RAS question
In the Ajay Hasia case (1981), the Supreme Court laid down tests to determine whether a body is 'State' under Article 12. Which of the following is NOT one of those tests?
Correct answer: (D) The body must be a profit-making entity.
Profit-making status is not an Ajay Hasia test for deciding whether a body is 'State' under Article 12 of the Constitution.
Explanation
In Ajay Hasia, the Supreme Court treated the issue as one of whether the body is an instrumentality or agency of government, and therefore an 'authority' under Article 12. The recognised factors include substantial financial support from government, deep and pervasive government control, monopoly status conferred or protected by the State, public-importance functions closely linked to governmental functions, and whether the entity is created by or under a statute. The cited judgment also notes that these tests need not all be satisfied together; the court looks at the combined factual picture. Profit-making status does not appear in this framework. A body can therefore fall within Article 12 because of governmental character even if it is not run as a profit-making entity.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Deep and pervasive government control is expressly recognised as an Ajay Hasia indicator of a State agency or instrumentality.
- (B) Financial assistance from government is one of the listed factors, especially where State support is substantial enough to show governmental character.
- (C) State-conferred or State-protected monopoly status is a relevant Ajay Hasia factor for Article 12 analysis.
Concept
This tests Article 12 and the public-law idea of 'State' beyond government departments. It recurs in RAS because fundamental-rights enforcement often turns on whether a board, society, corporation, or funded body has enough governmental character.