Question:medium

Directions: The question consists of two statements, one labelled as 'Assertion' (A) and the other as 'Reason' (R). Examine these two statements carefully and select the correct answer.

Assertion (A): The state shall not make any law, which takes away or abridges the rights conferred by Part III (Fundamental Rights) and any law made in contravention of this clause shall, to the extent of the contravention, be void.

Reason (R): The fundamental rights are the rights reserved by the people and for this reason they are eternal and sacrosanct.

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Statement A is Article 13(2) restated. Test the word "eternal" in R against Article 368 and against the deletion of the fundamental right to property in 1978.
Updated On: Jul 17, 2026
  • Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Both A and R are individually true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
  • A is true but R is false.
  • A is false but R is true.
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The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

Two very different kinds of statement sit side by side here. The first is a piece of constitutional text. The second is a sweeping claim of permanence. Constitutional text is easy to verify, while sweeping claims usually collapse under one counter example, so start with the claim.

  1. Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A: Fails at the first hurdle, because R is not true.
  2. Both A and R are individually true but R is not the correct explanation of A: Fails for the same reason.
  3. A is true but R is false: Correct. A is Article 13(2) restated, including the severability idea carried by the words "to the extent of the contravention". R claims fundamental rights are eternal and sacrosanct, and the Constitution itself proves otherwise. Parliament amended Part III repeatedly. The right to property was struck out of Part III altogether by the Forty Fourth Amendment and survives only as a constitutional right under Article 300A. Nothing that can be deleted is eternal.
  4. A is false but R is true: Fails on both halves. A is accurate text, and R is the false statement.

The confusion R plays on is a real distinction. Article 13(2) controls ordinary lawmaking by the legislature, and there the rights are indeed shielded. It does not control the constituent power of amendment, which is why Kesavananda Bharati had to invent the basic structure test as the outer limit instead. So the rights are protected against everyday laws but remain open to amendment, and even the protection they do have yields to reasonable restrictions and to Emergency provisions under Articles 358 and 359.

Let's summarize:

  • A restates Article 13(2) correctly.
  • Fundamental rights are amendable under Article 368, subject to the basic structure.
  • The deletion of the fundamental right to property is a direct counter example to R.

A is true and R is false, so the answer is option (C).

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