPSC CS Mains Essay 2016

Concern:

To,

Dr Shashi Tharoor

MP (Lok Sabha)

Chairman, External Affairs Committee of Parliament,

111 Parliament House Annexe,

New Delhi 110001

Subject: Letter regarding Essay Paper of Civil Services (main)

Examination, 2016.

Sir,

This is with reference to your letter dated 14.12.2016 on the aforesaid

subject and in this connection, it is mentioned that question papers are

prepared and evaluated by the experts. The matter has been further

examined in the Commission in consultation with the experts in the

light of references received. I am to state that the Commission has

noted that as there could be different interpretations of the term

‘engender’, the different acceptable interpretation will be considered

valid during the evaluation of the essay paper to protect candidate’s

interest.

I trust this will address the issue raised by you.

174

Yours faithfully

Sd/-

(MP Tangirala)

AS & Controller of Examination

(Additional Secretary)

UPSC

(True Copy)

175

Annexure P-28

Compilation of Notices, Advertisements released from various State

Public Service Commissions regarding Objections over Answer keys

and Revised Answer Key release subsequently, dated 2017

Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission Objection Format:

Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission

“Pratibha Bhavan”, Nampally, Hyderabad – 500 001

Format For Filing Objections Against Questions In Examinations

Table 1: Details Of The Candidate

dated 2017

Name of the

Candidate

Examination ID

Name of the

Examination

Postal address of the

candidate for

communication

Mobile Number

176

Details Of Objections

Subject: (For each subject, separate table shall be used)

Question ID/

Number as

given in the

published

key

Brief

Description of

the Question

Details of

Objection (not

more than 100

words)

Details of

Standard

Reference in

support of

objection (not

more than 100

words)

Verification

I hereby certify that I appeared in the above examination and

the subjections mentioned above. The details written by me at Table 1

177

are correct and pertain to me. The objections stated by me in the

above tables are based on standard reference books on the concerned

subject. I understand that APPSC would not accept application by any

other mode like messages on e-mail, mobile, whatsapp etc and only

written objections would be accepted. I also understand that

objections received at APPSC after 7 days from the date of publication

of key by APPSC would not be entertained and APPSC is not

responsible for postal delays.

(Name & Signature of the Candidate)

Bihar Public Service Commission

15, Jawaharlal Nehru Marg(Bailey Road) Patna---800001

Important Notice

Under 6oth, 61st, 62nd combined Competitive Examination(Preliminary),

General studies subject paper examination was conducted on

12.02.2017 in state at 390 centres, which had objective type

questions. Answers of all questions of the subject question paper

series ‘A’,’ B’,’ C’, and ’ D’ will be available on www.bpsc.bih.nic.in.

Hereby it is informed to appeared candidates who have any

objection/suggestion against answer of any question of any series,

need to send their any objection concerned with supporting

evidences/source mentioning their (Name, Roll Number, Address) in

178

given below Objection Form, to Under Secretary Examination

Controller, Bihar Public Service Commission, Bailey Road, Patna-

800001 via speed post such that are received till 5:30 pm 24.04.2017.

Do write Examination name on envelope. After said time and date,

objection and suggestion will not be considered.

The answers provided by the commission are totally provisional. Till

above mentioned date objection and suggestion received from the

objectioners will be considered and intensively reviewed by the subject

experts committee and after intensive review, final Model Answer will

be prepared. On the basis of final Model Answer by the subject experts

committee O.M.R Answer Sheet will be checked.

Objection Form

60th, 61st, 62nd Combined Competitive Entrance Preliminary

Examination

Roll Number...........Name...................... Question Paper Series....

Serial

No.

Question

No.

Commission

Answer

Candidate’s

suggested

Answer

Basis/Source/Evidence

of Objection

179

(Name and signature of the Candidate with date)

Candidate Contact/Mobile Number

Under Secretary Exam Controller,

Bihar Public Service Commission,

Patna

Uttarakhand Public Service Commission Civil Judge Answer Objection

Notification:

Uttarakhand Public Service Commission, Gurukul, Kangadi, Haridwar

Advertisement :

The answers of four question paper series (A, B,C,D) of Uttarakhand

Judicial Service Civil Judge preliminary examination-2016 are been

provided to candidates and will be available on Uttarakhand Public

Service Commission website http://www.ukpsc.gov.in from 17th June

2017 to 26th June 2017(last date and time till 23:59:59). If any

candidate has objection to answers over any question series, need to

send their email in required format to [email protected] as

directed and available on commission website. without support of

evidence, no email will be acted upon. In this context other than email,

no post and other communication medium will be accepted in any

circumstance. After last date and time mentioned, no objection will be

accepted in any case.

180

(Dr. Ram Vilas Yadav)

Secretary

Jharkhand Combined Civil Services Competitive Examination

2016(advertisement no. –23/2016) related Notice

Hereby it is informed that answer keys of Combined Civil Services

Competitive Examination 2016(advertisement no. –23/2016) was made

available on commission website www.jpsc.gov.in, and candidates

were asked to send their objections against Commission Answer Key

till 03.01.2017, 5:30 pm via speed post/post/hand to hand

communication.

After intensive consideration of objections from candidates over

answer key against Commission Answer Key, Answer Key has been

revised and is available on the commission website wwww.jpsc.gov.in.

Signature,

Secretary

Jharkhand Public Service Commission

Revised Answer Key from Public Commission website:

Revised Answer Key

GS Paper I

Series- A Series - B Series – C Series – D

181

Q.

No.

Correct

Option

Q.

No.

Correct

Option

Q. No. Correct

Option

Q. No. Correct

Option

42 C 90 C 70 C 50 C

65 B 13 B 93 B 73 B

GS Paper II

Series- A Series- B Series- C Series- D

Q.

No.

Correct

Option

Q.

No.

Correct

Option

Q. No. Correct

Option

Q. No. Correct

Option

13 None

of the

option

is

correct,

2

marks

will be

given

to all

8 None

of the

option

is

correct,

2

marks

will be

given

to all

3 None of

the

option

is

correct,

2 marks

will be

given to

all

33 None of

the

option is

correct, 2

marks will

be given

to all

15 B 10 B 5 B 35 B

182

(True Copy)

183

Annexure P-29

Order of in Writ Petition 564 of 2017:

Item No.2, Court No.2, Section PIL-W

Supreme Court of India

Record of Proceedings

Writ Petition(s)(Civil) No(s). 564/2017

Ashita Chawla ...Petitioner(s)

Versus

Union Public Service Commission ...Respondent(s)

(For Admission and Permission to Appear and Argue In Person)

Date: 01-08-2017 This petition was called on for hearing today.

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE DIPAK MISRA

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMITAVA ROY

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE A.M. KHANWILKAR

Ms. Binu Tamta, AOR

Mr. Dhruv Tamta, Adv.

For Petitioner(s) Mr. Colin Gonsalves, Sr. Adv.

Petitioner-in-person

184

For Respondent(s) Mr. P.S. Patwalia, ASG

Mr. Hrishikesh Baruah, AOR

Ms. Radhika Gupta, Adv.

Mr. Siddhant Kaushik, Adv.

UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following

O R D E R

1.8.2017

Heard Mr. Colin Gonsalves, learned senior counsel appearing for the

petitioner, Mr. P.S. Patwalia, learned senior counsel appearing for the

Union Public Service Commission and Ms. Binu Tamta, learned counsel

who was requested to assist the Court.

Having heard learned counsel for the parties, we do not perceive any

merit in the writ petition. The writ petition is accordingly dismissed

(Gulshan Kumar Arora) (H.S. Parasher)

Court Master Assistant Registrar

(True Copy)

185

Annexure P-30

Email replies from the UPSC in response to representation email sent

by petitioners, dated 2017

Response from UPSC against representation to petitioner no.1:

No.8.1(53)/2017-E.XXI

Union Public Service Commission

(Examination-XXI Section)

Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road,

New Delhi-110069

Dated the 23rd Aug., 2017.

To

Shri Vishal Rathi

e-mail: [email protected]

Sub:- Grievance/ Complaint regarding ambiguities in questions of Civil

Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2017 – Reg.

Dear Candidate,

I am directed to refer to your email dated the 8th Aug., 2017 on the

above cited subject and to say that the Questions and the

corresponding Answer Keys of the Civil Services (Preliminary)

Examination, 2017 were prepared by the different panels of

experts. Subsequently, different sets of expert reviewed the questions

and the corresponding answer keys on completion of examination.

186

Yours faithfully,

Sd/-

(S.K. Sehgal)

Under Secretary


Response from UPSC against representation email to petitioner no.2:

No.8.1(53)/2017-E.XXI




New Delhi-110069


To

Shri Vaibhav Tiwari

e-mail: [email protected]

Sub:-Grievance/ Complaint regarding ambiguities in questions of Civil


Dear Candidate,

I am directed to refer to your email dated the 8th Aug., 2017

on the above cited subject and to say that the Questions and the

187





Yours faithfully,

Sd/-

(S.K. Sehgal)

Under Secretary


Response from UPSC against representation email to petitioner no. 3:

No.8.1(53)/2017-E.XXI




New Delhi-110069


To,

Shri Niraj Kumar Singh

e-mail : [email protected]



Dear Candidate,

188

I am directed to refer to your email dated the 8th Aug.,

2017 on the above cited subject and to say that the Questions and the





Yours faithfully,

Sd/-

(S.K. Sehgal)

Under Secretary



No.8.1(53)/2017-E.XXI




New Delhi-110069


To

Shri Ravi Kant Dwivedi


189



Dear Candidate,

I am directed to refer to your email dated the 9th Aug, 2017

and 17thAug. 2017 on the above cited subject and to say that the

Questions and the corresponding Answer Keys of the Civil Services

(Preliminary) Examination, 2017 were prepared by the different panels

of experts. Subsequently, different sets of expert reviewed the

questions and the corresponding answer keys on completion of

examination.

Yours faithfully,

Sd/-

(S.K. Sehgal)

Under Secretary



No.8.1(53)/2017-E.XXI




New Delhi-110069

Dated the 29th Aug., 2017.

190

To

Shri Iznallah




Dear Candidate,

I am directed to refer to your email dated the 19th Aug., 2017 on the

above cited subject and to say that the Questions and the





Yours faithfully,

Sd/-

(S.K. Sehgal)

Under Secretary


(True Copy)

particulars of document page no. of parts to part 1 part ii alone) · 2017. 11. 9. · index sl....

Documents