Master Answer WritingSign in

UPSC 2019 GS-II · 10 marks · 150 words

Do you think the Constitution of India does not accept the principle of strict separation of powers rather it is based on the principle of ‘checks and balances’? Explain.

What “Explain” demands

set out how or why something works, with the mechanism made explicit.

The characteristic failure: stating that it works without showing how.

What a top answer must contain

These are the checkable specifics from the marking standard for this question — the actual case, committee, datum or thinker, not an instruction to “give examples”.

  • No strict separation: the executive sits inside the legislature (Art 75), the legislature exercises judicial power in impeachment, courts legislate through guidelines
  • Art 50 directs separation of judiciary from executive but is a non-justiciable DPSP
  • Checks named: judicial review (Arts 13, 32, 226), legislative control of the purse, executive appointment of judges balanced by the collegium
  • Case law: Ram Jawaya Kapur (1955) on functional separation, Kesavananda and Indira Nehru Gandhi (1975) making separation part of the basic structure
  • Contrast with the US presidential model to sharpen the answer

The band thresholds and the pre-scored sample answers behind this standard stay private — they are the calibration your copy is placed against.

Now write it, and find out what you actually scored

Attempt this question — typed or photographed — and it is marked against the standard above in under a minute: six parameter scores, a blunt verdict, and the points you missed. 50 free credits on signup, no card.

Write this answerSee a marked copy first

More from UPSC GS-II