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RAS question

The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 specifies SCs for different states. To amend this list, a bill must be passed by:

Correct answer: (B) Parliament only (under Article 341(2)).

A bill to amend the Scheduled Castes list specified under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order must be passed by Parliament under Article 341(2).

  1. (A)

    State Legislature only

  2. (B)

    Parliament only (under Article 341(2))

  3. (C)

    The President alone

  4. (D)

    Both Parliament and State Legislature

Explanation

Article 341 creates a two-step constitutional scheme for Scheduled Castes. First, under Article 341(1), the President specifies the castes, races, tribes, or groups that are deemed to be Scheduled Castes for a State or Union territory. Once that notification exists, Article 341(2) gives the amendment power to Parliament: by law, Parliament may include a caste in, or exclude a caste from, the Scheduled Castes list specified in the notification. The same clause also says that, except through this parliamentary route, the notification cannot be varied by a later notification. That is why the legal answer is Parliament only, not a State Legislature or the President acting alone.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (A) A State Legislature cannot amend the Scheduled Castes list because Article 341(2) gives the include-or-exclude power to Parliament by law.
  • (C) The President issues the initial notification under Article 341(1), but Article 341(2) requires parliamentary law for later inclusion in or exclusion from the list.
  • (D) State Legislature approval is not part of the Article 341(2) amendment mechanism, so the list is not amended by both Parliament and the State Legislature.

Concept

This tests the constitutional procedure for identifying and amending Scheduled Castes under Article 341. It recurs in RAS because social justice, reservation, and Centre-State powers are standard governance themes.

Source

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