UPSC Prelims 2017 GS Paper I · Q86 of 100 Polity & Governance medium

Right to vote and to be elected in India is a

  1. (a) Fundamental Right
  2. (b) Natural Right
  3. (c) Constitutional Right ✓ UPSC's answer
  4. (d) Legal Right

Why the answer is (c)

• The right to vote flows from Article 326 of the Constitution (adult suffrage) and the right to contest from Articles 84 and 173, with details in the Representation of the People Acts.

• The Supreme Court (N.P. Ponnuswami, 1952; Jyoti Basu v. Debi Ghosal, 1982; PUCL, 2003) has held that the right to elect and be elected is neither a fundamental nor a natural right but a constitutional right (some judgments call it statutory) — option (c) per the official key.

• Hence option (c).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) Fundamental Right
It is not among the Fundamental Rights in Part III.
(b) Natural Right
Courts have held it is not a natural right.
(d) Legal Right
It is rooted in the Constitution (Article 326), so 'constitutional' is the key's answer.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2017, held on 18 June 2017. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

Practise this paper free