Consider the following statements in respect of Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards : 1. Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards are titles under the Article 18(1) of the Constitution of India. 2. Padma Awards, which were instituted in the year 1954, were suspended only once. 3. The number of Bharat Ratna Awards is restricted to a maximum of five in a particular year. Which of the above statements are not correct?
- A1 and 2 only
- B2 and 3 only
- C1 and 3 only
- D1, 2 and 3Correct
Explanation
Statement 1 is incorrect. Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards are not 'titles' under Article 18(1) of the Constitution. The Supreme Court, in Balaji Raghavan vs. Union of India (1996), clarified that these awards are not titles of nobility or distinction that violate Article 18(1), as they are for distinguished service and cannot be used as prefixes or suffixes to names. Article 18(1) prohibits the state from conferring titles that create hereditary distinctions.
Statement 2 is incorrect. Padma Awards were instituted in 1954 but were suspended twice. They were suspended from July 1977 to January 1980 and again from August 1992 to December 1995. Therefore, they were suspended more than once.
Statement 3 is incorrect. The number of Bharat Ratna Awards is restricted to a maximum of three in a particular year, not five. This restriction is a convention, not a constitutional mandate, but it has been consistently followed.
Since the question asks for statements that are NOT correct, all three statements (1, 2, and 3) are incorrect.
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