If the government applies one law to all citizens but gives arbitrary exemptions to some people, which issue arises?

Violation of equal protection

Correct answer: C. Equality before law does not merely mean that a law is written in the same words for everyone. It also requires the State to apply the law fairly and to give equal protection to persons in comparable situations. An exemption may be valid when it has a reasonable, lawful and relevant basis, but an arbitrary exemption means that selected people receive special treatment without a proper reason. That raises an equality issue. Option C is correct because it names the violation precisely. Option A concerns the freedom to spread or communicate religious ideas, which is not the central fact here. Option B, begar, means forced labour and is unrelated to selective legal exemptions. Option D concerns educational and cultural protection for linguistic minorities, not arbitrary application of a general law. Memory cue: same law plus unjustified special treatment = equality concern. Do not assume that every classification is unconstitutional; the key word in the question is “arbitrary.”

This is a Class 9 Civics question. Chapter: Democratic Rights. Topic: Right to Equality.