Objective General Knowledge

Article 53 of the Constitution of India explicitly states that 'the executive power of the Union shall be vested in the President' making the President the constitutional head of state. The Prime Minister is the head of government (executive head), not the head of state. Parliament is the legislative body, not the head of state.

World Environment Day is celebrated annually on June 5th as designated by the United Nations. It was established in 1972 by the UN General Assembly to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on Human Environment. The date has remained consistent since its inception.

Hugo Grotius, a foundational figure in international law, considered international law as true law in his natural law tradition. In contrast, positivists like Hobbes, Holland, and Austin viewed international law as lacking the characteristics of true law - Austin famously called it 'positive morality' rather than law because it lacked a sovereign.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands. It was established by the Rome Statute and The Hague was chosen as the seat of the court. The Hague is known as the 'city of peace and justice' hosting multiple international legal institutions.

In CEHAT (Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes) vs. Union of India (2008), the Supreme Court directed the government to strictly enforce the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act to combat female foeticide. The Court expressed serious concern about the declining child sex ratio and failure to implement the law effectively.

Under Article 229(2) of the Constitution, the President may frame rules regarding the conditions of service of High Court staff after consultation with the High Court Public Service Commission. While the Chief Justice makes the actual appointment, it must be in consultation with the Public Service Commission.

Article 94(2) of the UN Charter states that if any party fails to perform the obligations incumbent upon it under a judgment by the ICJ, the other party may have recourse to the Security Council, which may make recommendations or decide upon measures to be taken to give effect to the judgment.

Section 22 of the Copyright Act, 1957 provides that copyright subsists for 60 years from the beginning of the calendar year following the year in which the author dies. In case of joint authors, the term is calculated from the death of the last surviving author.

Article 229(3) of the Constitution clarifies that preventive detention laws fall under Entry 9 of List I (Union List), meaning only Parliament has the exclusive power to enact such laws. State legislatures cannot enact preventive detention laws under the constitutional scheme.

Uttarakhand became the first state to inaugurate a regular Quasi-Judicial Mobile Court in 2011. These mobile courts are designed to provide speedy justice to people in remote areas by holding court proceedings at their doorstep, particularly for petty cases and traffic violations.

Article 7 of the UN Charter specifies six principal organs: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat. The Human Rights Commission is not listed as a principal organ - it was a subsidiary body replaced by the Human Rights Council in 2006.

Article 127 of the Constitution allows the Chief Justice of India to appoint ad hoc judges from retired Supreme Court judges if there is a lack of quorum. This provision ensures the Supreme Court can function properly when regular judges are absent or recuse themselves.

The 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002 added Article 21-A to the Constitution, making free and compulsory education for children aged 6-14 a fundamental right. This came into effect from April 1, 2010, following the enactment of the Right to Education Act.

John Vallamattom vs. Union of India (2003) is a landmark case challenging the constitutional validity of Section 14 of the Indian Income Tax Act, 1961, which provided tax exemption only to Hindu Undivided Families. The Supreme Court struck down the provision as unconstitutional, recommending a Uniform Civil Code for all religious communities.