Consider the following statements : 1. Conferment of Padma Awards do

Consider the following statements :

  • 1. Conferment of Padma Awards does not amount to conferring title under Article 18 of the Constitution of India.
  • 2. No citizen of India shall accept any title from any foreign State.
  • 3. A person not being a citizen of India can be appointed by the Government of India to any office of profit and he/she can accept any title from any foreign State.

Which of the above statements is/are not correct?

1 only
2 only
3 only
1, 2 and 3
This question was previously asked in
UPSC Combined Section Officer – 2019-20
The statement that is NOT correct is statement 3.
– Statement 1: Conferment of Padma Awards does not amount to conferring title under Article 18 of the Constitution of India. This statement is correct. The Supreme Court in the Balaji Raghavan vs Union of India case (1996) held that the National Awards like Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri are not ‘titles’ within the meaning of Article 18(1) and therefore their conferment does not violate the prohibition on titles. However, the Court recommended that the awardees should not use them as prefixes or suffixes to their names.
– Statement 2: No citizen of India shall accept any title from any foreign State. This statement is correct. Article 18(2) explicitly prohibits a citizen of India from accepting any title from any foreign state.
– Statement 3: A person not being a citizen of India can be appointed by the Government of India to any office of profit and he/she can accept any title from any foreign State. This statement is incorrect. Article 18(3) states that no person who is not a citizen of India and while he holds any office of profit or trust under the State shall, without the consent of the President, accept any title from any foreign State. Thus, a non-citizen holding an office of profit under the government cannot accept a foreign title without the President’s consent; they cannot accept it freely.
Article 18 is part of the Fundamental Right to Equality and aims to abolish artificial titles that create distinctions based on status, inherited or conferred. It promotes the principle of equal status. The restrictions on accepting foreign titles apply differently to citizens and non-citizens holding office under the state.
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