Category: Government

One the basis of the main source of the power exercised by the authority-holder, several kinds of authority is identified by the social scientists. 1. Traditional Authority: Authority based on customs and conventions is called Traditional Authority. The authority of a village elder is a traditional authority. In the political system of Britain, the authority of the King and the Prime Minister mainly rests upon customs, conventions and usages and not upon constitutional laws. Hence their authority can be designated as authority resting upon conventions. It can be called Traditional Authority. 2. Constitutional Authority: ADVERTISEMENTS: The legitimate power vested by the constitution of a state in an office or an institution is called Constitutional Authority. The authority of the President of India, the Prime Minister of India, the Chief Justice…

Legitimacy being the degree of faith, rightfulness, justness, respect and willing support that a political system and its authority-holders enjoy, no political system can function without it.However, legitimacy cannot be measured only in terms of the obedience of laws and policies by the people, because it can be a forced obedience, or obedience due to a fear of the power of the rulers.In authoritarian and totalitarian political systems and in dictatorships the rulers secure a high degree of obedience for their policies and rules, but their regimes always lack real legitimacy. Image Source: 7c5fc62517c2783a51a7-bc7e8b90b859c9d118bc40a7a1ae6ac9.r65.cf2.rackcdn.com ADVERTISEMENTS: In such systems, the authority holders use coercion to get their commands accepted. A dictator always comes to power by the use of force, violence suppression or dominance. However, he later on tries to secure…

District Magistrate: Section 20 lays down than in every district and in every metropolitan area the State Government shall appoint one of the Executive Magistrate as the District Magistrate. Besides the powers vested in him under the Code, he is in addition the Collector of the district and is also a District Officer. Powers of District Magistrate: A District Magistrate has, among others, the following powers:1. He is an executive Magistrate who exercises special powers with which he is invested either by the Code of Criminal Procedure or by the State Government (Section 20). ADVERTISEMENTS: 2. He has the power to require the postal or telegraph authorities to deliver any document, parcel or thing in their custody which is wanted for the purpose of any investigation, inquiry, trial or other…

Besides the High Court and the courts constituted under any law other than the Code of Criminal Procedure, there are four classes of Criminal Courts in India, namely : (I) Courts of Session, (2) Judicial Magistrate of the First Class, and in any metropolitan area, Metropolitan Magistrates, (3) Judicial Magistrate of the Second Class : and (4) Executive Magistrate (Section 6).Under the Constitution the Supreme Court has also been vested with certain Criminal powers. Article 134 confers appellate jurisdiction on the Supreme Court in regard to criminal matters and an appeal lies to it from a judgment in a criminal proceeding of a High Court if the High Court : (i) has on appeal reversed an order of acquittal of an accused person and sentenced him to death; (ii) has…

Corruption need not necessarily be in the form of money. The Central Vigilance Commission has identified following twenty-seven modes of corruption.1. Acceptance of substandard stores/works. ADVERTISEMENTS: 2. Misappropriation of public money and misappropriation of stores.3. Incurring pecuniary obligations of persons with whom the public servants have official dealings. Image Source: blogs-images.forbes.com4. Borrowings money from contractors/firms having official dealings with officers.5. Showing favours to contractors and firms. ADVERTISEMENTS: 6. Claiming of false travelling allowance, house rent, etc.7. Possession of disproportionate assets.8. Causing loss to government by negligence or otherwise.9. Purchase of immovable property, etc. without prior permission or intimation. ADVERTISEMENTS: 10. Abuse of official position/powers.11. Acceptance of illegal gratification in recruitments, postings, transfers and promotions.12. Misuse of government employees for personal work.13. Production of forged certificates of age, of birth of…

The speaker is endowed with a wide range of powers. His powers are:1. To see that there is decorum and discipline in the House.2. To decide who shall hold the floor and speak in deliberations of the House. ADVERTISEMENTS: 3. To safeguard the rights and privileges of the members of the House.4. To put the motion of the vote to announce the result. He does not vote but in case of a tie, he casts his vote.5. To act as administrative head of the Lok Sabha Secretariat. Image Source: top10wala.in ADVERTISEMENTS: 6. To accept resignations sent by members of Lok Sabha.7. To protect the House from unnecessary executive intrusion.8. To allot time for each item on the agenda of the House.Some of his special powers are ADVERTISEMENTS: 9. To certify…

Ordinary Bill Provisions regarding ordinary bill are contained in Article 10. It can be introduced in either house of Parliament except bills under Article 3; this bill does not require prior recommendation of the President.Both houses enjoy equal legislative jurisdiction over ordinary bill. The ordinary bills are passed by simple majority. ADVERTISEMENTS: In case of deadlock between the two houses, a joint sitting is convened by the President.President enjoys the right to send the ordinary bill for reconsideration only once. Image Source: cdn.publishyourarticles.netThe draft of the proposed bill has to be sent to the Secretariat of the House. The presiding officer of the house, after consulting the Business Advisory Committee determines the day and time when the Bill is to be moved in the house.On the appointed day and time…

Despite being part of the same constitution, a contrast is often made between part III and part IV i.e. between fundamental rights and directive principles. The main reasons are the judicial enforceability of FR and its nature being negative obligation of the state.The directives are non ­justifiable and are more in the nature of positive affirmations of the state. However in recent time, some of the directives have been made a part of chapter on Fundamental Rights to be in tune with the requirements of changing polity. History: The relationship between the Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles is best illustrated in the Article 37. It provides that Directives are not enforceable in a court of law. But, they are fundamental in the governance of the country and it shall be…

An overview of Hobbes’s theory of sovereignty put forward in his work, ‘Leviathan’ might suggest being a case for absolutism, but this is not the case.Hobbes starts up with the individual and ends up with the individual. Individual’s security is the pivot round which call his other political ideas revolve. ADVERTISEMENTS: Sharing the similar concern Prof. Sabine says, “The absolute power of the sovereign—a theory with which Hobbes’s name is more generally associated—was really the necessary component of his individualism. In the same tone, Prof. Way per says “the Leviathan is not merely a forceful enunciation of the doctrine of sovereignty… it is also a powerful statement of individualism”.Hobbes accords a prominent position to the individual. He allows his individual the right to resist the sovereign if the latter attacks…

Hobbes in his political philosophy mainly proceeds on the essential wickedness of human nature. Even though the law of nature shows the way out of state of nature, it does not ensure harmony.To ward off such apprehension, he supports an all powerful sovereign authority to enforce the laws of nature. For ‘”covenants’ without sword are butt words” and of no strength to secure a man at all. 1. Why Contract? To end the state of nature, every individual enter into, what Hobbes calls ‘contract’ with each individual. Through contract: ADVERTISEMENTS: Individuals undertake not “to will their own will”Individuals “accept to undertake limitation on their will”They “submit the wills of all to the will of one”. ADVERTISEMENTS: Social contract is the basis of Hobbes’s state whereby individuals .of their own impulse,…