Union Territories: Administration of UTs

Only three statements are correct. Under Article 239, the President administers every UT through an administrator whom he appoints, with the designation he chooses: Lieutenant Governor in Delhi, Puducherry and the Andamans, and Administrator elsewhere. Under Article 246(4), Parliament can make laws for UTs on any subject, including those in the State List. Statement 4 is incorrect: unlike a Governor, who has a five-year term under Article 156, the administrator has no fixed tenure and holds office as the President decides.

Article 241 lets Parliament by law constitute a High Court for a Union Territory, or declare any court in a UT to be a High Court for all or any of the Constitution's purposes. Using this power, Parliament set up the Delhi High Court in 1966. Other UTs come under the High Court of a neighbouring State, for example Chandigarh under the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Appointment of judges is by the President under Article 217, and transfers are under Article 222; Article 241 does neither.

Part VIII of the Constitution deals with the Union Territories. Article 239 provides for their administration by the President through an administrator. Article 239A, added in 1962, lets Parliament create local legislatures or Councils of Ministers for certain UTs, now Puducherry. Article 239B gives the administrator power to promulgate ordinances during a recess of the legislature. Article 240 gives the President power to make regulations for certain UTs. So the code is A-1, B-2, C-3, D-4.

Both statements are correct. Article 239(1) says every UT is administered by the President through an administrator with such designation as he specifies. Article 239(2) adds that the President may appoint the Governor of a State as the administrator of an adjoining UT, and that a Governor so appointed shall act independently of his Council of Ministers. The reason is that the UT is the Centre's responsibility, not the State's. The standing example is the Governor of Punjab, who has also been the Administrator of Chandigarh since 1984.

Statement 2 is correct: Article 239A was inserted by the Constitution (Fourteenth Amendment) Act, 1962, which let Parliament create legislatures or Councils of Ministers for certain UTs. Parliament then passed the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963. Statement 1 is incorrect: the Article first covered Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Goa, Daman and Diu and Pondicherry. As these became States, or in Daman and Diu's case remained a UT without a legislature, the Article came to apply to Puducherry alone.

Both statements are incorrect. The Constitution sets no residence or other qualification for a UT administrator; the President may appoint any person, often a retired civil servant or military officer. Statement 2 is also wrong: under Article 246(4), Parliament can legislate for UTs on any subject, and creating a legislature does not take this away. For Delhi, Article 239AA(3)(b) expressly keeps Parliament's power on any matter, and for Puducherry the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 makes the local legislature's power subject to Parliament's laws.

Statement 1 is correct: the proviso to Article 240(1) says that when a legislature has been created for Puducherry under Article 239A, the President shall not make regulations for it from the date of the legislature's first meeting, except while that legislature is suspended or dissolved. Statement 2 is incorrect: Delhi is not in the list in Article 240. As the National Capital Territory, it has its own Legislative Assembly under Article 239AA, and laws for it are made by that Assembly and by Parliament.

Statement 2 is correct: under Article 239B(1), the administrator of Puducherry may promulgate an ordinance when its legislature is not in session, but only after obtaining instructions from the President. Statement 1 is incorrect: the proviso to Article 239B(1) bars any ordinance while the legislature is dissolved or its functioning is suspended. In that situation the President can act directly through Article 240 regulations. An ordinance under 239B must be laid before the legislature and lapses six weeks after it reassembles.

Only statement 2 is correct (b). Statement 2 is right: the Revamped RGSA aims to build the governance capacity of Panchayati Raj Institutions to deliver on the SDGs. Statement 1 is wrong: it was approved in 2022 to run from 2022-23 to 2025-26, not from April 2021. Statement 3 is wrong: funding is shared 60:40 with States (90:10 for north-eastern and hill States); only Union Territories get 100%. So options (a), (c) and (d) fail.

Notice the link: the RGSA uses the Localisation of SDGs approach through nine themes, such as poverty-free and healthy villages. The 73rd Amendment (1992) gave Panchayats constitutional status. 24 April is National Panchayati Raj Day.

Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.

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None of the statements is correct (d). Statement 1 is wrong: Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir send members to the Rajya Sabha, elected by their legislative assemblies. Statement 2 is wrong: election disputes are decided by the High Courts through election petitions, with appeal to the Supreme Court; the Election Commission does not adjudicate them. Statement 3 is wrong: under Article 79, Parliament consists of the President and the two Houses. So (a), (b) and (c) fail.

Notice the details: Rajya Sabha has 245 seats, 233 elected and 12 nominated by the President. Disputes over the President's and Vice-President's elections go straight to the Supreme Court (Article 71). Trap: the President is part of Parliament though not a member of either House.

Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.

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