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?
1 and 2 only
2 and 3 only
1 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3
Answer is Right!
Answer is Wrong!
This question was previously asked in
UPSC IAS – 2021
Statement 1: Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards are *not* titles under Article 18(1) of the Constitution. The Supreme Court in the Balaji Raghavan case (1996) upheld the constitutional validity of these awards, stating they do not amount to ‘titles’ prohibited by Article 18, although they should not be used as prefixes or suffixes. Thus, Statement 1 is not correct.
Statement 2: Padma Awards, instituted in 1954, have been suspended *more than once*. They were suspended during the periods 1978-1979 and 1992-1995. Thus, Statement 2 is not correct.
Statement 3: The number of Bharat Ratna Awards is restricted to a maximum of *three* in a particular year, not five. Thus, Statement 3 is not correct.
Since all three statements are not correct, the correct option is D.
– Padma Awards have been suspended on more than one occasion.
– The maximum number of Bharat Ratna awards in a year is limited to three.