Polity Governance I PDF

IAS PARLIAMENT
A Shankar IAS Academy Initiative
MAINSTORMING - 2017
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
PART- I
TM
SHANKAR IAS ACADEMY
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Shanthi Colony, Anna Nagar, Chennai 600 040.
Phone : 7667766260
INDEX
TITLE PAGE NO
1. NOVEMBER - 2016 5
1.1 Media Ban 5
1.2 Sabarimala temple entry issue 6
1.3 Decriminalizing Defamation 7
1.4 Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal 9
1.5 Land Acquisition Law - Centrals attempt to dilute 10
1.6 Simultaneous Elections 11
1.7 State Funding of Elections 12
1.8 Judging the performance of Judges 13
1.9 Judicial Appointments 14
1.10 Addressing backlog cases in Supreme Court 17
1.11 Judicial Overreach 18
1.12 BCCI Reforms 19
1.13 State of jails 21
1.14 Ways to measure Governance 22
1.15 Protection for RTI activists 23
1.16 Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers 25
1.17 Uniform Asylum Law 26
1.18 Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016 28
2. DECEMBER - 2016 29
2.1 Supreme Court judgment on J&K 29

2.2 Dispute over Party Symbol 30
2.3 Liberalizing Passport Rules 31
2.4 Ban on National Online Higher Education 32
2.5 Manipur Blockade 33
2.6 The Independence of Independent Directors 35
2.7 NGO - Public Servants 36
2.8 Pushed Patriotism 38
3. JANUARY - 2017 40
3.1 LG of Puducherry & Delhi 40

3.2 Clamping Down On Ordinance Raj 41
3.3 Water in Concurrent List 42
3.4 PAC Controversies and Challenges 44
3.5 Supreme Court on Religion 45
3.6 Supreme Court on BCCI 46
3.7 Bill on statutory powers for IIMs 47
3.8 Public Safety Act in J&K 48
3.9 Aadhaar is a must for MGNREGS work 50
3.10 Corporate Social Responsibility in India 50
3.11 Removal of independent directors 52
3.12 Probe against DDA 53
3.13 Rose Valley Scam Explained 54
3.14 Chit Funds & Saradha Scam 55
3.15 Amendment to the Chit Funds Act 57
3.16 Panama paper scandal 58
3.17 Net Neutrality 58
3.18 TNPSC Appointments 60
3.19 Aircel- Maxis Case 61
4. FEBRUARY -2017 62
4.1 Right to be forgotten 62

4.2 Aadhaar - Money Bill 64
4.3 Nagaland Violence 65
4.4 Neyyar River Water Dispute 66
4.5 Contempt of Court 67
4.6 NOTA 68
4.7 The Enemy Property Ordinance 69
4.8 Jat quota protests 71
4.9 Competitive Backwardness 72
4.10 Implementation of e-NAM 73
5. MARCH -2017 74
5.1 Hung Assembly - Goa & Manipur 74

5.2 Demanding ST Status - Narikuravars 75
5.3 Vote Tampering in EVMs 77
5.4 Electoral Bonds 77
5.5 Special Category Status 78
5.6 Babri Masjid issue 80
5.7 Banning Cow Slaughter 81
5.8 Mandatory Aadhaar 82
5.9 BBC Documentary on Kaziranga Tiger Reserve 83
5.10 Public Funded Patent 85
5.11 Haldi and Litchi Controversy 86
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MAINSTORMING 2017
Polity & Governance - Part I
1. NOVEMBER - 2016
1.1 Media Ban
Why in news?
NDTV India had been asked go off air on November 9, 2016 in a decision taken by the inter-ministerial
committee formed to look into the channels reporting of terrorist attack on Pathankot air base.
The channel has been censured for revealing strategic details of Government's offensive strategy.
What is the legality?
Rule 6 (1)(p) of the Cable TV Network Rules 1994 which says that no programme should be carried which
contains live coverage of any anti-terrorist operation by security forces and that media coverage should be
restricted to periodic briefing by an officer designated by the government.
The provisions were added after questions were raised about the media reporting of 2008 Mumbai terrorist
attacks.
What is the medias role during emergency?
Media plays a vital role in dissemination information to the people, regarding the developments on a real
time basis.
This helps in ensuring their security of the people.
But this reporting should be done in a sensitive and responsible manner by protecting the strategic details of
the operations of the security forces.
This also includes, not revealing the video coverage of operations that are still going on, among other things.
What was NDTVs defence?
It did not reveal any strategically sensitive details of arms, ammunition or the location of vital installations
that were not already in the public domain on other media platforms, or available, in high resolution, on
Google Maps and other online sites.
They have not reported anything, that gravely threatened the operations and that other TV channels have not
reported.
The charge that the news channel disclosed that the air force base contained MiG warplanes, ammunition
and mortars is a well-known fact. Itwould not amount to putting the Strategic offensive actions of the
Government in jeopardy.
There was no reporting of the plan, that the Government had to tackle terrorists, nor was anything pertaining
to operation of security forces revealed.
Why is the ban detrimental?
Violates the Art. 19 of the Constitution provides freedom of speech and expression which includes freedom of
media to report in a non-coercive environment and also freedom against censorship.
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The reasonable restrictions was examined in S.Rangarajan case and stated that the anticipated danger
should not be remote, conjectural or far-fetched.
The rules do not mention who determines whether there was a breach of security.
When many other channels also broadcasted the same content, picking on NDTV was not properly justified.
Creates a bad precedent.
Programme code of Cable TV act is vague.
Onus lies on TV channel.
State censorship though permissible under extraordinary circumstances, has to be used very selectively by the
Government. And what constitutes extraordinary circumstances, must be defined in an objective manner
with absolute clarity. Else, it would threat the freedom of press which is a very essential facet of a vibrant
democracy
What should be done?
The media should report security threat incidents in a responsible manner taking into consideration the
interests of the security forces and agencies.
Standard operating procedure should be formulated. This should also include provisions for warning, before
taking the hard call to ban media as a punitive action.
Judiciary should decide on the question of national security, not executive.
1.2 Sabarimala temple entry issue
What is the issue?

The custom in Sabarimala prohibits women of a certain age group, from visiting the shrine - claims its sanctity from
the conception of the deity, Lord Ayyappa, as a celibate and notions of ritual pollution.
What is the temple managements stand?
It state that the issue is purely a matter concerning the unique custom and tradition followed in a pilgrimage
center and hence a logical analysis has no relevance.
Sabarimala governing board has cited that the "Kerala Hindu places of public worship rules", permits
prohibition of entry of women where custom requires to do so.
Why it is detrimental?
Though Article 26 provides for freedom of religious institutions to manage their religious affairs, restricting
entry of women into temple, is a direct violation of the fundamental rights that guarantee gender equality.
This custom is site specific and is not followed in other Ayyappa temples.
There is limited historical evidence to tell us when the custom came into being and opinion is divided over
whether the custom is central to the worship of the deity.
What is SCs observation?
Supreme Court said that only "essential practices of a religion" are immune from intervention of state.
Therefore in case the Sabarimala board fails to prove that prohibiting entry of women is as essential practice
of religion, then the board cannot claim immunity under Article 26.
The bench fixed the matter for hearing on February 2017 and will analyse various aspects including the
constitutional provisions with regard to gender equality.
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1.3 Decriminalizing Defamation
What is defamation?
Defamation is the communication of a false statement that harms the reputation of an individual person, business,
product, group, government, religion, or nation.
How is it dealt in India?
In India, defamation can both be a civil wrong and a criminal offence.
While a civil wrong tends to provide for a redressal of wrongs by awarding compensation, a criminal law seeks
to punish a wrongdoer and send a message to others not to commit such acts.
In Indian laws, criminal defamation has been specifically defined as an offence under the Indian Penal
Code (IPC) whereas the civil defamation is based on tort law an area of law which does not rely on
statutes to define wrongs but takes from ever-increasing body of case laws to define what would constitute a
wrong.
Moreover, in a criminal case, defamation has to be established beyond reasonable doubt but in a civil
defamation suit, damages can be awarded based on probabilities.
Section 499 and 500 of Indian Penal Code,1860 deals with Criminal defamation.
It prescribes two years imprisonment with or without fine for a person found guilty of defamation.
What was Pre-colonial scenario?
The criminal provisions have often been used to pursue political vendettas. In the colonial era, the law was
used, along with sedition, to jail freedom fighters.
So-called SLAPP (or strategic lawsuit against publicparticipation) suits have been used in the recent
past to muzzle investigative journalists and prevent critical analysis of the financial information of listed
companies.
What are the criticisms?
Activists against criminal defamation argue that the possibility of being arrested by the police, held in
detention and subjected to a criminal trial will be in the back of the mind of a journalist when he or she is
deciding whether to expose, for example, a case of high-level corruption.
The criminal provisions have often been used purely as a means of harassment.
Given the cumbersome nature of Indian legal procedures, the process itself turns into punishment, regardless
of the merits of the case.
What are Supreme Courts directives?
Defamation is one of the recognised exceptions to the fundamental right to free speech and expression under
Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.
In Subramanian Swamyvs Union of India case, a bench of Justices DipakMisra and P C Pant approved the
Constitutional validity of sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation) in the Indian Penal Code, underlining
that an individuals fundamental right to live with dignity and reputation cannot be ruined solely because
another individual can have his freedom.
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The ruling noted that the right to freedom of speech and expression is not an absolute right and
has to be balanced with the right to reputation which is protected under Article 21 of the
Constitution".
The court held that criminalisation of defamation to protect individual dignity of life and reputation is a
reasonable restriction on the fundamental right of free speech and expression.
The judgment holds far-reaching implications for political dissent and a free press.
In August 2016, the court also passed strictures on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for misusing the
criminal defamation law to suffocate democracy and, the court said, public figures must face criticism.
However, it also underscored that criticism was not defamation, the bench accepted their plea that a trial
court must be very careful in scrutinising a complaint before issuing summons in a criminal defamation
case.
What was governments response?
The government has sought a report from the Law Commission of India (LCI) on the issue.
A joint consultation paper published by the LCI in September 2014 notes that the respondents
overwhelmingly expressed dissatisfaction with the present state of defamation law.
Considering the need to repeal Section 499, it acknowledged that criminal defamation laws violated
international norms, and that the penalty of imprisonment up to two years was clearly disproportionate.
International bodies such as the UN had recognised the threat posed by criminal defamation laws and have
recommended that they should be abolished.
TathagataSatpathy, a member of Parliament belonging to the BijuJanata Dal, is drafting a private members
Bill entitled The Protection of Speech and Reputation Bill, 2016.
The Bill seeks to decriminalise defamation and remove the chilling effect of old provisions that throttle
free speech and encourage censorship.
The Bill seeks to remove the criminal provisions while guarding the right to reputation with stronger, more
effective remedies for civil relief, including apologies, corrections and retractions, and the award of reasonable
damages.
The Bill will also attempt to set the maximum claim limits and to bar governments, local bodies and other
institutions, exercising statutory functions, from filing suits for defamation.
Criminal complaints should not be entertained unless the damage to reputation is prima facie, a serious one.
Unnecessary complaints should be dismissed at the threshold. That apart, complaints cannot be entertained
except on behalf of the person aggrieved.
Such a restriction must not be arbitrary or excessive, and the impairment of freedom must be as little as
possible.
This is not to say that defamation must not be discouraged.
But decriminalising it will bring the IPC in accord with Article 19(2), ensuring that the means used to
discourage defamation do not end up damping legitimate criticism.
Criminal defamation laws have been repealed in most democracies and it is high time India modernised
its law to take cognisance of new modes of communication.
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1.4 Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal
Why in news?
The Supreme Court on Thursday passed a verdict saying that it is unconstitutional for the Punjab state government to
terminate a water sharing agreement with other states.
What is SYL canal and its controversies?
1960:- Indus water treaty was signed between India and Pakistan for sharing of Indus-basin rivers. This treaty
gave India, absolute and unhindered access to Satlej, Ravi and Beas.
1966:- Erstwhile Punjab was reorganised into Haryana & Punjab (remaining state after carving out Haryana)
came into existence.
Differences arose between the two states over their share of the surplus Ravi and Beas waters.
There was a need to share the river waters among the newly created states and it was decided to construct SYL
canal to extend irrigation facility to Haryana and Rajasthan.
1981 agreement between Punjab and Haryana to complete SYL within 2 years.
Haryana constructed its part of SYL canal in 1980s.
The construction was stopped when Sikh militants gunned down two senior engineers and 35 labourers
working on the canal. A decision was taken to rope in the Border Roads Organisation, but not a brick has been
laid since.
1996:- Haryana approached SC over delay.

What was SCs judgment?
Supreme Court in 2002 -> Directed Punjab to complete its part of SYL canal in one year.
Supreme Court in 2004 -> Directed Punjab to ensure unhindered construction of the canal. This was to
provide for Haryana share of it water.
What was Punjabs reaction?
But within a month of the Supreme Court order in 2004, the Punjab assembly enacted the Punjab
termination of agreements act, annulling all inter-state agreements on sharing Ravi and Beas waters.
The Centre on July 22, 2004 sought the opinion of the apex court on the validity of the Punjab law through a
presidential reference. The court heard the matter the next month without any outcome.
How did the controversy develop further in 2016?
In March 2016, Punjab came out with another law, de-notifying the land acquired for the canal and for it to be
returned it to its owners. Haryana challenged the law in the Supreme Court, which ordered status quo.
Supreme Court has ruled that Punjab state governments law to terminate a water sharing agreement with
other states as unconstitutional.
The courts reasoning draws from previous verdicts relating to the Cauvery and Mullaperiyar disputes,
reiterating the principle that a State cannot, through legislation, do an act in conflict with the
judgment of the highest court which has attained finality.
The verdict is a timely reminder that it would be destructive of the rule of law and federalism, if a State were to
be allowed to usurp judicial powers, by nullifying a verdict that has rendered findings on both fact and law.
There is a scope for negotiation and conciliation even now.
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1.5 Land Acquisition Law - Centrals attempt to dilute
Why in news?
The centre encouraged States to draft and pass their own laws for land acquisition and get them approved.
What is the issue?
The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement
(Amendment) Bill, 2015 was introduced in the Lok Sabha February, 2015 amends LARR Act, 2013. It was
passed only in Lok Sabha but not in Rajya Sabha.
Therefore Finance Minister, in an attempt to bypass Parliament, encouraged States to draft and pass their own
laws for land acquisition and get them approved by the Centre.
Following this, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat have moved ahead with their amendments, Rajasthan has a Bill ready
and Telangana is working on its version.
What is its legality?
Though land is a state subject, "acquisition and requisitioning of property" is in the concurrent list.
Article 254(1) of the Constitution states that if there exists a Central law on a concurrent subject, then a State
law cannot override it.
However, Article 254(2) provides that if a State law receives presidential assent after due consideration, then it
can apply in contravention to the Central law in that particular State.
What are the concerns?
These laws now passed by states allow for the acquisition has no safeguards presentin the 2013 Central law,
likeright to consent, social impact assessment and, in the case of Tamil Nadu, even rehabilitation and
resettlement.
Apart from these, there are also grave jurisprudential concerns as follows
Undermining Parliament - A hard-fought consensus that held the larger public interest cannot be diluted
by misuse of a constitutional provision. The move to amend LARR Act 2013 was followed by a massive
nationwide backlash which unified opposition and the Supreme Court refused to entertain challenges to
various provisions of the 2013 law. Thus it clearly suggests that the existing law was constitutionally sound
and the public mandate was overwhelmingly against such amendments.
Wrong precedence - Wherever a Central government lacks the numbers to pass a law (on a concurrent
subject) in Parliament or is faced with public opposition, it will repeat the same tactics.
Wrong interpretation - Article 254(2) was never intended to weaken Central laws merely because they
were found to be inconvenient. It was intended to bring in changes to Central laws if there was a genuine
hurdle in implementing them in a particular State due to challenges peculiar to that region.
Legality - Also Supreme Court of India had earlier struck down the attempts of the government to pass off
what is known as colourable legislationi.ewhat the government cannot do directly, it cannot do
indirectly.
Presidents assent - The Supreme Court in Kaiser-I-Hind case(2002) held that the words reserved for
consideration in Article 254(2) would definitely indicate that there should be active application of mind by
the President to the repugnancy and the necessity of having such a law, in facts and circumstances of the
matter and cannot be done without consideration of the relevant material.
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Therefore it is clear that the President must act deliberately and consciously and not merely on the
advice of the Council of Ministers.
SC also held that granting of assent under Article 254(2) is not exercise of legislative power of President as
under Article 123 (Ordinance Power) but is part of legislative procedure. Therefore the procedure is
subjected to judicial review.
1.6 Simultaneous Elections
Why in news?
The prime minister has suggested that the nation hold all elections to state and central legislatures all together, once
every five years.
What are the advantages?
Simultaneous elections would save resources, both of the government and of political parties.
It will keep alive the enthusiasm of voters.
Business of governance at the Centre could improve by not having to worry about how a measure
proposed by the Centre would affect the outcome of aupcoming state election.
Repeated enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) can be avoided. MCC is a set of legally
binding dos and donts for the Union/State governments, political parties and candidates, which on repeated
enforcement impacts effective governance.
Why it is against democratic values?
The idea of holding simultaneous state and central elections is not practical without constricting democratic
space.
India started off with simultaneous elections to state assemblies and Parliament. They diverged as a result of
political developments that terminated the life of certain state legislatures before their full term.
Sometimes, a government could lose the confidence of the House because of serious differences of opinion
within the ruling party or a realignment of political forces. Such developments,thoughdisruptive,reflect
political conflicts that are integral to democracy.
Why separate elections are desirable?
Apart from issues of funding and logistics, simultaneous elections would give governments immunity from the
everyday pressures of public opinion.
The present practice of an election in some state or the other every year or so often forces governments to
reconsider their plans and policies.
Given the federal nature of the Indian union and the diversity of the country, this is desirable.
Electoral reforms are crucial to combating corruption but these also need to be done in a manner that does not
tamper with the basic structure of Indias parliamentary democracy.
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1.7 State Funding of Elections
Why in news?
The Prime Minister wants a debate on transparency in political funding, as part of the drive to clean up black money.
How black money plays a role in elections?
Indian elections cost huge sums of money.
These moneys can hardly come from retail contributions of political-party sympathisers. It has to come from
big corporate houses.
But, contributions from corporate houses are largely from undeclared income and, hence the contribution is
not recorded.
Why transparency in political funding is needed?
This is a prerequisite for any sustained and effective cure for black money.
As long as Indias politics is systemically dependent on unaccounted money for its finances, there can be no
decisivepolitical will to eradicate black money.
It compromises the integrity of governance, corrupts the civil service, promotes crony capitalism
and makes managing the government a decisive core competence of entrepreneurship.
All this will change only if the sources of political funding are made fully transparent.
What is state funding?
The idea of state funding of elections is a concept designed to reduce corruption by funding elections with
government money as opposed to individual campaign contributions.
Many recommend that state funding of elections can be the best way to achieve transparency in political
funding.
It is also believed that state funding is a natural and necessary cost of democracy.
It brings new and growing parties in par with the established parties, thus ensuring fair elections.
If parties and candidates are financed with only private funds, economical inequalities in the society might
translate into political inequalities in government.
Is the state funding a good idea?
In theory, State funding would provide a level playing field for political parties and cut out money power from
the equation, but in practice things may not work out so linearly.
India collects only about 16% of GDP as tax. The state expenditure on many essential public goods such as
primary healthcare and public health engineering is very small.
Given this situation, the public resources have to be channelled towards and not diverted from such
essential services, and that too to finance something that already gets abundantly financed.
Further, it will not prevent parties from lobbying and getting undisclosed supplementary private funding, with
associated implications.
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What is the solution?
In India, the main reason for the prevalence of black money in election spending is the unrealistically low
limits set by the Election Commission of India on campaign spending by political parties and candidates. A
more realistic campaign spending limits should be set.
Part-public funding of election campaigns is a practice in some countries. e.g United States and Britain. We
could have our own version.
The strict monitoring of expenditure by political parties and their functionaries at every level, starting
with the panchayat, polling booth area and municipal ward should be done.
Every party should disclose its expenditure every month at every level.
This should be open to challenge by rival parties, media, etc.
The Election Commission could determine the actual expenditure and ask the parties to show source of
income.
Parties will have to collect money in the open.
These steps will ensure transparency.
1.8 Judging the performance of Judges
Why in news?
The law department of Gujarat, on the recommendation of the Gujarat High Court, cracked the whip on 17 judges from
various cadres in lower courts, ordering their retirement for unsatisfactory performance.
What is the need for evaluation?
To ensure greater accountability, transparency and better and efficient functioning of judges.
What is the existing system?
By system of Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs), which are completed by the senior-most judges of the
lower court, and reviewed by the State High Court.
Problems in ACR -> ACR is not filled up regularly - Not done in a transparent manner - Lack of uniformity in
judicial appraisal across the states - Not applicable for higher judiciary.
What is the practise in U.S?
Judicial Performance Evaluation (JPE), the system of periodic assessment of judicial performance
originated in the U.S. Sitting judges were evaluated to inform voters about a judges performance record for
retention elections. Retention elections allow the public to vote for or against the continuing tenure of
judges.
Qualitative as well as quantitative -> These include the rate of disposal of cases by a judge, the quality of
judgments and legal reasoning, knowledge of the law, behaviour towards lawyers in court proceedings,
independence and transparency. Initially used objective criteria to evaluate - eventually moving towards more
qualitative criteria when systems have evolved sufficiently to reduce likelihood of bias and subjectivity in
assessment processes.
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What is the solution?
The first step should be the clarifying the objectives of such evaluation - improving quality of justice,
pendency rates, and so on.
Joint consultation with stakeholders, including judges, lawyers, academics and members of civil society to
understand how best to initiate such a system in India.
Any codified system that emerges, in the form of guidelines or regulations, must be reviewed to ensure
minimum bias and maximum transparency.
The Madras High Court - first time - has come out with qualitative as well as quantitative performance
assessment of its judges. Mixed reactions from lawyers, some of whom felt that this could unduly pressurise
judges to dispose of cases, and encourage indiscriminate disposal rather than delivering justice.
1.9 Judicial Appointments
What are the provisions in the constitution?
Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are appointed by the President under Articles 124(2) and 217 of
the Constitution.
Article 124(2) says: Every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under
his hand and seal after consultation with such of the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts in
the States as the President may deem necessary for the purpose and shall hold office until he attains the age of
sixty-five years. Provided that in the case of appointment of a Judge other than the Chief Justice, the CJI shall
always be consulted.
Article 217: Every Judge of a High Court shall be appointed by the President.. after consultation with the CJI,
the Governor of the State, and, in the case of appointment of a Judge other than the Chief Justice, the Chief
Justice of the High Court.
What is the collegium system?
It is the system of appointment and transfer of judges that has evolved through judgments of the Supreme
Court, and not by an Act of Parliament or by a provision of the Constitution.
It is headed by the Chief Justice of India and comprises four other senior most judges of the court.
A High Court collegium is led by its Chief Justice and four other senior most judges of that court.
Names recommended for appointment by a High Court collegium reaches the government only after approval
by the CJI and the Supreme Court collegium.
Judges of the higher judiciary are appointed only through the collegium.
The governments role is limited to getting an inquiry conducted by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) if a lawyer is
to be elevated as a judge.
It can also raise objections but if the collegium reiterates the same names, the government is bound by it.
How did the collegium system evolve?
First Judges Case
In S P Gupta VsUOI, 1981, held that the concept of primacy of the Chief Justice of India was not really to
be found in the Constitution.
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It held that the proposal for appointment to a High Court can emanate from any of the constitutional
functionaries mentioned in Article 217 and not necessarily from the Chief Justice of the High Court.
The Constitution Bench also held that the term consultation used in Articles 124 and means that although
the President will consult these functionaries, his decision was not bound to be in concurrence with all of
them.
The judgment tilted the balance of power in appointments of judges of High Courts in favour of the executive.
Second Judges Case
In the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association VsUOI, 1993 overruled the earlier decision and
devised a specific procedure called Collegium System.
The majority verdict accorded primacy to the CJI in matters of appointment and transfers.
The court said that the recommendation should be made by the CJI in consultation with his two senior
most colleagues.
It added that although it was open to the executive to ask the collegium to reconsider, the executive was bound
to make the appointment.
Third Judges Case
In 1998, President K R Narayanan issued a Presidential Reference to the Supreme Court over the meaning of
the term consultation under Article 143 of the Constitution (advisory jurisdiction).
The question was whether consultation required consultation with a number of judges in forming the CJIs
opinion, or whether the sole opinion of CJI could by itself constitute a consultation.
In response, the Supreme Court laid downguidelines which have come to be the present form of the collegium.
It stated that the recommendation should be made by the CJI and his four senior most colleagues.
It also held that Supreme Court judges who hailed from the High Court for which the proposed name came,
should also be consulted.
It was also held that even if two judges gave an adverse opinion, the CJI should not send the recommendation
to the government.
Why has the collegium system been criticised?
The system is non-transparent.
It does not involve any official mechanism or secretariat.
It has no prescribed norms regarding eligibility criteria or even the selection procedure.
There is no public knowledge of how and when a collegium meets, and how it takes its decisions.
What happened to the NJAC?
The government has tried twice to replace the collegium system with a National Judicial Appointments
Commission (NJAC) unsuccessfully both times.
The constitutional amendment that sought to create the NJAC, which had envisioned a significant role for the
executive in appointing judges in the higher judiciary was declared as unconstitutional in 2015.
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The Bench that held that judges appointments shall continue to be made by the collegium system in which the
CJI will have the last word.
How are appointments being made now?
The collegium has been making recommendations for appointments and transfer of judges.
In the 2015 ruling, the Bench had asked the government to draft a newMemorandum of Procedure(MoP)
after consultation with the CJI.
A year later, the MoP is still to be finalised owing to lack of consensus on several fronts between the judiciary
and the government.
What is Memorandum of Procedure?
The court recommended to include eligibility criteria, transparency in the appointment process, secretariat
and complaints while preparing the MoP.
The proposed MoP had following provisions
Seniority & Merit The criteria of seniority, merit and integrity would be followed. Preference should be
given to Chief Justices of the High Courts keeping in view their inter-se seniority.
Reasons in writing In case a senior Chief Justice being overlooked for elevation to the Supreme Court,
the reasons for the same be recorded in writing.
Three-judge quota The government proposed that up to three judges may be appointed from the Bar or
from distinguished jurists with proven track records.
Committee & Secretariat To set up an institutional mechanism and a secretariat that maintains a
database of judges, schedules Collegium meetings, maintains records and receives recommendations and
complaints related to judges postings.
National Security The government also insists on adding a criteriaof national security and larger public
interests for rejection of recommendation by the Collegium.
What are the issues?
The government is of the view that the reason in writing is necessary for the sake of transparency and to
ensure there is no favouritism.
The Collegiums counter-argument is that recordings of reasons for overlooking a Chief Justice or a senior
judge will be counter-productive as the reasons specified may mar his/her prospects of being elevated to the
Supreme Court at a future point of time.
Judiciary also said that the upto three judges from baris equivalent to either restricting the intake from the
bar or fixing a quota of the bar. And in neither case does it fall within the framework of the Constitutional
provisions.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on law and justice apprehends that the government may reject any
name duly approved by the Supreme Court collegium under the veil of those national security and larger
public interests.
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1.10 Addressing backlog cases in Supreme Court
Why in news?
Prime Minister called to create an All India Judicial Service to expand the judiciary
What is the current scenario?
As of March 2016, 27.7 million cases are pending in district and subordinate courts.
3.9 million cases are pending in different for high courts.
Almost 60000 cases are pending in the Supreme Court.
These three tiers of judiciary alone account for around 33 million pending cases.
Adding pending cases in Tribunals, the total number will be somewhere close to 40 million.
What are the reasons for pending cases?
No of judges has not been increased to keep pace with increasing number of cases being filed in SC.
Vacancies have not been filled in a timely manner, due to tussle between Judiciary and Executive to gain
upper hand in judicial appointments.
Number of cases going to Supreme Court using regular appeal provision, has been increasing.
Absence of Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanisms have resulted in heavy burden on Judiciary.
Apathy of Government officers: Many cases that can be sorted out by simple and innovative executive
action, are not resolved due to apathy of Government offices and they end up in Courts. This is attested by the
fact that, Government is the major litigant in courts.
What are the recommendations?
The recommendations can be broadly placed under the following 3 headings:
Supply-side (more courts/judges) - A rigorous recruitment process, similar to the All India Civil Services
Examination, which will ensure a gradual supply of talent for elevation to the high courts and the Supreme
Court.
Productivity (better procedures, work norms, shift systems); and
Demand-side (alternative dispute resolution, curb on government litigation).
First, despite six vacancies, the number of Supreme Court judges has steadily increased since 1950. There
doesnt seem to be a great supply-side issue, at least in SC level.
Since backlog reduction in the Supreme Court is probably primarily a function of demand management,
should it hear so many original and appellate petitions?
The US Supreme Court receives 7,000 to 8,000 petitions a year and hears (for oral evidence) 80. This is
around one per cent.
The Indian Supreme Court accepts between 15 per cent and 26 per cent of petitions. This is too high and
represents a hollowing out of the lower judiciary.
Thus, strengthening of the lower Judiciary (computerisation and better case management), improving the
quality of judgments being given in lower judiciary & High courts, establishing institutions like National Court
of Appeal and being more selective on accepting cases, will enable the Supreme Court to reduce its pending
cases and to truly serve its role of a Constitutional court.
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1.11 Judicial Overreach
What is the issue?
There is a strong debate over the reach of judicial review power exercised by the Supreme Court.
Given the weak relationship between the executive and judiciary, the subject is increasingly relevant to the
functioning of our constitutional democracy.
What is a judicial review?
Judicial review is the power of the courts of a country to examine the actions of the legislative, executive, and
administrative arms of the government and to determine whether such actions are consistent with
the constitution.
The decline of Parliament as the highest forum of our democracy, the perceived insensitivity of the
bureaucracy, a general distrust of executive power and loss of faith in the moral and ideological integrity of the
political class collectively account for an expanded remit of judicial review.
How judicial review evolved?
Some of the courts judgments can be recalled to indicate the evolution of judicial review, introduced on
protection against the arbitrary exercise of power, non-discrimination and constitutionalization of socio-
economic rights.
In Maneka Gandhi case (1978) it established the procedural fairness and reasonableness test to determine
the constitutionality of the exercise of executive power.
In M. Nagaraj (2006) the court declared that Articles 14 (right to equality), 19 (right to fundamental
freedoms) and 21 (right to life) stand at the pinnacle of the hierarchy of constitutional values and the court
recognised that the human dignity, equality and freedom were conjoined, reciprocal and covalent values and
they are not to be read in isolation.
The court in an expansive interpretation in V. Markendeya case (1989) recognised the Directive Principles
of State Policy as the conscience of the Constitution which give shape and meaning to fundamental rights.
It also expanded human rights jurisprudence and recognised the citizens right to food, health, education and
clean environment as fundamental rights.
By these judgments, court established the foundational principles for the exercise of a wider judicial review
jurisdiction traceable to
1. Articles 13 (Definition of laws)
2. 32 (Constitutional remedies),
3. 136 (Special Leave Petition),
4. 142 (Enforcement of decrees and orders of SC),
5. 147 (Interpretation of this Constitution) and
6. 226 (High Court Writ Jurisdiction) of the Constitution.
Thus the court declared that judicial review was a constituent power and an integral component of the
unalterable basic structure of the Constitution (KesavanandaBharati, 1973).
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How is the judicial review moving beyond its reach?
But in recent times the court moved beyond the socio-economic rights and the review has been invoked in
public interest to question major decisions of the government concerning policy choices. e,g 2G spectrum
and coal mine allocations cases.
Challenge to proceedings of legislative assemblies and decisions of the Speaker have also been entertained by
the court.
In recent decisions like the voiding of NJAC Act, has extended the courts review jurisdiction to domains till
then regarded as the exclusive preserve of the executive and legislatures.
How judicial overreach could be beneficial?
Supporters of a wide judicial review jurisdiction argue that it sub serves the rule of law, advances the cause of justice,
is consistent with democracy and rules out only those choices that are obviously unreasonable and inconsistent with
democracy.
Why judicial overreach is detrimental?
Parliamentary democracy is premised on the assumption that people exercise their sovereignty through
elected representatives and not through the unelected judges.
Judicial supremacy, judicial excessivism or judicial despotism is seen as antithetical to democracy and
contrary to its first principles.
It is argued that representative democracy is as much a part of the basic structure of the Constitution as
that of the judicial review.
In some of its recent judgments, the Supreme Court has itself cautioned against ever increasing expectations
from it.e.g In Santosh Singh case (2016), the court declined to entertain a PIL seeking a mandamus for the
inclusion of moral science as a compulsory subject.
In the NJAC case, Justice J. Chelameswar in his minority judgment stated that To assume or assert that
judiciary alone is concerned with the preservation of liberties and does that job well is an assumption that is
dogmatic, bereft of evidentiary basis and historically disproved.
A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court had earlier opined that Parliament and the legislatures,
composed as they are of the representatives of the people, are supposed to know and be aware of the needs of
the people and what is good and bad for them. The Court cannot sit in judgment over their wisdom.
1.12 BCCI Reforms
What was the issue?
In May 2013, the Delhi Police arrested three players, S Sreesanth, AnkeetChavan and AjitChandila of the
Rajasthan Royals on charges of spot-fixing.
GurunathMeiyappan, Team Principal of the Chennai Super Kings and son-in-law of BCCI Chief N Srinivasan
was subsequently arrested.
The case unraveled a nexus between players, bookies, team owners and administrators involved in financial
misappropriation.
What is BCCI?
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India.
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The board was formed in December 1928 as a society, registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration
Act.
It is a consortium of state cricket associations and the state associations select their representatives who in
turn elect the BCCI officials.
BCCI covertly manages its annual revenue of 2,000 crore, about half of which is earned by way of broadcast
fees of 43 crore per match, with the rest accruing from the International Cricket Councils fund, gate fees and
miscellaneous sponsorships.
It dont receive funds from the Government of India.
What were Mudgal Committees findings?
The Supreme Court appointed a special committee under MukulMudgalto investigate irregularities in the
IPL and BCCI following the spot-fixing scandal.
In November 2014, the Committee found IPL COO, Sundar Raman, CSK Team Principal GurunathMeiyappan
and Rajasthan Royals owner Raj Kundra guilty of betting.
The report found BCCI Chief N Srinivasan guilty of not acting against the accused despite knowing their
violations.
What were Lodha Committees recommendations?
In January 2015, the SC appointed a committee headed by Justice (Retd) RM Lodha to determine
punishments for those named in the Mudgal Committee report and to recommend reforms for cricket in India
particularly suggesting amendments to the processes followed by BCCI.
The Lodha Committee report banned the owners of CSK and RR for life, from taking part in any BCCI related
cricket activities in India.
The CSK and the RR franchises have been barred in the IPL for 2 years.
Eligibility - As regards the office bearers of BCCI president, VP, secretary, joint secretary and treasurer
certain eligibility criteria has been fixed. i.e
1. He must be an Indian
2. not be above age of 70,
3. not be a minister or government servant, and
4. who has not held office in the BCCI for a cumulative period for nine years.
Tenure: Each office bearer will have a tenure of three years and no office bearer can hold the office for more
than three terms. No office bearer can hold two terms consecutively.
Bringing BCCI under of the purview of RTI Act.
It legalized betting. The panel felt that the move would help curb corruption in the game and recommended
that except for players and officials, people should be allowed to place bets on registered sites.
Further, each state is to have only one official cricket association registered with the BCCI.
IPL and BCCI are to have separate governing bodies.
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Three authorities, an ombudsman for internal disputes, an ethics officer and an electoral officer are to be
appointed to oversee BCCI activities.
The Lodha committee stated that politicians and government officials may not hold posts in the BCCI.
What was BCCIs response?
The BCCI, in a Special General Meeting, unanimously decided to file an affidavit in the Supreme Court
opposing the Lodha Committees recommendations.
As the Supreme Court finds that the BCCI impedes and delays the progress of implementing the Lodha Panel
recommendations, it has ordered to stop funding from BCCI to State Associations.
In an interim order it directed the board, and the banks, to not allocate funds to those state units which hadnt
accepted the Lodha committee recommendations in totality.
This step is to make the BCCI fall in line.
Without money, the states will not be able to function in the manner that they do and will have to give up their
unprecedented defiance of the last few months.
The apex court also said that contracts above a certain sum will require the Lodha panels approval and that
an independent auditor will scrutinise the BCCIs accounts and fix this ceiling.
It directed the Lodha panel to fix a limit on the value of contracts the board can enter.
An independent auditor will be appointed, whose clearance is required for all the high-profile contracts,
besides fixing the financial upper limit for every contract.
The courts basic contention behind appointing the Lodha Committee in January 2015 to revamp the
administration cannot be faulted: that the BCCI may be registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies
Registration Act, but given the enormous following of the game and the public money it manages, it cannot be
run like any other club or trust.
1.13 State of jails
Why in news?
The eight alleged SIMI terrorists who were killed by Madhya Pradesh Police on Monday hours after they had broken
out of Bhopal Central Jail.
What is the status according to NCRB?
Jail staff vacancies severely compromise jail security.
According to the latest data on prisons, published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for 2015,
there is a vacancy of 33% among prison guards, and 36% among officers.
As many as 200 inmates escaped both in jailbreaks and from custody while outside prison premises
across the country in 2015.
Prisons across the country are facing a severe staff crunch with over 27,000 vacancies against the
sanctioned strength of a little over 80,000.
Bihar and Jharkhand, have the most poorly guarded jails. Both states have over 65% vacancy among
officers, staff and jail guards. Bihar, along with Rajasthan, also has the highest vacancy among officers, at 71%.
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Madhya Pradesh, which also witnessed a similar jailbreak by three alleged SIMI activists of the same group in
2013, has a vacancy of 28%.
Delhi has some of the most overcrowded jails in the country, housing over 220 inmates for every 100
that it should be having.
UP, which has the highest number of prisoners and sanctioned strength of jail staff and officers, faces a
vacancy of 33%.
What is the State of Muslims?
Muslims make up 15.8% of all convicts and 20.9% of all undertrials in jails across the country. This is higher
than their share in the countrys population, which is 14.2%.
In some states, this gap is even far wider.
In Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, the percentage of Muslims in the incarcerated population was almost thrice
the percentage of Muslims in the overall population.
In states such as West Bengal, Gujarat and Rajasthan, Muslims have almost double the share of undertrial
populations in prisons than their share in the populations of the states.
It is also important to compare these figures with those of Muslim convicts languishing in jails across states. A
bigger gap between the two figures would show that while more Muslims are being booked in such
states, they are not being convicted for lack of evidence.
Caste-based analysis shows that 34% of the convicts belong to the general category, while 31.2% belong to
the OBC category. Also, 21% belong to the scheduled castes, while 14% belonged to the schedule tribes. Almost
similar is the case for undertrial prisoners.
Tamil Nadu also tops in use of preventive detention law with 1,268 detenues held across the State in
2015.
1.14 Ways to measure Governance
Why in news?
A recent study adopts the statist interpretation of governance and develops a measure of the quality of governance as
service delivery.
What are the conceptions of Governance?
The idea of governance range from a simple, statist interpretation that governance is what governments do, to a much
wider interpretation of governance as the way in which individuals, groups and institutions, both public and private,
manage their affairs and resolve conflicts of interest in an orderly manner.
What are the findings of the study?
The quality of governance as service delivery is measured using the overall Governance Performance
Index (GPI).
The GPI is used to rate and rank the governance performance of major states in India in 2001-02 and 2011-12.
It uses a common scaling technique to aggregate a set of 14 indicators that are based exclusively on official
factual data, not perceptions or opinions drawn from samples of respondents.
The literature points out the strong correlation between the level of development and quality of
service delivery, which biases the GPI towards more developed states.
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We correct for this bias by using an alternative Development Adjusted Governance Index (DAGI).
Two main features that stand out from composite GPI and DAGI ranks are the relative stability of the
composition of the best- and the worst-performing states, and the sharp changes that appear when the
rankings are adjusted to control for the impact of development.
Five of the six best-performing states in 2001 remained the best performing in 2011: Gujarat, Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Punjab
At the other end, four of the six worst-performing states in 2001 remained the worst performing in 2011:
Odisha, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Adjusting the rankings for development impact (DAGI) results in some sharp changes in relative ranks.
Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Chhattisgarh are the biggest gainers, going up by 11, eight and seven ranks
respectively.
Conversely, Gujarat and Kerala drop by five ranks each, and Uttarakhand and Assam, by four ranks each.
Thus, in addition to the quality of administrative inputs, a positive or negative development legacy seems to
have a strong cumulative impact on the quality of service delivery
What are the paths to development?
This has led to the emergence of two quite distinct paths of development in the more and less developed
states.
In the former, state governments mainly play an enabling role, providing good infrastructure, efficient
administrative processes, etc, for private enterprise-led development.
In the other path, seen in less developed states such as Bihar, governments play the dominant role in
development since private enterprise is quite weak.
Governments need to drive both public investment-led growth as well as social development. It is a moot
question whether this government-led path of development will enable these less developed states to catch
up with the developed states; whether there will be convergence or divergence across Indian states in the
years ahead.
The central government and Finance Commissions have a key equalising role in this context.
But whether such equalising interventions will be sufficient for catch-up is not clear.
If not, regional disparities will continue to widen, with potentially severe political consequences.
1.15 Protection for RTI activists
Why in news?
Recently RTI activist BhupendraVira, who used the Right to Information (RTI) Act to unearth information about
illegal construction, was shot after the information led the police to file charges against a politician and his son.
What are the objectives of the RTI?
The basic object of the Right to Information Act is to empower the citizens, promote transparency
and accountability in the working of the Government, contain corruption, and make our democracy work
for the people in real sense.
It goes without saying that an informed citizen is better equipped to keep necessary vigil on the instruments of
governance and make the government more accountable to the governed.
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The Act is a big step towards making the citizens informed about the activities of the Government.
The right to information is considered a basic human right in international law.
The UN Commission on Human Rights says: "Access to information is basic to the democratic way of life. The
tendency to withhold information from people at large is to be strongly checked."
The RTI Act was enacted in 2005. Over four million RTI applications are filed every year.
Despite under-staffed information commissions, and delays, the RTI Act has empowered citizens to
hold officials and politicians accountable.
It has exposed many scams such as the Adarsh Housing scam in Mumbai.
The information has often exposed the nexus among politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen.
India does not have a specific privacy law, or a data protection Act.
What is the situation of RTI activists?
Since the Act came into force in 2005, at least 51 individuals, including 17 women, have been murdered and
another five persons allegedly driven to suicide by harassment in assaults linked to seeking information under
the RTI Act.
This is in addition to the hundreds of cases where applicants and their families have been assaulted, harassed
and threatened.
Maharashtra, with 10 such murders, and Gujarat, with eight, lead the states where such incidents have
occurred, but there has been violence against RTI activists all over India.
What is the issue?
The murders and assaults make it evident that people seeking information under the RTI Act are not
adequately protected by the government even though several remedies have been suggested.
These range from keeping the names and personal details of applicants confidential to putting the requested
information directly in the public domain, assuming, of course, that the request is considered fair.
There is also merit in putting information directly in the public domain as it obviates duplication of
applications, at the same time protecting applicants who need not expose themselves as targets while
publicising the information. Direct publication would also prevent the misuse of the RTI Act as a tool for
blackmail.
As things stand, the RTI format requires the applicant to provide his complete name and postal address. There
is legal ambiguity about the need to keep personal details confidential.
In practice, the RTI request is often passed around among relevant government departments with all the
applicants' details becoming public.
In the analogous UK's Freedom of Information Act, applicants' names are always blanked out, even in
communications between government departments and in public uploads of responses to queries.
What is the view of Judiciary?
The Calcutta High Court has suggested that RTI applicants need not disclose any personal details, other than,
say, a post office box number, or an anonymous email id, as a point of contact.
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The court said: "It would be the solemn duty of the authorities to hide such information so that people at large
would not know of the applicant's personal details."
However, this suggestion is not binding in law.
What are the provisions of Whistleblowers Protection Act?
Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2011 is an Act of the Parliament of India which provides a mechanism to
investigate alleged corruption and misuse of power by public servants and also protect anyone who exposes
alleged wrongdoing in government bodies, projects and offices.
Whistleblowers Protection Act pending in the RajyaSabha has many amendments that prohibit the reporting
of corruption-related disclosures under 10 different categories.
This would dilute the RTI Act in scope. Moreover, the Whistleblowers Act does not provide explicit
privacy and protection to RTI applicants.
This is one of many areas where the need for a specific privacy law and data protection law is acute. The RTI
Act was a huge improvement in transparency of governance.
But instead of following through to strengthen the RTI Act and protect applicants, successive governments
have tried to dilute its provisions.
1.16 Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers
Why in news?
Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) recently met in Hyderabad
What is ICANN?
It is an international non-profit corporation that has responsibility for Internet Protocol (IP) address space
allocation, protocol identifier assignment, generic (gTLD) and country code (ccTLD) Top-Level Domain name
system management, and root server system management functions.
These services were originally performed under U.S. Government contract by the Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority (IANA) and other entities. ICANN now performs the IANA function.
What are the Criticisms of ICANN?
ICANN was under the oversight of US Department of Commerce. Thus, US had unilateral control
over the functioning of ICANN whose mandate was to oversee the functioning of internet which is a global
resource.
Following the criticism, US Government gave up its hold over ICANN and now an operational framework for
ICANN is being developed by taking inputs from all countries.
This new multi stakeholder approach that will be put in place will ensure accountability to the global internet
user community as a whole and not just any particular country.
What is the significance of Hyderabad meet?
The meeting is important because this is the first time the global community will come together post the US
Department of Commerce giving up oversight of the internet.
The internet will now operate in a multi-stakeholder model, which India also agreed to support last year.
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India has, over the past two years, increased participation at internet governance forums as the number of
internet users are steadily increasing on track to touch 500 million by 2017. As a result, India has asked for a
greater say in running the internet's order of things. This ICANN meet in India is a global recognition for
Indias role in internet governance.
What are Indias demands?
Multi stake holder model of internet governance to ensure the governing bodys accountability to all member
nations.
Setting up a root server in the country. Root servers essentially manage top level domains (TLDs) such
as .com, .org, .net, and so on, as well as country-specific domains such as like .in, .au, and .cn. There are only
13 such servers, of which 10 are in the US, two in Europe and one in Japan. Setting up a root server in India is
largely seen as the country having more bargaining power at internet governance forums.
1.17 Uniform Asylum Law
Why in news?
Baloch leader Brahamdagh Bugtis request for asylum in India has prompted calls for a uniform and apolitical asylum
law.
Who are Asylum seekers and Refugees?
According to the UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, asylum seekers are individuals who have sought
international protection and whose claims for refugee status have not yet been determined.
Asylum has no defining criteria other than the willingness of a state to grant it.
Refugees are individuals recognised under
1. The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, its 1967 Protocol,
2. The 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa,
3. In accordance with the UNHCR Statute, individuals granted complementary forms of protection, or
those enjoying temporary protection
4. The UNs Refugee Convention of 1951 links refuge to persecution on racial, religious, national,
social, or political grounds. Therefore refugee status is narrowly defined.
In 1969, Africa recognised that during war, people do not wait to be individually persecuted, they flee en masse,
and they are all refugees.
During the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s, many of those displaced were not technically refugees. Therefore the
European Union treated a new form of asylum distinct from refugee status.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) followed suit. The distinction between asylum
and refugee status has been recognised by the EU Court of Justice and several countries.
What is the significance of Asylum?
The duty to protect refugees is a widely accepted, binding norm of international law.
But the refugee convention refuses protection to people accused of serious non-political crimes such as
terrorism.
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Therefore governments routinely slap fabricated terror accusations against their political dissidents, to
prevent them to seek refugee status.
For such people Asylum is the last resort.
Asylum need not be tied to national territory. It can be granted by diplomatic missions abroad e.g Asylum to
Julian Assange by Ecuadors embassy in London.
What is the practice around the world?
As asylum is undefined, it has been widely interpreted by states to result in multiple forms of protection.
Latin America has been protecting political dissidents who are excluded from refugee status. In 1954, Latin
American states recognised each others sovereignty to grant asylum.
This conception of asylum travelled to Africa too. Black liberationist leaders and Anti-apartheid fighters were
protected through asylum.
What is the misconception?
It is generally believed that political versus humanitarian conflict affects the heart of asylum but there is
actually no conflict at all.
Asylum can be granted for political reasons and refuge for humanitarian reasons and it does not
have to be mixed up.
But asylum and extradition are related concepts. Extradition law exempts a country from handing over a
criminal if the offence committed is of a political character. This is known as the political offence exception. It
enables political asylum.
It is recognised in the Extradition Act 1962, that it is the governments discretion to allow people like Mr.Bugti
to shelter in India.
Is the uniform law necessary?
If Mr.Bugti is accepted, it would not be the first time that Indian asylum has been politicised. e.g Welcoming
Dalai Lama in 1959 continue to be politicised.
But the law need not be uniform.
Indeed it should vary so that victims of targeted persecution are individually protected, large groups fleeing
war are protected as a group, and people displaced by natural disasters are given transient protection.
The principle that governments have wide discretionary powers regarding foreigners is as old as the concept of
sovereignty. It has been reiterated by the Supreme Court several times.
Protecting refugees in line with international law is a duty which India must meet. But denying the
government the ability to make sovereign decisions about who can receive Indias asylum is
counterproductive.
Therefore what is desirable for India is a law which recognises that asylum and refuge need not overlap.
It should enable India to provide discretionary political asylum regime for people like Mr.Bugti as well
as a mandatory refugee regime to ensure humanitarian protection.
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1.18 Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016
Why in news?
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which was introduced in LokSabha on July is now before a Joint
Parliamentary Committee.
Who are illegal migrants?
One, if a foreigner comes into India without valid travel documents, like a visa and passport, or two, having
come in legally, they stay beyond the time period permitted to them under their travel documents.
Illegal migrants may be imprisoned or deported..
The largest number among the illegal migrants are from Pakistan (15%), followed by Sri Lanka (14%), South
Korea (6%) and Iraq (6%).
What are the new amendments?
Illegal migrants and their children are ineligible for Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Act of 1955.
The amendment Bill provides that illegal migrants belonging to the specified six minority communitiesi.e
Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan will not be treated
as illegal migrants and will, therefore, be eligible for Indian citizenship.
The Bill also relaxes the eligibility criteria for citizenship for persons from these six minority communities of
the three neighbouring countries.
As of now, a person must have resided in India for 12 of the 15 years preceding the date of application; the Bill
relaxes the 12-year requirement to 7 years for this particular group of individuals.
The Bill seeks to add a new ground for cancelling OCI registration violation of any law in force in the
country. OCI cardholders are foreigners who are persons of Indian origin.An OCI enjoys benefits compared to
other foreigners, such as the right to travel to India without a visa, or to work and study here.
What are the issues?
This amendment makes it easy to obtain India citizenship, for those fleeing religious persecution in mentioned
three countries (Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh). But it has lot of negatives.
The Bill does not cover illegal migrants who are Muslim, or who belong to other minority communities such as
Jews and Bahais from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The Bill makes illegal migrants eligible for citizenship on the basis of religion. This is in violation of Article
14 of the Constitution which guarantees right to equality and Article 15 of the Constitution which
prevents the state from discriminating.
This would mean, for instance, that the sizeable population of Hindu migrants from Bangladesh living in
Assam would become citizens while Muslims who migrated to Assam from East Bengal, half a century ago
would continue to be harassed as illegal migrants from Bangladesh.
India is not like Israel, which is a Jewish state, offering the right to return to Jews anywhere in the world.
Since India is constitutionally secular, this amendment against its spirit.
The Bill allows cancellation of OCI registration for violation of any law. This is a wide ground that may cover a
range of violations, including minor offences like parking in a no parking zone.
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This Bill does not actually give citizenship to anybody. It only proposes to enable the post-1971 stream
of non-Muslim migrants to apply for Indian citizenship via the route of naturalisation.
How it violates Assam accord of 1985?
As per the Citizenship Act, a person whose name or whose ancestors name was registered as a citizen in the
National Register of Citizens of India in 1951, is considered an Indian citizen.
But in Assam, the rule is different. As per the Assam Accord, signed in 1985, people whose names were not
registered as citizens till the year 1951 but are registered after that till 24 March, 1971, are also considered as
Indian citizens.
The proposed piece of new legislation seeks to extend this to December 31, 2014. There is a huge number of
Bengali Hindu population living in Assam, who have migrated to Assam illegally.
The new amendment of the Citizenship Act seeks to provide them with Indian citizenship. If that is done the
demographic pattern of the state will transform. The natives will lose their political say in their own land.
2. DECEMBER - 2016
2.1 Supreme Court judgment on J&K
Why in news?
The Supreme Court has held that Jammu and Kashmir has no vestige of sovereignty outside the Indian Constitution
and its own, while the citizens of the state are first and foremost citizens of India.
What was the case about?
SARFAESI is an enactment which entitles banks to enforce their security interest outside the court process to
take possession of secured assets of the borrower and sell them outside the court process.
The apex court judgement came on the appeal by State Bank of India (SBI) against the high court verdict
which had held that the SARFAESI Act would collide with the Transfer of Property Act of Jammu & Kashmir,
1920.
The apex court observed that the conclusion arrived at by Jammu and Kashmir High Court which had held
that the state has absolute sovereign power to legislate laws touching the rights of its permanent residents
regarding their immovable properties is wholly incorrect.
The bench set aside the verdict of Jammu and Kashmir High Court that had held that any law made by
Parliament, which affects the laws made by state legislature, cannot be extended to Jammu and Kashmir.
What was SCs rationale?
The bench observed that the State of Jammu & Kashmir has no vestige of sovereignty outside the Constitution
of India and its own Constitution, which is subordinate to the Constitution of India.
It is therefore wholly incorrect to describe it as being sovereign in the sense of its residents constituting a
separate and distinct class in themselves. The residents of Jammu & Kashmir, we need to remind the High
Court, are first and foremost citizens of India, it said.
The apex court said this while holding that provisions of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial
Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (SARFAESI Act) are within the legislative competence
of Parliament and can be enforced in Jammu and Kashmir.
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Entries 45 and 95 of List I provides Parliament with exclusive power to make laws with respect to banking
the Act as a whole would necessarily operate in the state, the bench said, adding that the SARFAESI Act had
itself made a special provision for sale of properties in J&K.
The bench, however, made it clear that any provision of the J&K Transfer of Property Act will have to give way
to the central law in case the former is found repugnant.
The High Court judgment begins from the wrong end and therefore reaches the wrong conclusion. It states
that in terms of Section 5 of the Constitution of Jammu & Kashmir, the State has absolute sovereign power to
legislate in respect of laws touching the rights of its permanent residents qua their immovable properties, the
apex court said.
It further said, We may also add that permanent residents of Jammu & Kashmir are citizens of India, and
there is no dual citizenship as is contemplated by some other federal Constitutions in other parts of the world.
It also added that its judgement had no effect on Article 35A, which confers on permanent residents of J&K
special rights and privileges regarding acquisition of immovable property in the state.
What is Article 35A?
The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954 was issued saying, that in exercise of the
powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 370 of the Constitution, the President, with the concurrence of the
Government of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, is pleased to order (j) After article 35, the following new
article shall be added, namely 35A.
35 A - Saving of laws with respect to permanent residents and their rights. Notwithstanding anything
contained in this Constitution, no existing law in force in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, and no law
hereafter enacted by the Legislature of the State: (a) defining the classes of persons who are, or shall be,
permanent residents of the State of Jammu and Kashmir; or (b) conferring on such permanent residents any
special rights and privileges or imposing upon other persons any restrictions as respects
(i) employment under the State Government;
(ii) acquisition of immovable property in the State;
(iii) settlement in the State; or
(iv) right to scholarships and such other forms of aid as the State Government may provide, shall be void
on the ground that it is inconsistent with or takes away or abridges any rights conferred on the other
citizens of India by any provision of this Part.
2.2 Dispute over Party Symbol
Why in news?
A day after Mulayam Singh was deposed as party president by his son Akhilesh Yadav, he approached the Election
Commision of India to stake claim to the cycle symbol.
What are the ECs powers in such disputes?
On the question of a split in a political party outside the legislature, the Symbols Order, 1968, states that
the EC is empowered to take decision after considering all the available facts and circumstances of the case
that one rival section or group or none of such rival sections or groups is that recognised political party.
The decision of the Commission shall be binding on all such rival sections/groups.
This applies to disputes in recognised national and state parties.
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For splits in registered but unrecognised parties, the EC usually advises the warring factions to resolve their
differences internally or to approach the court.
How does the EC decide?
In almost all disputes decided by the EC so far, a clear majority of party delegates/office bearers, MPs
and MLAs have supported one of the factions. The EC allocated the symbol to the group that secured
this majority.
Whenever the EC could not test the strength of rival groups based on support within the party organisation, it
relied on testing majority only among elected MPs and MLAs.
Only in the case of the split in the AIADMK in 1987, which happened after the death of M G Ramachandran,
the EC was faced with a peculiar situation.
The group led by MGRs wife Janaki had the support of the majority of MPs and MLAs, while J Jayalalithaa
was supported by a substantial majority in the party organisation.
But before the EC was forced to make a decision on which group should retain the party symbol, a
compromise was reached.
The EC do not recognise the new groups/parties (that did not win the party symbol) as either state or national
parties. It is of the view that merely having MPs and MLAs is not enough, as the elected representatives had
fought and won polls on tickets of their parent (undivided) parties.
The rule introduced in 1997 states that the splinter group of the party other than the group that got the
party symbol had to register itself as separate party, and could lay claim to national or state party status
only on the basis of its performance in state or central elections after registration.
2.3 Liberalizing Passport Rules
Why in news?
The government recently announced a series of changes in obtaining passports.
What are the steps taken by the government?
A three-member committee was formed by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Women and Child
Development that gave the recommendations.
Divorced Persons/Single Parent - The passport application form does not require the applicant to
provide the name of her/his spouse in case of separated or divorced persons.
A single parent will not have to disclose the name of his or her partner; the passport need only have the name
of one of the parents or the legal guardian.
Married applicants - The new rules allow faster processing for married applicants as they can apply without
attaching marriage certificate.
Orphans - Orphans, who do not have any birth certificate, can get the head of the orphanage where they were
raised to confirm their date of birth on an official letterhead, which will be accepted by the government for
issuing passports.
Sadhus - Holy men can now apply for a passport with the name of their spiritual guru, instead of biological
parents.
However, they would have to provide a document such as voter ID, which records the name of the guru against
the column for parents name.
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Government Employees - Government employees, who are not able to obtain the Identity Certificate or
No-Objection Certificate from their employer and need to get passports on an urgent basis can now get them
by submitting a self-declaration that they had provided prior intimation letter to their employers about
applying for an ordinary passport.
What are the implications?
The move will speed up and simplify the passport delivery process.
The new rules will eliminate the role of non-government agents and touts.
India aspires to be on a par with countries with a highly liberalised process.
What are the other reforms?
For adopted children within India, submission of registered adoption deeds would no longer be required.
Various annexures required to be submitted by applicants would now be in the form of self-declarations on
plain paper.
No attestation/swearing by/before any notary/executive magistrate/first class judicial magistrate would be

necessary.
In another significant change, the government has also eased the requirement of date of birth certificates for
those born after October 26, 1989.
What has been reformed in proof documents?
A key reform is that a birth certificate is no more the main proof of date of birth, and other official documents,
including Aadhaar number and PAN card, which contain the date, can be utilised.
In the case of orphaned children, actual proof for date of birth has been dispensed with and a declaration from
the head of a child care home or orphanage confirming the date is enough.
In keeping with the times, adopted and surrogate children can be issued passports even in the absence of the
relevant documents, based on a declaration on plain paper.
Sadhus and sanyasins have been allowed to mention their gurus in lieu of the names of their parents.
Ultimately, a passport ought to be every citizens right. Simplifying the procedures in obtaining one should be
an ongoing exercise.
2.4 Ban on National Online Higher Education
Why in news?
Indias higher education regulators banned Indian universities from launching national online campuses.
Why is the ban unjust?
The ban is unjust because while Indian universities are prohibited from offering online degrees via online
campuses, the world of internet makes it possible for MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) such as
Coursera, Edx and Udacity, besides many traditional US and European universities, to sign up Indian students
online.
Online learning is obviously behind the physical classroom in terms of student experience and learning
outcomes but is rapidly catching up.
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Level Playing Field - Indian universities are not asking for protection against foreign universities but the
current ban must be lifted to create a level playing field. The longer Indian universities are prohibited from
developing online capabilities, the further they fall behind global players.
Need to increase employability - The massification of higher education requires the vocationalisation of
higher education. Allowing Indian universities to launch national online campuses will see universities
creating programmes that combine certificate and diploma programmes with apprenticeships and higher
education to create new life forms that substantially attack the problem of graduate unemployability.
Dynamic conditions - The ban assumes to know what is possible, what people need, and what people want.
College isnt what it used to be; the world has produced more graduates in the last 35 years than the 800 years
before that. Consequently, 60% of taxi drivers in Korea, 31 per cent of retail sales clerks in the US and 15 per
cent of high-end security guards in India now have a degree. Education, skills and the wage premium are
changing so rapidly that the current higher education regulator model is no longer be acceptable.
Higher education is over-regulated and under-supervised. Making a distinction between distance education
and online education is meaningless and out-dated.
Coverage - These reasons to lift the ban are amplified by the scale of Indias demographic dividend where
one million kids joining the labour force every month. India has 20 million kids in physical college classrooms,
5 million kids in distance education and 0.3 million kids in apprenticeship classrooms. While the expansion of
physical classrooms must continue, Indian higher education faces the impossible trinity of cost, quality and
scale while simultaneously facing a huge speed limit arising from the lack of quality faculty.
Recent amendments to the Apprenticeship Act have set things up for a massive expansion but this could be
greatly accelerated if we could marry the low-cost, 24X7 and anywhere-availability features of online higher
education with the learning-while-earning and learning-by-doing of apprenticeships.
Education needs to reinvent itself because the world of work is changing rapidly and institutions are no longer
permanent. Rote learning is less important in a world of always-on-internet, and progress in understanding
the brain has led to important second-order effects for education.
Automation era - Rapid progress in automation means that the most important vocational skills for the
future will be reading, writing, arithmetic and soft skills. Removing the ban on national online higher
education will create an explosion of innovation in linking skills to degrees.
2.5 Manipur Blockade
Why in news?
Manipur has been experiencing severe hardship in supply of essential items since November 1 after the UNC imposed
an indefinite economic blockade on the two national highways that serve as lifelines for the State.
What is the issue?
The Manipur Cabinet on December 9 decided to form seven new districts, bifurcating the existing nine.
Four new districts have been formally inaugurated.
The United Naga Council (UNC) has been agitating against the government decision to create Sadar Hills and
Jiribam into full-fledged districts, claiming it would bifurcate ancestral lands of the Nagas in Manipur.
Tension escalated after militants ambushed the Manipur police and other State forces that left three
policemen dead and 14 others injured on December 15 and violence had been on the rise since then.
Inter-community tensions are also been boiling since the decision December 9 decision.
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The UNC has deemed the governments move to upgrade Sadar Hills and Jiribam to full-fledged districts an
attempt to take traditional Naga land and to divide the Naga people and imposed an economic
blockade from November 2 onwards.
What is the governments justification?
The governments justification for the formation of the new districts is both a response to longstanding demands of
local people and administrative convenience.
What else is causing the unrest?
The resentment against the new administrative units is just the latest in a series of issues that have caused
strife.
The demand that the Inner Line Permit (ILP) be implemented in Manipur has gained traction over the last few
years
The ILP is a special pass or permit that is required to enter the Northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh,
Nagaland and Mizoram. The system was introduced by the British to protect their commercial interests,
particularly in oil and tea, and continues now essentially as a mechanism to firewall the tribal peoples and
their cultures from onslaughts by outsiders.
It has been demanded now, amid fears that increasing tourism and migration would alter the demographic
profile of the state.
Following the demand, the Regulation of Visitors, Tenants and Migrant Workers Bill was introduced
in 2016.
The Bill proposed to set up visitor registration centres in the state. Owners of transit units like hotels were to
register and submit details of visitors along with identity documents to the government. Contractors hiring
labour from outside Manipur were to follow similar rules, and the government was to issue permits to migrant
workers.
The Bill fulfilled a longstanding demand from powerful groups in the state, but failed to satisfy the hardliners
who wanted nothing short of the ILP.
Subsequently the bill was withdrawn after violent protests.
Three other laws passed by the state assembly in 2015 the Protection of Manipur People Bill, the Manipur
Land Revenue and Land Reforms Bill (Seventh Amendment) and the Manipur Shops and Establishments
(Second Amendment) Bill ostensibly as a response to demands from the states tribal communities, were
also met with protests.
The laws were seen as an attempt to encroach on tribal lands and rights. It is against this backdrop that the
redrawing of district boundaries has taken on the colour of a Native versus Other conflict.
The government did not make the process or the decision on the new administrative divisions a consultative
one.
The Hill Area Committees are formed to protect the rights of hill people, and under Article 371(C) of
Constitution, must be consulted on matters relating to tribal people. But they have claimed they were never
consulted.
The redrawing of boundaries is a sensitive issue in the complex social fabric of Manipur and has immediate
and real consequences for the law and order situation in the state.
The government and other political actors, whether for political considerations or administrative convenience,
must come to a broad agreement before the situation deteriorates further.
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2.6 The Independence of Independent Directors
Why in news?
On the wake of Tata Mistry row, the role of Independent Directors is under scrutiny.
A risky job:
To be an independent director these days is risky. Nowadays, they are being panned because some, at least, are
standing up to be counted.
Fingers have been pointed at NusliWadia's timing in raising questions about governance in Tata Group
companies.
His criticism of decisions taken on the Nano and a host of other points that he has made have been singled out as
afterthoughts at best and mischievous at worst.
Since these things happened many years ago, why was MrWadia silent all this time?
Decision-making process:
A little reflection would show that the above criticisms hardly stand up to scrutiny.
The decision-making process in a board, as in all institutions that are not hierarchically ordered, is through
discussion and broad consensus.
Among the different views expressed, one will ultimately emerge as the board's decision, either unanimous or
through a majority.
If a decision is taken on the basis of the views of the majority, must the minority who thought differently
invariably resign?
It is a matter of opinion:
Most of these are business decisions and not matters of principle or morals where no compromise is possible.
Ultimately, it is just a matter of opinion. The fact is that boards take decisions based on what members
feel will happen in the future.
Sometimes they are right and sometimes they are wrong. But this is inevitable in the risky business of decision-
making.
An invalid criticism:
Another criticism of independent directors is that they are not supposed to act in concert or form a sub-group.
But the Companies Act itself mandates that independent directors must meet at least once a year without
the promoter or other directors being present and must, among other things, review the working of the board.
Ultimately, a consensus will emerge in such meetings and unanimous decisions will be taken. Does this mean that
independent directors are acting in concert?
If one director seeks to convince other directors of his point of view, is he trying to stir up a revolt?
Reform needed:
The truly valid criticism of independent directors is that their independence is oftencompromised by the
method of their selection.
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It is usually the promoter who invites someone to become an independent director and the unspoken covenant is
often complete allegiance to the promoters diktats. So if reform is needed it is really in this field.
Shareholders must be vigilant about appointment of directors on the board and vote against yes-men. Perhaps
there can be a pool from which directors should be selected.
Concluding remarks:
But most important of all, independent directors must grow out of the shadow of those who invited
them to join the board.
Once they are appointed they must show their independence, not by mindlessly opposing all that the promoters
seek to do but by examining each case on merit, mindful of their obligation to small shareholders.
2.7 NGO - Public Servants
What is the issue?
There are several ambiguities in the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 (L&L Act), which in current form, strongly
discourages the participation of citizens in social and humanitarian activities.
What are the provisons of L&L Act?
Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayukta at the level of the states.
Lokpal will consist of a chairperson and a maximum of eight members, of which 50% shall be judicial
members.
50% of members of Lokpal shall be from SC/ST/OBCs, minorities and women.
The selection of chairperson and members of Lokpal shall be through a selection committee consisting of
1. PM,
2. Speaker of LokSabha,
3. Leader of Opposition in the LokSabha,
4. Chief Justice of India or a sitting Supreme Court judge nominated by CJI,
5. Eminent jurist to be nominated by the President on the basis of recommendations of the first four
members of the selection committee.
Prime Minister has been brought under the purview of the Lokpal.
Lokpals jurisdiction will cover all categories of public servants.
All entities receiving donations from foreign source in the context of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act
(FCRA) in excess of Rs 10 lakh per year are brought under the jurisdiction of Lokpal
What was the amendment?
Going by this definition, public servants should furnish particulars of their assets and liabilities as well as
those of their spouses and dependent children to the authorities.
Non-compliance is liable for action against him/her under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988.
Centre moved an amendment to address concerns arising from the mandatory declaration of assets and
liabilities under the Lok Pal and Lokayukta Act, 2013.
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While the amended Act continues to hold it is compulsory for public servants to file their returns, the form
and procedure for doing so is left open with as may be prescribed.
In doing so, it does away with sub-sections of Section 44 of the Act, which required public servants to
disclose the assets of their spouse and dependent children. It also dispenses with the requirement
such disclosure be made publicly available on websites, as laid down by Section 44 (6).
While this means that employees of NGOs will not have to file returns this year, NGO employees will still have
to declare their assets if the Centre decides to lay down when and how this should be done.
In other words, NGOs and their employees will still remain public servants under the Lokpal Act.
Why NGOs are opposing the move?
Unfortunately, the Indian NGO sector has brought it upon itself.
Instead of challenging the categorisation of NGO workers as public servants, they chose to raise the issue of
asset declaration of spouses and children.
Government employees - The government has used this opening to set the clock back on transparency i.e
under the amended law, no distinction is made between Central government employees and those of NGOs.
As a result, Central government employees will also no longer need to file returns on assets and liabilities for
now.
Privacy - The unease among NGOs led some members to resign from their posts. Partly, this arose from a
sense that their privacy was being violated by the demand that their assets had to be made public.
In many cases, trustees and members of the governing body have nothing to do with the day-to-day operations
of a non-profit. They are professionals chosen for their expertise in certain areas. Therefore it is not right to
label them as public servants.
Against Principle - NGOs are essentially private organisations working for public good.
Discourage volunteers - The other concern was that a great proportion of social work is carried out by
volunteers. NGOs fear this could discourage people from getting involved in social causes.
Finally, the Opposition stemmed from a suspicion that the notifications had less to do with tackling corruption
than harassing civil society organisations that question the governments decisions.
Impracticality - India has around 6 million NGOs. Even if we assume that only 50 percent, or 3 million, are
government-funded, and if we take an average of four board members and 4 staffers per NGO, that leaves us
with 24 million public servants for Lokpal to monitor. Its impractical for Lokpal to manage it.
Financial irregularities by institutions and individuals are covered through several other pieces of legislation
such as the IPC, the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Foreign Currency Regulation Act, the Companies Act,
ITax Act and so on
Why the move is desirable?
But not everyone agrees that employees of NGOs that receive government funding should be treated
differently from government employees.
An NGO gets tax breaks under Section 12-A of the IT Act, when it gets registered. When it gets funding from
the Government, it is public money. Therefore, it stands to reason that the assets of all involved should be
disclosed and that includes those of spouses and dependents.
There is also no significant evidence of privacy being violated in the case of disclosures.
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2.8 Pushed Patriotism
Why in news?
The Supreme Court ordered all cinema halls across the country should play the national anthem and that those
present must stand up in respect
What was the case about?
The order came on a writ petition by Shyam Narayan Chouksey in October.
The petition, which referred to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act of 1971, claimed that the
national anthem is sung in various circumstances which are not permissible and can never be countenanced
in law.
It also referred to Article 51 (A) of the Indian Constitution to contend that it was the duty of every person to
show respect when the anthem was played.
However, the petition had not asked the court to direct the anthem to be played in movie halls.
Instead, it had focused on the commercial exploitation of the anthem.
However the court ordered cinema halls to mandatorily play the national anthem before every screening even
as all those present have to stand up to show respect.
Cinemas should also display the national flag on screen when the anthem is played.
All doors in a cinema hall should remain closed to prevent any kind of disturbance when the anthem is played.
The court banned the commercial exploitation of the national anthem and ordered there should not be
dramatisation of the anthem or its inclusion as part of any variety show.
The court ordered that the anthem or part of it should not be printed or displayed in places disgraceful to its
status. It also banned the display, recitation or use of the abridged version of the anthem.
It said the order should come into effect in 10 days.
The five-page written order was meant to be an interim measure on Mr.Choukseys petition.
However did not elaborate why movie halls were particularly chosen as venues to instill nationalism.
What was the courts rationale behind the order?
The Bench said the protocol of showing respect to the anthem and flag was rooted in our national identity,
national integrity and constitutional patriotism.
It also said that the playing of the anthem is to be seen as an opportunity for the public to express their love
for the motherland.
The practice, according to the court, will instil a feeling of committed patriotism and nationalism.
Justice Misra observed in the order that a time has come, the citizens of the country must realise that they
live in a nation and are duty bound to show respect to the national anthem, which is a symbol of the
constitutional patriotism and inherent national quality.
He also said in court, It is time people feel this is my country. This is my motherland... You are an Indian first.
In other countries, you respect their restrictions. In India, you do not want any restrictions?
The Bench said there was no space for the perception of individual rights in this issue.
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Why this judgment is irrational?
1. Against Fundamental rights
What was the Bijoe Emmanuel vs State Of Kerala case about?
The three child-appellants, Bijoe, BinuMol and Bindu Emmanuel, are the faithful of Jehovahs Witnesses.
Daily during the morning assembly in their school when the National Anthem is sung, they stand respectfully
but they do not sing. They do not sing because, according to them, it is against the tenets of their religious
faith not the words or the thoughts of the Anthem but the singing of it.
The MLA thought it was unpatriotic of the children not to sing the National Anthem. So, he put a question in
the Assembly and a Commission was appointed.
The Commission reported that the children are law- abiding and that they showed no disrespect to the
National Anthem.
But the Head Mistress expelled the children from the school from July 26, 1985. Finally the children filed a
Writ Petition in the High Court seeking relief but their plea was rejected.
SCs view on High Courts order
There is no provisions of law which obliges anyone to sing the National Anthem nor do we think that it is
disrespectful to the National Anthem if a person who stands up respectfully when the National Anthem is sung
does not join the singing.
It is true Art. 51-A(a) of the Constitution enjoins a duty on every citizen of India to abide by the Constitution
and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem.
Proper respect is shown to the National Anthem by standing up when the National Anthem is sung. It will not
be right to say that disrespect is shown by not joining in the singing.
Article 25 is an article of faith in the Constitution, incorporated in recognition of the principle that the real test
of a true democracy is the ability of even an insignificant minority to find its identity under the countrys
Constitution.
SCs view on the question of tolerance
The Court was satisfied that the expulsion of the three children from the school is a violation of their
Fundamental Right to freedom of conscience and freely to profess, practise and propagate religion.
We, therefore, find that the Fundamental Rights of the appellants under Art. 19(1)(a) and 25(1) have been
infringed and they are entitled to be protected. We allow the appeal, set aside the judgment of the High Court
and direct the respondent authorities to re-admit the children into the school We only wish to add: our
tradition teaches tolerance; our philosophy preaches tolerance; our constitution practises tolerance; let us not
dilute it.
2. Against Safety
What was the Uphaar case judgment?
57 people died in a stampede after they were locked inside the Uphaar theatre hall and fire broke out.
The SC in its judgment said that while the theatres were entitled to regulate entry and exit, under no
circumstances should doors, which also double up as emergency exists be bolted or locked.
Rule 10 (8) of the Delhi Cinematographic Rules mandates that all exit doors for public to the open air shall be
available for exit during the whole time the public is in the building and shall not be locked or bolted.
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Therefore the order that all doors in a cinema hall should remain closed to prevent any kind of disturbance
is against the safety of the public inside the halls.
3. Absurdity
On the one hand the court banned the commercial exploitation of the national anthem and ordered there should not
be dramatisation of the anthem or its inclusion as part of any variety show and on the other it does the same by
making it mandatory to play it in theatres.
4. Ineffectiveness
The enforced patriotism is simply transforming a private emotion into tokenistic public spectacle. One stand up not
necessarily because you want to, but because if dont, theyre likely to labelled a traitor, or worse, screamed at or
assaulted by self-styled nationalists.
What is the way ahead?
It seems impossible for so many people to express patriotism in a non-aggressive manner.
There are many ways to prove our love for our country.
One could contribute to flood relief or volunteer in a tsunami-stricken area or ensure the domestic help has
enough cash till she gets used to plastic money all of this is a form of loving, caring for, respecting the
nation.
Because a nation is its people. When we love Indians, we love India.
3. JANUARY - 2017
3.1 LG of Puducherry & Delhi
Why in news?
Lt Governor (LG) of Puducherry, KiranBedi, claimed that she has powers to overlook the Legislature based on
circumstances and can correct mistakes in the Budget.
What are the powers of LG of Puducherry?
Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 provides for a Legislative Assembly of Pondicherry, with a
Council of Ministers to govern the Union Territory of Pondicherry.
It states that the UT will be administered by the President of India through an Administrator (LG). It also has
following provisons.
Extent of legislative power - MLAs may make laws for the whole or any part of the Union Territory with
respect to any of the matters enumerated in the State List or the Concurrent List.
Council of Ministers The CoM headed by a CM will aid and advise the Administrator in the exercise of his
functions.
LG It also allows the LG to act in his discretion in the matter of lawmaking, even though the CoM has the
task of aiding and advising him.
In case of a difference of opinion the Administrator is bound to refer it to the President for a decision and act
accordingly.
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However, the Administrator can also claim that the matter is urgent, and take immediate action as he deems
necessary.
Prior permission - A prior sanction of the Administrator is required for certain legislative proposals. They
include Bills or amendments that deal with the constitution, jurisdiction, powers and organisation of the
court of the Judicial Commissioner.
Once the Assembly has passed a Bill, the LG can either grant or withhold his assent; or reserve it for the
consideration of the President. He can also send it back to the Assembly for reconsideration.
The manner in which the LG functions vis--vis the elected government (Council of Ministers) is also spelt out
in the Rules of Business of the Government of Pondicherry, 1963.
The Administrator exercises powers regulating the conditions of service of persons serving in the UT
government, in consultation with the CM.
How it is different from Delhi?
Both Delhi and Puducherry has an elected legislature and government but the powers of the LG of Puducherry
are different from the ones of the LG of Delhi.
The LG of Delhi has Executive Functions that allow him to exercise his powers in matters connected to
public order, police and land in consultation with the Chief Minister, if it is so provided under any order
issued by the President under Article 239 of the Constitution.
LG of Delhi is also guided by the Government of NCT of Delhi Act, 1991 and the Transaction of Business of
the Government of NCT of Delhi Rules, 1993.
But the LG of Puducherry is guided mostly by the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963.
Under the constitutional scheme, the Delhi Assembly does not have the power to legislate on law and order
and land.
However, the Puducherry Assembly can legislate on any issue under the Concurrent and State Lists.
Simply put, the LG of Delhi enjoys greater powers than the LG of Puducherry.
3.2 Clamping Down On Ordinance Raj
Why in news?
The Supreme Court, in Krishna Kumar Singh v. State of Bihar clarified that ordinances are not immune from
judicial challenge.
What are the Constitutional Provisions?
Article 123 defines the ordinance-making power of the Union executive.
It states that when both Houses of Parliament are not in session and if the President is satisfied of the
emergency circumstances, he may promulgate an ordinance.
Any such ordinance shall have the same force and effect as a statute of Parliament, provided it is laid before
both Houses.
The ordinance so made will cease to operate at the expiration of six weeks from the reassembly of
Parliament, or if Parliament passes resolutions disapproving of the ordinance.
Similarly, Article 213 of the gives ordinance power to the Governor on subjects of State authority.
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Why ordinance route is preferred?
Reluctance to face the legislature on particular issues.
Fear of defeat in the Upper House where the government may lack majority.
The need to overcome standoff in the legislature caused by the Opposition.
What was SCs recent judgement?
The Supreme Court had already declared in 1986, in D.C. Wadhwa, that repeated re-promulgation of
ordinances was unconstitutional.
Now, in Krishna Kumar Singh v. State of Bihar, it goes deeper and concludes that the failure to place an
ordinance before the legislature constitutes abuse of power and a fraud on the Constitution.
Therefore judgment widens the scope of judicial review of ordinances.
The court can go into whether the President or Governor had any material to arrive at the satisfaction that an
ordinance was necessary and to examine whether there was any tilted motive.
What are the other dimensions of the problem?
The legislative debate and deliberation can be inconvenient but the legislature constitutes a critical
foundation of our democracy and cannot be circumvented.
But ordinance is not always a cynical move to treat political convenience over parliamentary accountability.
It is equally important to understand that disruption as a parliamentary tactic plays a significant role.
A dysfunctional House sometimes constitutes a compelling circumstance in itself.
In recent times the reason for issue of ordinance is the combination of Opposition obstructionism and
governments inflexibility.
Therefore it is to be understood that the courts can only define the boundaries between the use and abuse of
power, but it is up to parties in the legislature to observe the limits of constitutional propriety.
3.3 Water in Concurrent List
Why in news?
The Centre recently held discussions with states on the issue of bringing water into the Concurrent List of the
Constitution.
What is the current situation?
India water is a State subject, but the provisions are quite complicated.
The primary entry in the Constitution relating to water Entry 17 in the State List.
It brings water including water supplies, irrigation and canals, drainage and embankments, water storage and
water power under state list.
But it also enables the Union to deal with Inter-State rivers if Parliament legislates in public interest, via
Entry 56 in the Union List.
This provision has not been used by Parliament.
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Under Entry 56, Parliament enact the River Boards Act 1956 to the establish River Boards for inter-State
rivers.
But no such board has been established under the Act.
It is because of the strong resistance by State governments to any enhancement of the role of the Central
government.
Therefore each riparian state has an unrestrained hold over the portion of the river that runs through its
territory.
The Centre cannot intervene unless asked by the contending parties or directed by the judiciary to do so.
What will happen due to the change?
If a subject is added to the concurrent list, both the state and the centre can make laws on that subject.
In case of conflict between the central and state law on the subject, the central law prevails.
But if the state law is reserved for the consideration of the President and he gave his accent, then the state law
will prevail in that state.
What is the need?
Principle - The current provision disregards the principle of equitable sharing of common property.
Countless inter-state water disputes of the present days are due to this.
Resource depletion - The extravagant and wasteful usage of river water one state deprives other states to
meet even their essential needs.
Same is the case of over-exploitation of ground water at one spot can have detrimental effects in neighbouring
areas.
Non Compliance - The states most often reject pleas by the Centre or awards of tribunals appointed by it to
arbitrate on these matters.
The court judgments also remain unimplemented. e.g Verdict on Cauvery waters and Sutlej-Yamuna Link
Canal.
Constitutional Error - Moreover, the Constitution-makers could not have anticipated the water scarcity
and crisis of present times. Neither they could have a foreseen the climate change and its impact on water
resources.
In 2011 Ashok Chawla Committee underscored the need for a comprehensive national legislation on water
either by bringing water in the Concurrent List or through a legal framework for treating water as a unified
common resource.
The parliamentary standing committee on water resources and Parliaments Public Accounts Committee also
have favoured the shift.
The states should co-operate with centre on this.
If the states refuse, the Centre should explore other options effectively using Entry 56 in the Union List.
But at the same time enough safeguards should be taken to avoid centralisation which deprives states of their
rights.
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3.4 PAC Controversies and Challenges
Why in news?
PAC Chairman stated that the panel could call even PM to explain the demonetisation issue if it was not satisfied with
the reply of RBI Governor. One member of the panel wrote to the Speaker expressing resentment over these remarks.
What is PAC?
The Committee on Public Accounts was first set up in 1921 in the wake of the Montague-Chelmsford
Reforms.
With the Constitution coming into force on January, 26, 1950, the Committee became a Parliamentary
Committee.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is a committee of selected members of Parliament, constituted by
the Parliament of India, for the auditing of the revenue and the expenditure of the Government of India.
The term of office of the members is one year.
The PAC is formed every year with a strength of not more than 22 members - 15 from LokSabha& 7
from RajyaSabha.
None of the 22 members shall be a minister in the government.
The Chairman is appointed by the Speaker of LokSabha.
Since 1967, the chairman of the committee is selected from the opposition.
What is the role of PAC?
Its function is to examine the audit report of CAG after it is laid in the Parliament.
CAG assists the committee during the course of investigation.
It holds the Executive to account for its use of public money.

Why controversy occurs?
While the Chairman stated a fact about the considerable powers of the PAC, it is also a fact that no PM has
ever appeared before it in the past.
While the PAC cannot finalise any report without consensus, the lack of consensus has frequently seen
controversy over the role of the Chairman.
The lack of technical expertise hinders the PACs examinations.
Officers are sometimes able to dodge PAC summons, which has prompted suggestions that it should have the
power to hand out harsher punishments.
They do not have suo motu powers of investigation.

It is felt that since each PAC operates in a specific political context and faces issues unique to the legislature it
serves, its major focus should be on the administration of policy rather than policy itself, to avoid political
strife.
The PAC should be consulted on the appointment of the CAG, and that it should have powers to examine
Public-Private Partnership projects.
The services of experts should be availed on technical matters, among other suggestions.
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3.5 Supreme Court on Religion
Why in news?
The Supreme Court ruled that religion, race, caste, community or language would not be allowed to play any role in
the electoral process.
What is Section 123 of RPA?
Section 123(3) of the Act defines as corrupt practice appeals made by a candidate or his agents to vote or
refrain from voting for any person on the ground of his religion, race, caste, community or language.
What came up for interpretation before the Constitution Bench was the meaning of the term his since that
would define whose religion it has to be when an appeal is made.
Previous judgments handed out conflicting views and hence the question came up before the seven judges.
What was the judgment?
In Abhiram Singh v C.D. Commachen by a 4-3 majority ruling, a seven-judge Constitution Bench held
that an of a candidate would be declared null and void if an appeal is made to seek votes on religion, race,
caste, community or language.
The majority view interpreted Section 123(3) of the RPA to mean that this provision was laid down with intent
to clearly proscribe appeals based on sectarian, linguistic or caste considerations.
The majority view stated that his would mean religion of candidate, his agents, voters as well as any
other person who brings up religion in an appeal for votes.
It will include religious and spiritual leaders, often engaged by candidates to mobilise their followers.
What was the dissenting view?
Three judges dissented with the majority view stating the word his is in reference to the candidate or that
of a rival candidate only and not the voter or anybody else.
They stated that to hold that a person who seeks to contest an election is prohibited from speaking of the
legitimate concerns of citizens that the injustices faced by them on the basis of basis of origin in religion, race,
caste, community or language would be remedied is to reduce democracy to an abstraction.
What is the majority view?
The elections to the State legislature or to the Parliament or any other body in the State are a secular
exercise.
The State being secular in character will not identify itself with any one of the religions or religious
denominations.
The concerns under Section 123(3) of the Act have increased with the tremendous reach already available to a
candidate through the print and electronic media none of which were seriously contemplated till about fifteen
years ago.
Therefore now it is necessary to ensure that the provisions of sub-section (3) of Section 123 of the Act are not
exploited by a candidate or anyone on his behalf by making an appeal on the ground of religion.
So Section 123(3) has to be interpreted in a manner that leaves no scope for any sectarian caste or language-
based appeal.
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What was the shortcoming?
The bench, however, refrained from revisiting its 1995 judgment on Hindutva.
According to this three-judge bench judgment of 1995, an appeal in the name of Hindutva to seek votes was
not a corrupt practice warranting disqualification of a candidate as it was a way of life and not a religion.
3.6 Supreme Court on BCCI
Why in news?
The Supreme Court removed the president of BCCI, Anurag Thakur, and the secretary, Ajay Shirke, from their
respective positions.
What was the order?
Accepting the Justice Lodha Committees concerns the court signalled the end of the current form of cricket
administration.
Effective immediately, any BCCI and State associations official must be eligible as per the Lodha
Committees eligibility criteria.
The senior-most eligible vice-president will be the interim president of the BCCI.
The joint secretary will be the interim secretary for the next two weeks.
It appointed a four-member Committee of Administrators to implement the Justice Lodha Committee

recommendations.
The court also appointed two senior advocates to propose names for a committee of administrators that
will essentially govern cricket and simultaneously ensure implementation of the Lodha Committee
recommendations.
This will officially commence the transition to the court-appointed administration era.
Eligible officials must provide a declaration that they will be in compliance with the Lodha Committees
directives.
The court also implied that Mr. Thakur could face contempt and perjury charges. But a more likely outcome is
the court requiring a written or oral apology.
What are the shortcomings?
The names that were mentioned in the sealed envelope submitted by the Justice Mudgal Committee in its
report on the spot-fixing scandal that triggered this entire stand-off are still kept secret.
There is a growing buzz that some State associations may yet file appeals and that might be complicated with
the change of leadership in Supreme Court.
The IPL is in serious limbo.
There is no telling if theres been an adverse impact on the media rights value.
What is the significance of the verdict?
BCCI failed to notice the changing perception of governance in sport and not just in India. e.g FIFA has seen
an invasive overhaul recently, and in India, the Sports Ministrys vocal chastising of the Indian Olympic
Associations controversial appointments.
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An interim committee tasked solely with the implementation of the courts verdict and to oversee a
transparent and fair election would have been ideal. Perhaps that is what will actually happen.
An overhaul of this nature has never been attempted before, at least not successfully. This could turn out to be
a template for sports governance globally, or just the opposite.
Perceived arrogance and insularity aside, the Board has done what it is tasked to do unlike any other sports
federation in the world i.e develop and promote the sport itself.
Therefore the real challenges and work towards ensuring not just a successful governance regimen but an
equally successful on- and off-pitch tenure for the new leadership has just begun.
What are the functions of COA?
The COA will be led by former Comptroller and Auditor General of India VinodRai.
The other members include historian RamachandraGuha, MD of Infrastructure Development Finance

Company (IDFC) VikramLimaye and former India womens captain Diana Edulji
They will function as the new interim bosses of the BCCI.
They will run the day-to-day administrations of the cricket body till Lodha reforms are fully implemented and
elections held.
The purpose of COA is to implement the terms of the Justice Lodha Committee report and the Supreme Court
judgement.
The Board will have to adopt the MoA and Rules and Regulations as specified in the Lodha panels report.
The State and member associations will need to amend their Constitutions/By-laws suitably.
The current BCCI CEO Rahul Johri was ordered to submit a report to the new committee detailing the level of
compliance achieved by the BCCI and its members in adopting the Lodha recommendations.
The full members are against a number of aspects of the recommendations like the term and tenure of elected
office bearers, restrictions on eligibility, the formation of player associations, replacing the working committee
with an apex council, reconstituting the selection committee and empowering the CEO.
3.7 Bill on statutory powers for IIMs
Why in news?
A bill to grant statutory powers to the Indian Institutes of Managements (IIMs) is to be presented shortly to the Union
Cabinet for approval.
What is the need for the bill?
The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are autonomous institutes of management, education and
research and are presently registered as societies under the Indian Societies Registration Act.
It is governed by a Board of Governors.
The government has been looking to grant more autonomy to these institutes and more powers have been
granted to their Governing Boards.
It also decided to lay down a clear rule on the line of succession in case the post of director falls vacant.
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What are the provisions of the bill?
It seeks to declare existing IIMs as institutes of national importance.
Powers of the IIM - The IIMs will have powers to regulate admission, management and fees.
Currently, these institutes can offer diplomas and not degrees. The bill enables IIMs to grant degrees,
diplomas and other academic distinctions.
It also allows IIMs to conduct examinations and establish and maintain necessary infrastructure.
Authorities - The Board of Governors shall be the principal executive body of each institute, responsible for
policy decisions, approving the annual budget estimates, etc.
It grants powers to the Board of Governors to get an inquiry conducted by a person not below the rank of a
High Court judge against a director in case it is felt that an institute has not performed as per the provisions of
the proposed Act.
The Board may even remove the director of the institute after proper enquiry.
The Boards of Governors of IIMs would evaluate the performance of the institutes after every few years.
A coordination forum with an eminent person as the chairperson will take up matters common to all the IIMs.
The Academic Council shall be the principal academic body of each institute and will specify the academic
content of programmes and the criteria and process for admission to courses.
Powers of the central government - Any regulations made by the Board are subject to prior approval of
the central government in matters relating to
1. Admission and specifying fees,
2. Determining posts and emoluments of faculty and staff,
3. Establishment and maintenance of buildings,
4. Conferring degrees and
5. Determining powers of the Academic Council, Chief Administrative Officer and the Board, etc.
Funding - The IIMs will discharge their functions on the basis of grants received from the central
government.
The new IIMs proposed by the central government will be situated in Vishakhapatnam, Bodh Gaya, Sirmaur,
Nagpur, Sambalpur and Amritsar.
Each institute will offer post graduate programme courses.
3.8 Public Safety Act in J&K
Why in news?
The J&K Assembly witnessed disruption in the assembly over a detention made under the states Public Safety Act.
What is the issue?
A boy was detained on September 2016, for protests over the BurhanWani killing.
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The government insists the age of the detainee, is 20-25 years.
The opposition protested showed school documents saying he is 14.
A medical panel set up by the government has put his age at 19 to 21.
What is the Public Safety Act?
The Act was first promulgated in J&K in 1978 for administrative detention.
It was aimed at containing the timber smugglers.
Originally, it allowed the government to detain any person above the age of 16 without trial for a period of two
years.
The amendments made in 2011 raised the minimum age of a person from 16 to 18 years.
It also reduced the maximum detention period from one year to three months in case of public disorder, and
from two years to six months in cases where the security of the State is involved.
However there is a provision for revision and the detention period can be extended to one year and two years
respectively.
Police prepare a case file against the accused and submit it to the deputy commissioner, detailing why a person
needs to be detained under the Act.
Then the detention order under the PSA is issued by the district magistrate/deputy commissioner.
What are the criticisms?
Discretionary power - It is up to discretion of the deputy commissioner to accept or reject the

recommendations. But in most cases, district magistrates pass detention orders without questioning the
police.
Revolving detention - A person detained under the PSA can approach the high court to get relief.
But usually the government resorts to what is called revolving door detention i.e the moment the high court
releases the person, the government uses the PSA against him again in another case.
e.gHurriyat leader MasaratAlam has been booked under the PSA for 17 consecutive times.
Political Intentions - The government has frequently used the Act against political opponents.
Rights group Amnesty International has called the PSA a lawless law. It states that the state uses the law to
keep people that the government cant convict through proper legal channels.
Number of detainees - During the protests over the killing of HizbulMujaihideen commander
BurhanMuzaffarWani more than 550 persons were detained under the PSA.
It is the highest number in a year.
Age - The government was accused of using it against people irrespective of age, from minors to 80-year-olds.
While school certificates show many of the arrested children as minors, police maintain they are adults.
In at least two cases, the J&K High Court declared the arrested boys as minors and ordered their release.
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3.9 Aadhaar is a must for MGNREGS work
Why in news?
Aadhar has been made mandatory for several government schemes.
What is Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act?
Section 7 mandates that when the government gives subsidy, benefit or service from the Consolidated Fund of India,
an individual can be asked to undergo authentication or furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar.
What are the schemes?
From April 2017, workers in rural areas enrolled under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), must have an Aadhaar card.
The expenditure for the MGNREGS is met from the Consolidated Fund of India and hence can mandate Aadhar.
The EPFO has also made it mandatory for 50 lakh pensioners and four crore subscribers to provide the Aadhaar
number.
Those who have registered under the scheme will be required to give furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar or
undergo the enrolment process till March 31.
However, till an Aadhaar card is obtained, ration card, driving licence, voter identity card, Kisan passbook with
photo, job card issued under the MGNREGS and a certificate issued by a gazetted officer or a tehsildar will be
admissible as proof of identity.
Those who have applied for Aadhaar can produce their enrolment slip or a copy of the application for getting the
12-digit unique identification number.
This move was to prevent leakages of subsidies and ensure that the beneficiaries get their due.
3.10 Corporate Social Responsibility in India
What is CSR?
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) isreferred as a corporate initiative to assess and take responsibility for
the company's effects on the environment and impact on social welfare and to promote positive social and
environmental change.
It efforts that go beyond what may be required by regulators.
The income is earned only from the society and therefore it should be given back.
What is the legal mandate?
Under Companies Act, 2013 any company with a
1. net worth of the company to be Rs 500 crore or more or
2. turnover of the company to be Rs 1000 crore or more or
3. net profit of the company to be Rs 5 crore or more.
has to spend at least 2% of last 3 years average net profits on CSR activities as specified in Schedule VII and
as amended from time to time. The rules came into effect from 1 April 2014.
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Further as per the CSR Rules, the provisions of CSR are not only applicable to Indian companies, but also
applicable to branch and project offices of a foreign company in India.
Further, the qualifying company will be required to constitute a CSR Committee consisting of 3 or more
directors.
The CSR Committee shall formulate and recommend to the Board, a policy which indicates the activities to be
undertaken, allocate resources and monitor the CSR Policy of the company.
India is the first country in the world to enshrine corporate giving into law.
How is it beneficial to companies?
Consumers are socially conscious - Many consumers actively seek out companies that support charitable
causes. Therefore CSR attracts customers.
Competitive advantage - Businesses that show how they are more socially responsible than their
competitors tend to stand out.
Boosts employee morale -CSR practices have a significant impact on employee morale, as it reinforces his
confidence on Companys empathy.
What is the effect of legislation?
More spending - The private sectors combined charitable spend increased from 33.67bn rupees in 2013 to
around 250bn rupees after the laws enactment.
Mainstreaming Charity - It has brought CSR from the fringes to the boardroom. Companies now have to
think seriously about the resources, timelines and strategies needed to meet their legal obligations.
But it also has its shortcomings.
Non-compliance - A survey found that 52 of the countrys largest 100 companies failed to spend the
required 2% last year.
A smaller proportion has gone further to allegedly cheating by giving donations to charitable foundations that
then return the fund minus a commission.
Roll back - Charitable spending was used as a big reputation builder for family-led conglomerates with a long
tradition of philanthropy. Now its just about legal compliance. Many companies that were giving more than
2% have scaled back their spending.
Inequality - One of the challenges for the corporate sector is finding credible charity partners to support. So
the bigger charities that are more well-known are being flooded with money leaving out smaller charities.
Compounding the problem is that smaller charities often lack the capacity to cope with companies
bureaucratic and operational demands.
Geography - There is also a geographic bias under the 2% law, with companies funding projects closer to
where they are based. Therefore more industrialised states are winning over poorer, more remote regions
where development aid is acutely needed.
Politics - Some companies looking to gain goodwill by backing government-led projects rather than
independent initiatives.
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What India needs is large-scale social innovation and systems change and mandatory spending achieves a
little in this direction.
It also deflects pressure on companies to change their business practices.
CSR should be more inclusive by which an organization should think about and evolve its relationships with
stakeholders for the common good, and demonstrate its commitment by adopting appropriate business
processes and strategies.
A set of national voluntary guidelines to spell out what responsible business should look like and set out that
CSR is more than just charitable giving should be formalised.
3.11 Removal of independent directors
Why in news?
The ongoing boardroom tussle in the Tata Group has compelled the SEBI to review the norms for removal of
independent directors in listed companies.
Who are Independent Directors?
An independent director is a non-executive director of a company and helps the company in improving corporate
credibility and governance standards.
In a broad sense he does not have any kind of relationship with the company that may affect the independence of
his/her judgement.
The Companies Act, 2013 has mandated all listed public companies to have at least one-third of the total Directors
to be independent.
What happened at the SEBI board meet?
At present there is no restriction on promoters to vote on resolutions seeking removal of independent

directors.
SEBI took note of the fact that promoters by virtue of their majority holding in large listed companies can easily
remove an independent director.
An internal note presented to the SEBI board stated that the regulator should evaluate the option of barring the
promoters from voting on resolutions seeking removal of independent directors.
The present provisions make the removal process less stringent than the appointment process.
Since a special resolution is required for the re-appointment of an independent director, the same principle should
be applied for his removal also.
SEBI listing regulations and Companies Act, 2013 needs to provide independent directors a fair process
and the opportunity to debate their dismissal before the non-promoter independent shareholders,
currently it does not require legally sufficient cause for dismissal, or any similar test.
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3.12 Probe against DDA
Why in news?
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered an investigation against the Delhi Development Authority
(DDA) for alleged abuse of its dominant position in the market for the development and sale of residential plots in
Delhi.
What is CCI?
Competition Commission of India is a body of the Government of India responsible for enforcing the
Competition Act, 2002. It was established on 14 October 2003.
CCI consists of a Chairperson and 6 Members appointed by the Central Government.
It is the duty of the Commission to eliminate practices having adverse effect on competition, promote and
sustain competition, protect the interests of consumers and ensure freedom of trade in the markets of India.
What the DDA has done?
The Delhi Development Authority was created in 1955 under the provisions of the Delhi Development Act
to promote and secure the development of Delhi.
The allotment of plots under DDA plot scheme was to be done in a phased manner, spread over a period of 5
years through draw of lots.
DDA did not conduct the draw of lots and no allotment was done for a period of 31 years.
DDA held draws for allotment lots in 2012 which too was conducted only after the direction of the Delhi High
Court.
DDA had also revised the price of the plots, asking for an arbitrary price for the allotted plot which is 116 times
higher than the initially mentioned price.
Why CCI is involved?
The commission said the DDA was found to be abusing its dominant position by formulating unfair terms of
agreement, through disproportionate pricing, and delaying the allotment of flats.
Considering that DDA is a public body, the commission noted that public bodies need to ensure that their
conduct is compliant with competition law.
The commission noted that there is no parity in the rate of escalation of the price to be paid by the allottees
and the compensation being offered to them owing to the delay caused by the opposite party (DDA) although
both relate to the same period.
CCI directed the DG to initiate an investigation into the matter and file a report within 60 days from the date
of receipt of the order.
It also said the director general shall also investigate the role of officials or persons who were in charge and
responsible for the conduct of business.
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3.13 Rose Valley Scam Explained
Why in news?
Arresting of two Trinamool Congress MPs have put the focus back on ponzi scams that rocked West Bengal in 2013-14.
Both MPs were arrested by CBI in Kolkata in the Rose Valley case.
What is a Ponzi scheme?
A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud where clients are promised a large profit at little to no risk.
Companies that engage in a Ponzi scheme focus all of their energy into attracting new clients to make
investments.
Ponzi schemes rely on a constant flow of new investments to continue to provide returns to older investors.
When this flow runs out, the scheme falls apart. There will not be any actual effective revenue generation.
What was the Rose Valley Holiday Membership Plan?
Rose Valley was set up in the 1990s.
Rose Valley had floated a holiday membership in 2010.
The investors were given the choice of opting for a holiday package or "a return on the investment with
annualised interest".
Interestingly, unlike Saradha, the Rose Valley was not a defaulter in Bengal. It was paying interest to its
depositors.
But after the Saradha scam, the Supreme Court to probe all the companies involved in raising funds from
small depositors.
Hence the Rose Valley Group was investigated.
What was the scam?
The Rose Valley Group has been accused of duping investors of about Rs 17,000 crores in different states.
The money was primarily accumulated by raising small investments in the rural areas of at least half a dozen
States.
SEBI found that the company offered plans with interest rates ranging from 11.2% to 17.65%.
The subscription couldnt be cancelled, and the investor could not get his money back before the end of the
tenure.
In July 2013, an investigation revealed suspicious expenditure in the profit and loss accounts of group
companies.
The assessment of balance sheet revealed poor performance by the company and leakage of cash.
It also revealed erratic miscellaneous expenditures with an almost nine-fold increase in losses.
The company also gave loans and advances amounting to Rs 596 crore during the year, much of it were given
to its holding company, and the rest to its promoter GautamKundu.
Therefore SEBI found out that the company did not follow due procedures.
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The organisation also allegedly violated guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India and other related financial
fraud control acts, meant to regulate such companies raising small investments.
A CBI release said on Tuesday that the case was registered in June 2014 for cheating, breach of trust, criminal
breach by public servant, criminal conspiracy, and various sections of Prize Chits & Money Circulation
Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978.
Both Rose Valley and Saradha Scams are being investigated by the CBI and ED separately.
3.14 Chit Funds & Saradha Scam
What is a chit fund?
Chit fund means transaction in which a person enters into an agreement with a specified number of persons
that every one shall subscribe a certain sum of money by way of periodical instalments over a definite period.
Each such subscriber in his turn, as determined by lot or by auction or by tender be entitled to the prize
amount.
How does it work?
Lets assume that the 12 people come together and decide to contribute Rs 5,000/month.
This means a total of Rs 60,000 will be collected every month.
This amount is then auctioned among the 12 members after a minimum discount has been set.
Let this minimum discount be Rs 5,000. This means the maximum amount any person can get from the total
Rs 60,000 collected is Rs 55,000 (Rs 60,000 - Rs 5,000).
After this discount bids are invited.
One person bids the highest discount of Rs 12,000. And hence he gets the money.
Since he has agreed on a discount of Rs 12,000, that would mean he would get Rs 48,000 (Rs 60,000 - Rs
12,000). He will also have to bear the organiser charges of around Rs 3000 (5 % of Rs 60,000).
This means he would get Rs 45,000 (Rs 48,000 - Rs 3,000) after deducting the organiser charges.
The discount amount of Rs 12,000 is basically a profit that the group has made. This is distributed equally
among the members, with each one of them getting Rs 1,000.
This money that is distributed is referred to as a dividend. The person who got the money, will have to keep
contributing Rs 5,000 every month for the remaining eleven months.
If two or more person bid the maximum discount their names will be written on chits of paper and a chit is
drawn. The person, whose name is on the chit drawn, gets the money.
The winner will be opted out of the future biddings.
This is how chit funds works and they are perfectly legal if they are registered under the Chit Funds Act 1982,
a central statute or various state-specific acts.
How is it helpful?
A chit fund helps those people who are facing a liquidity crunch.
Of course they will have to keep paying Rs 5,000 for the remaining eleven months.
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But by doing that the person gets an opportunity to get a bulk amount once.
The chit fund company typically does not ask what the winner of the amount wants to do with the money.
What is the nature of the returns?
The kind of return an individual participating in a chit fund gets depends on the maximum discount that is bid
in each of the months.
The higher the discount, greater is the dividend that is distributed among the members of the chit fund.
The returns also depend on the organiser charges. Higher the organiser charges, lower is the returns.
While organiser charges are fixed in advance, the maximum winning discounts are likely to vary from month
to month. Therefore the returns are not fixed and cannot be predicted.
The organiser of the chit fund also cannot know in advance the kind of returns that a participant can get.
Was Saradha a chit fund?
Saradha Group was a consortium of over 200 private companies with SudiptoSen as a Chairman.
It was believed to be running collective investment schemes popularly but incorrectly referred to as chit funds.
As we know, chit fund cannot declare in advance the return an individual is likely to make. But returns were
promised in Saradha chit fund.
They offered fixed deposits, recurring deposits and monthly income schemes. The returns promised were
handsome. High-value depositors were also promised foreign trips.
The fact that a rate of return was promised in advance and the amount of 4 times return to the principal,
clearly means that it was not a chit fund.
So what was Saradha then?
It can be categorised under what SEBI calls a collective investment scheme.
A collective investment scheme (CIS) is defined as any scheme or arrangement made or offered by any
company under which the contributions made by the investors are pooled and utilised with a view to receive
profits, income or property, and is managed on behalf of the investors. Investors do not have day to day
control over the management and operation of such scheme or arrangement.
Against the money collected Saradha promised allotment of land or a flat.
The investors also had the option of getting their principal and the promised interest back at maturity.
The investors did not have day to day control either over the scheme or over the flat or land for that matter.
The money/land/flat came to them only at maturity. Given these reasons Saradha was actually a CIS
What was the scam?
If the Saradha group was collecting money and promising land or flats against that investment, it should still
have those assets. Saradha was trying to create an illusion it was doing all of it. But there was nothing really
that it was doing.
They were using money brought in by the newer investors to pay off the older investors whose investments
had to be redeemed.
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At the same time they were creating an illusion of a business as well, which really did not exist.
They were prompt with payments in the first year. Later agents were told to make payments for maturities
with fresh collections or make adjustment against renewals.
They also pay high commission to agents to keep bringing new investors. That keeps the Ponzi scheme going.
And as long as money brought in by later investors is greater than the money that has to be paid to earlier
investors, these schemes keep running.
The day this equation changes, these so called chit funds go bust.
The same happened in case of Saradha chit fund as well.
The group collected around 200 to 300 billion from over 1.7 million depositorsbefore it collapsed in April
2013.
3.15 Amendment to the Chit Funds Act
Why in news?
The Finance Ministry is amending the Chit Funds Act to insulate small savers from ponzi schemes.
What are the amendments?
Definitions of the Act are being tightened to replace chits with fraternity fund.
The new fraternity fund nomenclature will distinguish its working from prize chits or marketing schemes
that are barred under the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act.
This will signify its inherent nature of being a borrowing and saving scheme, and not one that just takes
deposits.
Technology - Currently the act requires at least two subscribers to be physically present at the auction.
The bill proposes to allow the two minimum required subscribers at any chit auction to join through duly
recorded video presence.
It is also changing the 1982 law to allow e-auction of chit funds.
State Government - Chit funds fall in the Concurrent List and states are free to issue their own law.
Currently enforcement remains the primary responsibility of the state government. The draft Bill gives them
more freedom to regulate such funds.
At present, all chits with aggregate amount Rs 100 and below are exempted from provisions and penalties of
the Act.
The bill allows state governments to prescribe this ceiling and to increase it from time to time.
A new clause is being introduced to protect companies or individuals that act as foreman of the chit fund
whereby the promoter would be allowed a right to goods, securities or any other assets of the borrower until
the debt is repaid.
The Bill does not address a key concern raised by the Key Advisory Group in September 2013 i.e to provide
insurance coverage in case of default by the foreman so that the interest of the investors is protected.
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3.16 Panama paper scandal
Why in news?
The Supreme Court will hear the plea seeking a Central Bureau Investigation (CBI) investigation into the Panama leak
papers.
What are Panama papers?
The Panama papers are files that are related to the documents and other details about illegal activities of
wealthy off-shore account holders were leaked.
They were leaked from one of the world's most secretive companies, a Panamanian law firm called Mossack
Fonseca.
The files show how Mossack Fonseca clients were able to launder money, dodge sanctions and avoid tax.
In one case, the company offered an American millionaire fake ownership records to hide money from the
authorities.
This is in direct breach of international regulations designed to stop money laundering and tax evasion.
It is the biggest leak in history even more than that by Wikileaks organisation in 2010.
There are links to 12 current or former heads of state and government in the data, including dictators accused
of looting their own countries.
How it is related to India?
A petition was filed by Supreme Court advocate ManoharLal Sharma seeking an apex court-monitored probe
against the Indian offshore account holders and stock market regulators.
A bench was asked to direct the CBI to lodge FIRs and conduct probe into the alleged offences under the
Prevention of Corruption Act and Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The case is currently being monitored by a multi-probed agency headed by the Central Board of Direct
Taxes (CBDT) chairman Atulesh Jindal and attended by officials from the investigative unit of the CBDT and
its Foreign Tax and Tax Research division, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI).
3.17 Net Neutrality
Why in news?
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released consultation paper on Net neutrality and asked for written
comments from stakeholders.
What is the current scenario?
Internet consumption in India is rapidly growing with around 370 million subscribers already using data
services.
This huge market opportunity has pitted large telecom companies and internet giants against each other.
So it is critical that India sets out clear regulations prohibiting all practices that tilt the network in favour of
anyone.
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What is net neutrality?
Net neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers (ISP) and governments regulating the Internet should
treat all data on the Internet the same and should not discriminate or charge differentially.
Why is it important?
Web users are free to connect to whatever website or service they want. This has allowed the internet to
grow into a truly global network and has allowed people to freely express themselves.
It has enabled a level playing field on the internet.
To start a website, one doesnt need lot of money or connections. If the service is good, it will find favour with
web users. Unlike the cable TV where one has to forge alliances with cable connection providers to make sure
that your channel reaches viewers, on internet one doent have to talk to ISPs. This has led to creation of
Google, Facebook, Twitter and countless other services, all of them had very humble beginnings.
What is a Zero-rating platform?
Zero-rating platforms offer free access to a limited number of sites through select telecom providers.
Those who wanted unrestricted access to the entire internet would still have to pay, but the poor would have
access to a few useful sites offered by them.
Facebooks Free Basics is an example.
The TRAI last year ruled to end the Free Basics in India.
How is such a proposal detrimental?
It essentially creates a two-tier system with a fast and a slow lane.
The free content will be on the slow lane where the download speed will be low.
Those with resources to promote their content will be on the paid fast lane with high download speed.
This effectively erodes the concept of level playing field, as new comers will no longer be able to
compete with the already established tech giants.
This is also detrimental from the consumer point of view as their usage pattern will be controlled by the
telecom companies.
Is the self-regulation a solution?
All telecom operators openly support the idea of net neutrality.
Therefore they argue that internet services should be under a self-regulatory mechanism for adhering to core
principles of neutrality.
But there is a risk of some operators indulging in discriminatory practices such as blocking of particular
content or tweaking speeds for access to particular services.
Most consumers in India, being first time users, would not even realise that their network has been gamed to
favour a particular content provider.
So an intervention is needed in favour of net neutrality.
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What has been done?
The consultation paper comes at a time when the country is on the cusp of a digital revolution.
Over the past two years, there have been several piecemeal attempts to determine Indias approach to this
issue.
The TRAI has rightly pointed out that end users should be informed about such traffic management practices
and the reason for which they are being deployed.
In February last year, the TRAI disallowed differential pricing for data services.
But then it allowed differential tariffs to be offered for data transmitted over closed electronic
communications networks leaving the door open for telecom operators to create a parallel network.
TRAI must ensure that the battle be fought through innovative products and best quality services, rather than
by gaming the network to influence consumer behaviour.
The regulator should also put in place a mechanism to monitor and enforce the principles of net neutrality.
The latest consultation paper gives TRAI the opportunity to redeem itself by mandating neutrality without
exceptions.
3.18 TNPSC Appointments
Why in news?
The Supreme Court refused to stay a Madras High Court decision to quash the appointment of 11 members of the
Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC).
What are the constitutional provisions?
Articles 315 to 323 in Part XIV of the Constitution of India provides for the establishment of Public
Service Commission for the Union for each State.
State Public Service Commission (SPSC) conduct examinations for recruitment to state services and advise
the governor on disciplinary matters.
It consists of a chairman and other members appointed by the Governor. They can be removed only by
President.
The qualifications are not prescribed and the strength of SPSC and the conditions of service is left to the
discretion of the Governor.
The only criterion is that the half of the members should be such persons who held the office under GOI or
the state.
The salary and the expenses are charged on the consolidated fund of the state.
What is the issue?
The vacancies for the posts of members of the TNPSC had arisen from 2013 when members completed their
tenure and demitted office.
The last member demitted office on January 31, 2016 and these posts were suddenly filled by a government
order, dated the same day in anticipation of the election notification for the state Assembly polls.
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The petitioners was filed in High Court claiming that the Commission was packed with party loyalists and do
have any merit.
The government submitted that right to make appointment to the State Public Service Commission under
Article 316 of the Constitution is left to the state government and the court ought not to interfere with it,
especially as there are no charges or allegations against any member.
It also pointed out that SPSC members can be removed only by Article 317.
The Madras High Court quashed the appointment holding that the process was "deeply flawed" and conducted
without following any transparent process and that not even police verification cold have been done in one
day.
The bench observed the selection should be based on merits. the persons who are Chairman or Members of
the PSC have to be equally of such competence and high moral values as they are the ones who are conducting
the selection process for the Administrative Service Officers."
No character or antecedent verification was really done and the issue which arose for consideration was
whether the state could have said to have applied its mind to the relevant facts, i.e., suitability, competence
and integrity of the candidate.
Thus the court said that where the deliberative process suffered from constitutional infirmity of being
arbitrary, the appointment had to be struck down.
What is the recent judgment?
While hearing the appeal the Supreme Court said the service commissions should have credibility, its
members should be outstanding and should inspire confidence for the sake of good governance.
Therefore it refused to stay the high court of quashing the appointments.
The bench said that the candidature of Ramamurthy, the retired district judge, who had been 'relieved' from
service when he turned 58, instead of it being extended till he turned 60 i.e who had been rendered unfit to
hold any post after retirement should not be considered for reappointment.
The other members can be considered for reappointment by following due process.
3.19 Aircel Maxis Case
Why in news?
The mega merger between Reliance Communications and Aircel is at risk with the Supreme Court threatening
to take away the latters spectrum if its Malaysian owner T Ananda Krishnan does not appear in court within
two weeks.
In a separate development former Telecom Minister DayanidhiMaran and his brother Kalanithi were freed
from bribery and money laundering charges in the Aircel-Maxis deal case.
What is the case about?
Aircel is an Indian mobile network operator founded by C Sivasankaran of Tamil Nadu.
Maxis is a communications service provider in Malaysia, owned by Ananda Krishnan.
Aircel was taken over by Maxis in 2006 by acquiring its shares.
In 2011 The Aircel-Maxis deal came under the scanner after Sivasankaran lodged a complaint that he was
coerced into selling his company to Maxis.
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It was alleged that the Maxis Group had invested in Sun Direct between 2007 and 2009 and DayanidhiMaran
as then Telecom Minister misused office in the deal. It was also alleged that Maxis made a quid pro
quo investment in Sun Direct TV, owned by Dayanidhis brother, KalanithiMaran.
The then finance minister Chidambaram was also alleged of delaying the clearance till his son received shares
in Aircel.
In 2014 the CBI filed charge sheet against former Telecom Minister DayanidhiMaran and his brother
KalanidhiMaran, T. Ananda Krishnan and Ralph Marshall, a senior executive of the Maxis Group.
In 2015 the CBI told a special court that Malaysian authorities were not cooperating in the service of
summons.
In August 2016 the CBI moved court for issuance of arrest warrants against Ralph Marshall and Ananda
Krishnan as they failed to appear before the agency.
In September 2016 Reliance Communications and Aircel announced a merger deal with equal representation
on the board.
This would have created the countrys third-largest mobile operator by subscriber base enabling both RCom
and Aircel to stay relevant.
What is the recent judgment?
But the Supreme Court restrained the transfer of Aircels 2G licences to any other telecom company. It also
said that if Anandha Krishnan and Ralph Marshall fail to appear in January, the 2G license granted to Aircel
will be seized.
Most of Aircels existing revenues come from 2G and it may end up losing millions of subscribers if the
Department of Telecom were to transfer the airwaves to another operator.
RCom can technically still use Aircels 3G spectrum and other airwaves bought through recent auctions, but it
is unlikely that the merger will go through in such a piecemeal manner.
Though there is no immediate impact on merger plans the future is unclear.
4. FEBRUARY- 2017
4.1 Right to be forgotten
Why in news?
The Karnataka High Court recently upheld the concept of and the right to be forgotten.
What is right to be forgotten?
The right to be forgotten has been in practice in Argentina and the European Union since 2006.
It allows for the lawful removal of personal information of an individual if such request is
made.
The right is seen as significant in these jurisdictions as it can determine the development of their life in an
autonomous way, without being perpetually or periodically stigmatised as a consequence of a specific action
performed in the past.
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The right to be forgotten is distinct from the right to privacy because the right to privacy constitutes
information that is not publicly known, whereas the right to be forgotten involves removing information that
was publicly known at a certain time and not allowing third parties to access the information.
What is the experience in EU?
The European Union created a system that allows people to seek the removal of search results from Google
that are inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant.
The system does not result in the removal of the actual content, but rather makes it more difficult to find in
light of the near-universal reliance on search engines to locate information online.
Since the European decision, Google has received nearly 700,000 requests for the removal of links.
Problems such as revenge porn sites appearing in a person's name, or references to petty crimes committed
many years ago remaining unduly as prominent part of a person's Internet footprint can be addressed by it.
But there are concerns about its impact on the right to freedom of expression as it might decrease the quality
of the Internet through censorship and a rewriting of history.
What are the directives of Karnataka HC?
The father of the woman had moved the court seeking orders to block her name in an earlier order passed by
the court, as his daughter feared the consequences of her name associated with this earlier matter and was
afraid that this would affect her relationship with her husband and her reputation and good-will in society.
The Karnataka High Court upheld a womans 'right to be forgotten'.
The judgment stated that this is in line with the trend in western countries of the right to be forgotten in
sensitive cases involving women in general and highly sensitive cases involving rape or affecting the modesty
and reputation of the person concerned.
The high court directed to its registry that it should be the endeavour of the registry to ensure that any internet
search made in the public domain ought not to reflect the petitioner's daughter's name in the case-title of the
order or in the body of the order in the criminal petition.
In the Indian context, the right to be forgotten poses a legal dilemma.
While the significance of such a right exists, India has no legal provision, neither in the Information
Technology (IT) Act 2000 (amended in 2008) or the IT Rules, 2011.
And while the judicial construction of such a right should ideally be the balance between the right to privacy
and the right to information and free speech, there is no privacy law at present either.
The Delhi High Court in another case, had asked recently whether the right to privacy included the right to
delink from the Internet the irrelevant information from the Centre and Google.
Google Inc had stated to the Delhi High Court that there is no reason or creation of a separate legal framework
under 'right to be forgotten' to delink 'irrelevant information' from the internet.
For now, there is no way to predict how the right to be forgotten would be moulded by the Indian courts.
Currently, it is a budding judicial concept that will take some amount of debate and deconstruction to make
sense.
However, the Karnataka High Court judgment must be applauded for what it is, prudent and inventive.
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4.2 Aadhaar - Money Bill
Why in news?
The Supreme Court is about to begin hearing final arguments on a writ petition questioning the legality behind the
Union governments move in introducing the Aadhaar Act as a money bill.
What is money bill?
A money bill is defined by Article 110 of the Constitution, as a draft law that contains only provisions that
deal with all or any of the matters listed in that article.
These comprise a set of seven features, broadly including items such as the imposition or regulation of a tax;
the regulation of the borrowing of money by the Government of India; the withdrawal of money from the
Consolidated Fund of India; and so forth.
Article 110 further clarifies that in cases where a dispute arises over whether a bill is a money bill or not, the
LokSabha Speakers decision on the issue shall be considered final.
The provision requires that a bill conform to the criteria prescribed in it for it to be classified as a money bill.
Where a bill intends to legislate on matters beyond the features delineated in Article 110, it must be treated as
an ordinary draft statute.
What is AADHAAR?
Originally, Aadhaar was conceived as a scheme to provide to every Indian a unique identity number for
enabling a fair and equitable distribution of benefits and subsidies
A draft of a statute was introduced in the RajyaSabha, in December 2010 as an ordinary bill.
This meant that both Houses of Parliament had to provide their vote to the bill for it to become law.
However it was not passed due to concerns over privacy and protection of data security.
In March 2016, the Union government withdrew the earlier bill, and introduced the Aadhaar (Targeted
Delivery of Financial & Other Subsidies, Benefits & Services) Bill, 2016 as a money bill.
Hence now it required only the LokSabhas affirmation for it to turn into law.
The legislation endangers the core liberties, in manners both explicit and implicit ways.
Therefore this move was designed to bypass opposition in RajyaSabha bill.
What is the governments stand?
In the Supreme Courts judgment in Mohd. SaeedSiddiqui v. State of UP (2014), the court ruled that a
Speakers decision to classify a draft statute as a money bill was not judicially reviewable, even if the
classification was incorrect.
The court justified that this is because the error in question constituted nothing more than a mere procedural
irregularity.
The government sites this case to justify its stand.
But it brushes aside the verdict of a Constitution Bench in Raja Ram Pal v. Honble Speaker, LokSabha
(2007).
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In this case, the court had ruled that clauses that attach finality to a determination of an issue is not altogether
outside the courts jurisdiction.
The bench held that there are numerous circumstances where the court can review parliamentary
pronouncements like instances
1. where a Speakers choice is grossly illegal, or
2. disregards basic constitutional mandates, or
3. where the Speakers decision is arrived at through dishonest intentions.
Therefore it should be understood that the Speakers decision to confirm the governments classification is is
not merely a procedural error but one that constitutes an unmitigated violation of Article 110.
4.3 Nagaland Violence
Why in news?
The tribal traditional bodies exclusively run by men, are opposed to 33% reservation for women in elections to civic
bodies.
What is their justification?
The Nagaland government announced civic bodies elections in December 2016 and a 33% reservation of seats
for women.
The 74th Constitutional Amendments added Article 234(T), which provides for 33% reservation for women
in Urban Local bodies.
The tribal traditional bodies in Nagaland argue that it is an infringement upon Naga tradition and customs as
protected under Article 371(A) of the Constitution.
One group of tribal leaders has also claimed that women anyway enjoyed equal rights in Naga society and
hence, providing reservation was meaningless.
The ruling NPF government maintains that towns and municipalities are new concepts and have nothing to do
with tradition and customary practices of the Nagas.
Tribal bodies have always taken resort to Article 317(A), the civic elections in the state have not been held
since Article 243(T) of the Constitution came into force in 1993.
What is the situation of women in Nagaland?
Women do not find political space in Nagaland is evident from the fact that no woman has ever made it to
the State Legislative Assembly.
Barely a dozen women have contested Assembly elections in these five decades.
Only one woman, Rano M Shaiza, managed to win from the lone LokSabha constituency of the state in 1971.
In the 2013 Assembly polls, the female voter turn-out in the state stood at 91.22% as against 89.82% for men.
Its sex ratio is 931, which is below the national average of 940.
Naga culture and customs debar women from land ownership hence our Customary Laws preclude
women from inheriting land.
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What is the current development?
Various tribal bodies including Naga Hoho, the apex organisation of all major tribes, have been opposing the
civic elections.
Eventually the opposition reached a violent stage in Kohima.
But a local newspaper says that the reservation is not the reason why these protests were happening.
It says the protests were against the government for not fulfilling its promise of deferring the elections to give
two months time to the government, the women, and the tribal organisations to reach an agreement.
The core of the issue is also considered to be ownership of land and related resources.
The elections have now been put off.
For now, the Naga Mothers Association (NMA), which has been spearheading the womens movement in the
state, has adopted a wait-and-watch policy.
It had filed a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court a few years ago seeking reservation under
243(T).
4.4 Neyyar River Water Dispute
Why in news?
The Supreme Court has asked Tamil Nadu and Kerala to place their lists of witnesses on record in the Neyyar river
water dispute case.
What is Neyyar River Dispute?
Neyyar originates from the Agastya hill in Kerala, and has two tributaries - Karuppaiyar and a jungle stream.
The water will help irrigate an area of 9,200 acres in Villavancodetaluk in Kanyakumari district. The taluk was
transferred to Tamil Nadu during the reorganization of states in 1956.
In 2012, the TN government had filed a petition against Kerala govtseekinguniterrupted water supply from
Neyyar River.
Tamil Nadu contends that the Neyyar is an inter-state river recognized as such under the 1956 States
Reorganisation Act.
In its petition, TN argued that a portion of the rivers catchment area lay in
territory of TN and hence, was entitled to receive 150 cusecs from the Neyyar
Irrigation Project.
The petition also said, TN has not received the said quantum of water since
2004 which has caused serious hardship to the farming community.
Previously, Kerala, in 1999 took the stand that Neyyar was not an interstate
river and that it would not be necessary to conclude an inter-state agreement
regarding sharing of its water.
In its own draft agreement, Kerala informed Tamil Nadu in 2010 that the water shall be supplied subject to
realization of water charges and payment of distribution charges and making the agreement valid for five years to
be renewed by mutual consent.
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What happened now?
The Supreme Court, in November 2016, had framed the issues to be heard in the Neyyar dispute, including
whether the river can be classified as an inter-State river.
A SC Bench had also agreed to hear on several disputed issues, including whether the supply of water to Tamil
Nadu by Kerala since 1965 was only a gesture of good will or a legal obligation imposed by Section 108 (2) of the
State Re-organisation Act, 1956.
The SC, on 23rd Feb 2017, has asked both the States to file the lists of witnesses within two weeks in the original
lawsuit.
4.5 Contempt of Court
Why in news?
Justice CS Karnan did not appear before the Supreme Court (SC) in a contempt case against him.
What is the issue?
Judge CS Karnan has on muktiple occasions stated that he was a victim of caste bias as he was a Dalit and had
accused the Madras HC chief justice of harassing him.
Subsequently when he was transferred, Karnan himself "stayed" the order of the SC, advising the CJI not to
interfere in his "jurisdiction"
He later accepted his transfer.
He also wrote to the PM, the law minister and the CJI, accusing several sitting and retired judges of corruption.
This action had prompted the court to issue a contempt notice for alleged judicial indiscipline.
This is the first time that a constitutional court has initiated contempt of court proceedings against a judge of the
SC or HC.
The SC asked Justice CS Karnan to appear before it in person for explanation. But the Judge chose not to appear
before the SC.
What are the constitutional provisions?
Contempt of court - Article 129 and Article 215 empowers the Supreme Court and the High Courts
respectively, to punish people for their contempt.
Article 129, states that The Supreme Court shall be a court or record and shall have all the powers of such a court
including the power to punish for contempt of itself.
The power of contempt is often invoked to ensure compliance with the orders given by the courts and in
their execution, and for punishing those who are responsible for the lapses in the manner of compliance.
Contempt jurisdiction isexercised to uphold the dignity of the judicial system which includes within itself
the dignity of courts and tribunals as well and to ensure the majesty of judicial institutions so that it may
not be lowered.
Removal of Judge- A judge of a high court can be removed in the same manner and on the same grounds as a
judge of the Supreme Court as mentioned in Article 124 i.e by an order of the President. The President can issue
the removal order only after an address by the Parliament has been presented to him in the same session for such
removal.
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The address must be supported by a special majority of each House of Parliament i.e., a majority of the total
membership of that House and majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and
voting.
The grounds of removal are proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
Transfer of Judges According to Article 222, The President can transfer a judge from one high court to
another after consulting the CJI.
The CJI should consult, in addition to the collegium of four seniormost judges of the Supreme Court, the chief
justice of the two high courts (one from which the judge is being transferred and the other receiving him).
The Supreme Court also ruled that the transfer of high court judges could be resorted to only as an exceptional
measure and only in public interest and not by way of punishment.
The transfer of judges is subjected to judicial review but only the judge who is transferred can challenge it.
4.6 NOTA
What is NOTA?
None Of The Above (NOTA) is a ballot option designed to allow the voter to indicate disapproval of all of the
candidates in a voting system.
It was introduced in India following the 2013 Supreme Court directive in the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties
v. Union of India judgment.
However, NOTA in India does not provide for a right to reject.
The candidate with the maximum votes wins the election irrespective of the number of NOTA votes polled.
What is the current pattern of NOTA?
NOTA polling figures are still small.
In the 2013 Assembly elections held in four States NOTA constituted 1.85% of the total votes polled.
Then it dropped to 0.95% in the 2014 Assembly elections held in eight States.
It increased to 2.02% in the 2015 Assembly elections held in Delhi and Bihar. While Delhi polled a mere
0.40%, Bihar saw 2.49% of NOTA votes, which remains the highest NOTA votes polled so far in any State in
Assembly elections.
The number of NOTA votes polled was larger than the winning margin in 261 Assembly constituencies and in
24 constituencies in the LokSabha elections since 2013.
Therefore in these constituencies the NOTA votes did make a difference to the election results.
Reserved constituencies - Reserved constituencies have seen a relatively larger number of NOTA votes.
This point to the continued social prejudice against political reservation for SC/STs.
Left-Wing Areas - Constituencies affected by left-wing extremism have also recorded higher NOTA
performance and here probably it served as an instrument of protest against the State itself.
Mainstream Parties - It is comparatively higher in the constituencies which have seen a direct contest
between the Congress and the BharatiyaJanata Party. This might be some indication of the peoples
disenchantment with two mainstream political parties.
NOTA is also used to express their protest against many things they perceive wrong in the political system.
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So far, a small number of Indian voters have come to see NOTA as an instrument of protest.
The perceived cynicism of Indian voters against the political class thus seems exaggerated.
Nevertheless, it is important to note that these voters have used the democratic means of NOTA to express
their resentment rather than boycotting the polls outright.
This electoral option will become a meaningful means of negative voting only if it becomes a right to reject
rather than being a symbolic instrument to express resentment as it is now.
4.7 The Enemy Property Ordinance
Why in news?
The Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance has been promulgated for the fifth time.
President Pranab Mukherjee approved it although he had reservations about its repeated re-promulgation.
What is an enemy property?
After the wars against China in 1962 and Pakistan in 1965 and 1971, the government took over the properties
and companies of such persons who had taken Pakistani and Chinese nationality.
The Centre designated these properties as enemy properties.
Later the Enemy Property Act, 1968 was passed to vest all such immovable and movable property in a
Custodian.
The maximum numbers of such properties are in Uttar Pradesh.
What is the value of the enemy property?
Pakistan had sold or disposed of property belonging to Indians nationals and firms in 1971, while in India such
property is in the hands of a Custodian.
The immovable properties belonging to Pakistani nationals in India number 9,280.
The total value is estimated to be around Rs. 1.04 lakh crore, with shares in companies valued around Rs.
2,600 crore.
Investments in gold, jewellery, bank accounts, deposits and government securities are also with the Custodian.
There are 149 properties belonging to Chinese nationals in India.
What is the need for the ordinance?
The son of a person whose property in India had been taken over after he emigrated to Pakistan wanted it to
be returned to him on the ground that he was a citizen of India.
He also stated that the property concerned was no more enemy property after his fathers death.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that the Custodian did not have any title to the property and was only a
trustee managing it.
This ruling meant that legal heirs of erstwhile owners of enemy property, if they were Indian citizens, could get
it back.
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Therefore the Centre promulgated an ordinance in 2010 so that these properties would continue to be with the
Custodian.
The ordinance lapsed then, and was issued afresh in January 2016. Since then, it has been issued again
repeatedly.
What are the provisions of the ordinance?
The Ordinance amends several provisions of the Enemy properties Act, 1968 retrospectively.
Definition of enemy - The 1968 Act defined an enemy as a
1. Country and its citizens that committed external aggression against India (i.e., Pakistan and China).
2. Legal heirs of enemies even if they are citizens of India or of another country which is not an enemy
3. Nationals of an enemy country who subsequently changed their nationality to that of another country,
etc.
Vesting of enemy property - The properties of these enemies will continue to vest with the Custodian even
after
1. The enemys death,
2. If the legal heir is an Indian or citizen of a country that is not an enemy,
3. Enemy changes his nationality to that of another country, etc.
Power of sale - It allows the Custodian to sell or dispose of enemy property.
Transfers by enemies - It prohibits all transfers by enemies and renders transfers that had taken place
before or after the commencement of the 1968 Act as void.
Bar of jurisdiction - It bars civil courts and other authorities from entertaining cases against enemy
properties.
Powers of the Custodian - It removes the duty of the Custodian to maintain the enemy and his family.
The Custodian is allowed to carry out selling, mortgaging or leasing fixing and collecting rent, license fee, etc.
from enemy property, and and evicting unauthorised occupants from such properties.
Why it could not take the form of normal legislation?
The Bill was passed in the LokSabha in March 2016, but the RajyaSabha sent it to a Select Committee.
Six members of the Select Committee have opposed
1. The declaration of Indian legal heirs of enemies as enemies too,
2. The bar on their inheriting the property,
3. The vesting of the title in the Custodian.
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4.8 Jat quota protests
Why in news?
The Jat quota agitation, which had been limited to Haryana so faris being extended to Delhi.
Who are Jats?
Jats originally belonged to farming communities and now mostly live in Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan
and UP.
In Haryana, Jats are a politically influential community and constitute nearly 29% of the population i.e about
82.5 million.
What are their demands?
Jats, Jat Sikhs, Rors, Tyagis and Bishnois, are seeking reservation under the OBC category.
They had been promised that the Economically Backward Category (EBC) quota will be increased from 10% to
20% by the state government.
In addition to this they were also promised the annual income ceiling from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh to
accommodate more people under the category.
What happened last year?
Jat quota agitation that started Feb 2016, turned violent resulting in deaths of 10 people and dozens, including
security personnel, injured.
The Army was called in to eight districts and over 5,000 security personnel have been deployed in affected
districts.
Timeline of Events
March 2008: All India JatMahasabha raises demand for quota at a convention in Jind.
September 2010: All India JatArakshanSangharshSamiti(AIJASS), led by Hawa Singh Sangwan, blocks rain
traffic in Hisar'sMayyar village. A youth dies during this protest.
March 2011: AIJASS resumes agitation at Mayyar village, blocks railway tracks.
December 2012: Haryana government gives special backward status to Jats with 10% quota to five castes.
March 2014: UPA government grants OBC status to Jats.
March 17, 2015: Supreme Court sets aside the notification that granted OBC status to Jats.
March 26, 2015: NarendraModi meets representatives of KhapPanchayats and Jat leaders, supports quota
demand.
February 2016: AIJASS resumes agitation for inclusion of Jats as OBC.
What are the other reasons behind current protests?
The demonstrators want to express solidarity with Jats in Haryana, who have been protesting for the last one
week.
They will stop with a copy of our memorandum being handed over to the SDM for consideration.
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The Jat community has been demanding well as immediate implementation of promises made to them by the
Chief Minister after the agitations last year.
They are also demanding that all cases registered against protesters from the community during last
years agitation in Haryana be taken back
Additionally a compensation for families of those who lost their lives in the agitation last year, as well as
government jobs for at least one member of such families are also demanded.
In addition, protesters are demanding investigations against those who they believe are defaming their
community.
4.9 Competitive Backwardness
Why in news?
A study analysed large-scale data from the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) and compared Patels,
Marathas and Jats to other major groups.
What is the issue?
The Jat agitation for quotas is back with additional demands for withdrawal of charges against those booked
for the protests last year.
The Patidar agitation is on the verge of revival.
Maratha community reiterated the demand to be designated as one of the Other Backward Classes (OBC)
during the second half of 2016.
Thus the demand by powerful groups to be considered backward, based on the narrative of deprivation and
marginalisation continues to be a major issue.
What is Competitive backwardness?
It refers not only to more and more people wanting to claim backwardness, but also to more and more people claiming
even greater backwardness.
What are the findings of the study?
The study found that these three castes are closer to the socio-economically dominant caste groups like
Brahmins and Other Forward Castes in their respective states on a variety of indicators.
These indicators include per capita consumption expenditure (PCCE), poverty status, educational attainment
and occupational status compared to the existing disadvantaged groupsi.e OBCs, SC/STs.
e.g the PCCE of the Jats is 33 and 43 per cent more than that of the OBCs and SC-STs and not different from
that of the Brahmins and Forward Castes, Patels are 5 & 15% less likely to be poor as compared to the OBCs
and SC-STs.
It found that Jats, Patels and Marathas have increased their relative advantage between 2004-05 and 2011-12.
Thus, the analysis shows that not only do Jats, Patels and Marathas possess an advantage over the lower-
ranked marginalised groups they also have consolidated their relative position.
It also found that though the relative advantage of the Jats, Patels and Marathas in the agricultural sector is
greater than in the non-agricultural sector, they still do better in absolute terms than the socially
disadvantaged groups in the non-agricultural sector.
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This indicates that the narrative of being backward is largely based on perceptions, and has little empirical
support in the data.
What is the reason for agitation?
This raises a question about the factors that underlie in creating and sustaining powerful movements, which
have been sufficiently large and disruptive, in spite of lack of any support of data
Jats, Marathas and Patels are among the most powerful communities in their respective states.
Land ownership and cultivation have been their economic backbone.
They are well connected to local political networks, both within and outside their communities, and that this
might be an important factor underlying their massive mobilisation.
These communities feel their power slipping away or eroding, in addition to feeling ill prepared to shift
towards urban, formal sector livelihood opportunities.
They feel that the real economic power lies in the hands of the big corporations, and the state, overtly or
covertly, acts in their interest.
Individuals or communities that feel strongly that the odds of economic success are stocked against them, are
more likely to feel deprived.
It should be noted that given increasing privatisation, the total jobs eligible for reservations is already
shrinking.
Data also shows that existing OBCs and SC-STs are increasingly lagging behind upper castes in a range of
material indicators.
In this context, extending quotas to relatively richer and powerful groups would amount to diluting the
already small and shrinking entitlement for communities that are truly disadvantaged and discriminated
against.
4.10 Implementation of e-NAM
Why in news?
Finance minister in the Budget has announced that the coverage of the National Agricultural Market (e-NAM)
would be extended from 250 mandis to 585 across the country.
What is e-NAM?
National Agriculture Market (NAM) is an electronic trading portal which networks the existing Agriculture
Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandistocreate a unified national market for agricultural
commodities.
The NAM Portal provides a single window service for all APMC related information and services including
commodity arrivals & prices, buy & sell trade offers, provision to respond to trade offers etc.,
Why the implementation of e-NAM is not easy?
The plan of a single national agricultural market based on an electronic platform is an excellent one, but
implementing it may not be so easy.
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e-NAM will help farmers find the best possible price for their produce by expanding the market
nationally and eliminating middlemen.
The critical link was creating an e-payment system that would allow the buyer credit the money
directly into the farmers bank account. But this has not taken off, and farmers continue to be paid in cash.
Even in the 250 mandis where e-NAM has been introduced, the farmer still sells only locally, and not
nationally.
States are not playing their part in agricultural market reforms. Ex. Only 10 States have amended the law to
allow e-mandis since the national roll-out.
What needed to be done?
Infrastructure such as reliable third-party certification for the produce in every mandi, robust computer systems
and uninterrupted web connectivity are need to be in place.
Farmers must be counselled about the advantages of the e-NAM and its features.
The holds of the middleman need to be broken. This can be done by bringing the farmer into the formal financial
system.
5. MARCH 2017
5.1 Hung Assembly - Goa & Manipur
Why in news?
Governor of Goa ignored the established principle of inviting the single largest party and appointed BJP leader
ManoharParrikar as the Chief Minister.
What is the situation?
The Congress has won 17 seats in Goa and the BJP has 13 MLAs in a House of 40.
The Governor did not consult the single largest party and invited BJP, who formed an alliance, to form the
government.
A similar situation has developed in Manipur.
Its Governor invited the BJP and allies to form the government, which won fewer seats than the Congress.
These parties did not fight the election as part of a coalition.
So the Congress should have been invited first.
The BJPs claim should have been considered only if the Congress pleaded inability or failed the floor test.
It should not be based on who forms the alliance faster.
Speed cannot be the overriding or pressing consideration for the governor while assessing a partys claim to
form government.
Therefore decisions by both the Governors reflect partisanship.
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What are Sarkaria Commission recommendations?
The Constitution of India does not mandate any procedure to be followed by the Governor, in case of hung
assembly.
The convention of inviting the single largest party in such a case has been outlined by the Sarkaria
Commission, which studied Centre-state relations in the 1980s.
It specifically dealt with the situation where no single party obtained absolute majority.
It provided the order of preference the Governor should follow in selecting a CM in such a situation
1. An alliance of parties that was formed prior to the elections.
2. The single largest party staking a claim to form the government with the support of others,
including independents.
3. A post-electoral coalition of parties, with all the partners in the coalition joining the
government.
4. A post-electoral alliance of parties, with some of the parties in the alliance forming a government and
the remaining parties, including independents, supporting the government from outside.
They were affirmed by a Constitution Bench of the SC in Rameshwar Prasad v Union of India in 2005.
What are Punchhi Commission recommendations?
The Justice M.M. Punchhi Commission on Centre-State Relations in 2010 laid down some guidelines to be
followed in the appointment of a chief minister by a governor.
It also said the governor should invite the leader of a pre-poll alliance commanding the largest number or
the largest single party to form the government in case no party or pre-poll coalition has a clear majority.
According to Bommai judgment, such a CM must prove the majority on the floor of the assembly.
What was SCs ruling?
Congress filed a petition challenged the Governors decision in the Supreme Court.
SC asked the BJP government in Goa to prove its majority within 48 hours, instead of the 15 days time given
by the Governor.
But it was a half-measure.
It should have upheld the principle of inviting the single largest party first.
5.2 Demanding ST Status - Narikuravars
What is the issue?
The Constitution ensures certain protection and benefits for communities deemed as having Scheduled Tribe
(ST) status.
Social and political mobilisation has led to the increase of number of STs 225 in 1960 to 700 today.
As the number of communities demanding ST status expands, it brings the criteria of the recognition and the
legitimacy of the process under scrutiny.
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What does the constitution say?
The Constitution only states that STs are specified by the President after consultation with the Governor.
It does not define or specify a particular criterion.
According to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, the criterion includes
1. Indication of primitive traits,
2. Distinctive culture,
3. Geographical isolation,
4. Shyness of connect with the community at large &
5. Backwardness
Who are Narikuravars?
Many communities try to prove themselves as meeting the criteria, to avail of the benefits of being accorded
ST status.
One such group is Narikuravar.
They are a semi-nomadic tribe, originating in Northern India before migrating south to Tamil Nadu.
They share religious, cultural, and political characteristics with many of the Roma groups in Europe.
Traditionally hunters, they were mostly providing security for kings.
However, once invaders took over they became nomadic and retreated into forests, where they preserved their
traditions.
When hunting became illegal, they started living at the margins of the society in dire poverty, making and
selling small ornaments.
What is their present socio-economic status?
It has high levels of illiteracy, multiple health challenges, and unemployment.
Currently, there are about 8,500 Narikuravar families in Tamil Nadu i.e less than 1% of their population.
The government classifies them as a Most Backward Class community.
Such a classification leads to the assumption that they have a higher chance of being above the poverty line
than communities recognised as STs.
Due to this classification, they have been competing for access to government benefits with nineteen other
larger communities with higher socio-economic status.
Do they satisfy the criteria for STs?
Their nomadism across rural and urban areas is against the criteria of geographical isolation.
Narikuravar sell their products to the community at large. So they might not display shyness of connect.
But since these criteria are not explicit, it is difficult for the community to formulate clear political demands.
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What does it signify?
The betterment of obviously disadvantaged groups like Narikuravar rests on discretionary political acts.
This is because there is no well-developed, transparent criterion and a clear definition of what makes groups
eligible for ST status.
Such criteria with specific economic and social data should be developed.
It can help compare communities requesting ST status with other STs and to the Indian population at large.
5.3 Vote Tampering in EVMs
Why in news?
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati decided to move court against the alleged tampering of Electronic Voting
Machines (EVMs).
Why EVMs cant be tampered?
Connectivity - Indian EVMs are not connected to the internet, so hackers cannot tamper with Indian EVMs.
Scale - The BBC report that an American had hacked Indian EVMs is false. The American opened one EVM,
changed some parts, and hacked the new parts he had put in the machine. It is impossible to access hundreds
of thousands of EVMs in India.
Security - They are also guarded by troops and by representatives of all political parties as well.
Sequence It isn't possible to programme the EVM at the manufacturing stage to record all votes for one
candidate. Nobody knows what order the candidates or parties will be listed on the EVM till after the last date
of withdrawing nomination papers. That means the order of buttons is known for about two week. It would be
far too little time to manipulate the buttons.
Specific EVMs are assigned to constituencies in a randomized matter pretty late in the day, and in the
presence of representatives of all parties.
Ballot paper-based voting is subject to much more fiddling and manipulation. A party can capture polling
booths and stamp all the ballot papers in their favour.
What can be done?
Election Commission has devised EVMs with a paper trail called Voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT).
In this a voter immediately gets a printout of her vote, which is then deposited in the ballot box. So, every
voter can see whether her vote has been registered correctly.
This can be used to recheck in case of controversy.

This can be used to mitigate the suspicions.
5.4 Electoral Bonds
Why in news?
Electoral Bonds have been proposed as a way of reforming election funding in the Union Budget 2017.
What is an Electoral Bond?
Electoral bonds will be issued by a notified bank for specified denominations.
Those who want to donate to a political party can buy these bonds by making payments digitally or through
cheque.
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Then they are free to gift the bond to any registered political party.
The bonds will likely be bearer bonds and the identity of the donor will not be known to the receiver.
The party can convert these bonds back into money via their bank accounts.
The bank account used must be the one notified to the Election Commission and the bonds may have to be
redeemed within a prescribed time period.
The issuing bank will remain the custodian of the donors funds until the political party redeems the bond.
Why is it important?
Most political parties use the negligent regime on donations to accept cash donations from anonymous
sources.
Nearly 70% of the 11,300 crore in party funding over the past 11-year period came from unknown sources.
Currently, political parties are required to report any donation of over 20,000 to the IT department.
But there has been a trend of more donations flowing by way of hard cash in smaller amounts.
To fix this, the Budget has proposed to reduce the disclosure limit to 2,000 and insists that any amount over
this must be paid through cheque or the digital mode.
The idea is that electoral bonds will prompt donors to take the banking route to donate, with their identity
captured by the issuing authority.
What are the problems in electoral bond?
While the identity of the donor is captured, it is not revealed to the party or public. So transparency is not
enhanced for the voter.
Also income tax breaks may not be available for donations through electoral bonds.
This pushes the donor to choose between remaining anonymous and saving on taxes.
Also privacy of the donor is compromised as the bank will know their identity.
5.5 Special Category Status
What is the issue?
Manipur is about to lose the special status on the basis of the Fourteenth Finance Commission recommendations.
What is Special Category Status?
The Constitution does not include any provision for categorisation of any State in India as a Special Category
Status (SCS) State.
SCS was introduced by Fifth Finance Commission in 1969.
It provides for additional Central assistance and tax concessions.
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What kind of assistance do SCS States receive?
Following the constitution of the NITI Aayog and the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission
(FFC), Central plan assistance to SCS States has been subsumed in an increased devolution of the divisible
pool to all States.
They enjoy concessions in excise and customs duties and income tax rates.
Besides, assistance to Centrally Sponsored Schemes for SCS States was given with 90% Central share and 10%
State share.
Why A.P. claimed for SCS status recently?
Following the bifurcation of A.P., Andhra lost a large volume of its revenue due to Hyderabad
remaining the capital of Telangana.
In a 2014, the then Prime Minister of India had said that SCS would be extended to the successor State of
Andhra Pradesh for a period of five years.
This oral submission has been the basis for A.P.s claim to the status.
What has been the Centres response to A.P.?
A.P. does not qualify as a Special Category State. It has neither geographical disadvantages nor historical
disadvantages such as socio-economic and infrastructural backwardness.
Hence offering it the SCS would give impetus to every other state to demand for the same.
Instead, Centre announced a package to grant special assistance to Andhra Pradesh.
Here an amount equivalent to what the state might have got as a special category state will be compensated by
Centre through externally aided projects for five years.
The special package offered meets most of the reasonable expectations of a State struggling to recover from
bifurcation and dealing with the imminent loss of the capital city and its revenues.
It included Polavaram irrigation project declared a national project i.e Centre would meet the financial needs.
Also, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) would issue two specific notifications on tax concessions being
extended to A.P.
What does it mean for Manipur?
Loss of special category status would mean that Manipur would no more get the 90% Central grants
assistance.
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It would now get only 30% Central grant and the remaining has to be either arranged by itself or taken as loan
from the Centre.
Chief Minister of Manipur acknowledged the hit on states finances due to restructuring of central assistance
to the state.
Even though higher devolution of taxes was positive for the states finances, it was not enough to meet the
states Plan revenue expenditure.
5.6 Babri Masjid issue
Why in news?
Chief Justice of India said the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suits were a matter of sentiments and religion
that were best resolved amicably, preferably without intervention by the courts.
What the CJI has said?
In 2010, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court directed that the site occupied by the Babri Masjid
before its demolition should be divided three ways equally among Muslims, Hindus and
NirmohiAkhara group of Hindu Sadhus.
Recently a three-judge bench heard a petition by a BJP MP challenging the 2010 ruling to split the disputed
land.
The Supreme Court suggested an out-of-court settlement since its a matter of religion and sentiments.
CJI said the court will ask any person to mediate who is acceptable to all sides.
However, at least 5 earlier attempts at resolving the decades-old quarrel through negotiations have not been
successful.
Whats the dispute?
It is about a plot measuring 2.77 acres in Ayodhya that houses the Babri mosque and Ram Janmabhoomi.
This land is considered sacred among Hindus as it is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ram.
Muslims argue that the land houses Babri mosque, where they had offered prayers for years before the dispute
erupted.
The controversy is over whether the Babri mosque was built on top of a Ram temple after demolishing
or modifying it in the 16th century.
Muslims, on the other hand, say the mosque was built by Mir Baqi in 1528 and that Hindus took
control over it in 1949, when some people placed idols of Lord Ram inside the mosque
What are some of the important incidents happened?
In 1853, he first recorded incident of violence over the holy site takes place during the reign of
NawabWajid Ali Shah of Awadh.
In 1984, Hindu groups form a committee to spearhead the construction of the Ram temple at the
Janmabhoomi site.
In 1990, Volunteers of the VHP partially damage the mosque. The then PM intervenes and tries to resolve
the issue through negotiations, but these fail.
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On 6 December 1992, a large crowd of Hindu karsevaks (volunteers) demolished the 16th-century Babri
Mosque in the city of Ayodhya. The demolition occurred after a political rally at the site turned violent.
This leads to some of the most deadliest riots across the country, leading to the deaths of more than 2,000
people.
The central government, headed by P V NarasimhaRao, sets up a commission of enquiry under Justice M S
Liberhan on December 16.
The High Court orders the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to excavate the site to determine if it was
earlier a temple.
The ASI begins the survey to determine whether a temple existed on the site.
It finds evidence of the presence of a temple under the mosque. Muslim organisations dispute the findings.
In 2010, the Allahabad High Court pronounces its judgment on the four title suits relating to the dispute and
said that the disputed land be divided into three parts equally.
5.7 Banning Cow Slaughter
Why in news?
The Uttar Pradesh government is undertaking a crackdown on buffalo slaughterhouses, meat processing plants and
retail outlets in the state, including the legal ones.
What are the cons of meat production?
Apart from the religious sentiments being hurt, meat production is also detrimental to the environment.
Agriculture contributes roughly 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions and half of this comes from meat
production.
An estimated 30% of the worlds land not covered with ice is used to grow food for livestock, leaving a huge
footprint in terms of land and water consumption.
Eating around 100g of meat per day per person results in emitting about 7.2 kg of CO2 per day as compared to
2.9 kg of CO2 emitted by vegan diets.
What are the necessities for slaughter houses?
Freedom - India is a secular nation and the culture of eating food differs across communities, regions and
religions. Hence this cannot be infringed upon.
Economy of Farmers - The cow has been traditional used for ploughing, drawing water from wells for
irrigation, threshing grain and pulling carts.
Due to modernisation most of these activities became redundant
So the farmer today rears cattle and buffaloes essentially for milk.
The viability of milk production depends on maintaining only high-milking animals.
But it is not possible if there is no mechanism available for disposal of unproductive animals.
It costs about Rs 70,000 per animal per year to be fed properly and looked after.
A small farmer cannot afford to spend such an amount on unproductive animals.
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The reason for increase in Buffalo population by 61% between 1997 and 2012 and the maintaining of female
buffaloes at the rate of 82% of its total population is due to the availability of an avenue for disposal in the
form of slaughterhouses.
The current environment of closing down abattoirs and so-called unlicensed meat shops discourage dairy
farming.
This could eventually hit the countrys milk production and force reliance on imports.
Nutrition - Beef is a cheap source of protein for a large number of people, hence critical for their nutritional
security.
5.8 Mandatory Aadhaar
Why in news?
Aadhaar is being made mandatory for many government schemes like withdrawing pension money to access to mid-
day meals at school.
What is Aadhaar?
Aadhaar is a 12 digit unique-identity number issued to all Indian residents based on their biometric and
demographic data.
The data is collected by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
It is a statutory authority established by the Government of India, under the Ministry of Electronics and
Information Technology, under the provisions of the Aadhaar Act 2016.
Over a billion Aadhaar numbers have now been handed out.
What are the positives of having Aadhaar?
The number would serve as a unique identifier, suitable for all forms of identification.
The government can transfer welfare payments directly to Aadhaar-linked bank accounts, cutting out Indias
notoriously corrupt middlemen.
It could be used to borrow money, tap into a pension account.
It was a simple, lightweight, elegant solution with a minimal cost.
Initially using it was voluntary.
Proving ones identification is very simple.

Aadhaar designers promised robust privacy legislation.
What are the problems of Aadhaar?
Presently in India, providing certificates for ones identity is sometimes impossible.

Supreme Court has mandated that Aadhaar should be voluntary and limited to the programs that require it.
But the government is forcing Indians to use their ID number to access all available government services.
Concerns about the security of the Unique ID system still remain.
Indians do not have no fundamental right to privacy.
Therefore citizens are left trusting Aadhaarsadministratorsi.e UIDAI. It needs to be clearly accountable, but
thats not the case.
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5.9 BBC Documentary on Kaziranga Tiger Reserve
Why in news?
The Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has urged the Ministry of External
Affairs to revoke the visas of BBCs crew and ban their entry into India for at least five years.
It is a retaliative measure for filming a documentary that allegedly put Indias conservation efforts in bad light.
What are the features of KNP?
Kaziranga National Park in Assam hosts two-thirds of the world's great one-horned rhinoceroses.
It is a World Heritage Site and located on the edge of the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot.
It is home to the highest density of tigers and was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006.
It also hosts large breeding populations of elephants, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer.
The rivers Brahmaputra, Diphlu, Mora Diphlu and Mora Dhansiri flow through it.
The great one-horned rhinoceros is native to India and listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List
What is the documentary about?
The documentary, One World: Killing for Conservation explored the anti-poaching strategy adopted by the
guards of the Kaziranga Tiger Reserve (KTR) in Assam while protecting the one-horned Indian Rhino.
It referred to dark secrets of conservation at KTR.
The documentary said the forest guards had been given powers to shoot and kill poachers.
It also stated that more people were killed by guards than rhinos by poachers at the tiger reserve.
What is NTCAs rationale?
The NTCA alleged that the violations by

the journalist involved
1. Filming after sunset,
2. Dishonouring the undertaking

provided,
3. Deviating from the original

synopsis submitted to mea and
its authority.
4. Not screening the documentary

before a committee of the
moef&cc.
It described the documentary as

grossly erroneous reporting.
BBC had failed to submit the documentary to MoEFCC and the MEA for obligatory previewing.
So, NTCA has asked chief wildlife wardens of all tiger range states and field directors of tiger reserves to
disallow filming permission to BBC in any of the protected areas for a period of 5 years.
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What is the shoot and sight order?
The forest guards were given legal immunity in Kaziranga and Corbett to use lethal force to stop poaching.
Shoot-at-sight does not mean forest guards can gun down anyone they spot inside the forest.
It means that they are empowered to open fire if they cannot satisfactorily establish the identity or purpose of
an intruder.
A protection force is in any case entitled to retaliate if attacked. The distinction here is that the guards are
allowed to shoot as a pre-emptive move before they are shot at.
Poachers in KNP are known to carry Kalashnikov assault rifles.
Forest guards with their usual .303s have a slim chance without a first-mover advantage.
Kaziranga does not has any village inside.
Therefore, there is no question of villagers entering or leaving the park at unusual hours.
That makes anyone who is spotted a suspect.
How effective is the shoot and sight order?
There is no denying that firepower is required to take on heavily-armed poachers.
But there is a question about its effectiveness and guards responsible use of power.
Abuse - The guards allegedly settled personal scores in the name of anti-poaching operations.
They even colluded with the poaching syndicates.
The park authorities were accused of harassing local villagers while shielding political bigwigs.
Effectiveness - The guns also worked only as a limited and temporary deterrent to poaching.
Even after hundreds of poachers were killed in Kruger, South Africa, around 500 instances of rhino poaching
were reported every year.
In Kaziranga, forest guards shot dead 45 poachers over 2014 & 2015, yet at least 44 rhinos were poached in the
park during the same period.
Reliance on guns tends to shift focus from intelligence-based anti-poaching drives.
Local Community - Guns alienate local stakeholders whose support is crucial for any conservation effort to
succeed in the long term.
Instead, disempowered, persecuted and impoverished locals become easy recruits for poaching syndicates.
Sharing the economic benefits of conservation with local communities will not immediately sever the lifelines
of poaching syndicates.
Yet it is more important to include them as it is more about recognising their rights and dignity. Over time, the
collective stake of these communities can grow to work as an effective deterrent.
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5.10 Public Funded Patent
What is the issue?
CSIR-Tech, the commercial arm of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) shut down its
operations due to lack of funds.
One of the reasons is the excessive spending on patents.
How much is spent on patents?
CSIR has filed more than 13,000 patents at a cost of Rs. 50 crore over the last three years.
Recently, CSIRs Director-General claimed that most of CSIRs patents were bio-data patents, filed solely to
enhance the value of a scientists resume.
CSIR claims to have licensed a percentage of its patents, but has so far failed to show any revenue earned from
the licences.
This compulsive hoarding of patents has come at a huge cost.
Reckless filing of patents using public funds may be explained by the economic concept of moral hazard which
happens when one person makes the decision about how much risk to take, while someone else bears the cost
if things go badly.
Government-funded research organisations are likely to spend more money on patents so long as they are not
asked to bear the risk.
Acquiring Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) also comes out of blind adherence to the idea of patenting as an
index of innovation.
In the insurance sector, moral hazard refers to the loss-increasing behaviour of the insured who acts recklessly
when the loss is covered by another.
They check this by introducing co-payment from the insured.
Similarly, CSIR laboratories need to bear 25% of expenses for their patents acknowledges the moral hazard.
What are the drawbacks in IPR policy?
The National IPR Policy does not offer any guideline on distinguishing IPR generated using public funds from
private ones.
The IPR policy of some publicly-funded research institutions allows for 30-70% of the income generated
through the commercialisation of the patent to be shared with the creators of the invention, i.e., scientists and
professors on the payroll of the government.
Such a policy could promote private aggrandisement and may work against public interest.
In contrast, the IPR policy of private companies does not allow for a payback on the share of royalties earned
by patents.
A possible solution is to devise an IPR policy wherein patents are initially offered on an open royalty-free
licence to start-ups.
86
Once start-ups commercialise the inventions successfully, the royalty-free licence could be converted into a
revenue-sharing model.
When research is commercialised by private entities, it tends to be sold back to the public at a price.
It would not only bring a sense of accountability to the managers who run the system but it would also open up
publicly-funded research to a whole lot of people, especially start-ups.
5.11 Haldi and Litchi Controversy
What is the issue?
Two stories around haldi (turmeric) and litchi have renewed discussions on scientific rigour and ethics.
What is the theHaldi controversy?
The substance that gives haldi its bright yellow hue is curcumin.
They have innumerable virtues like anti-inflammatory, anti-malarial, anti-cancer and, as a piggyback on
nanofibres to regenerate bone tissues.
Recently, American scientists have debunked the medicinal value of curcumin in a reputed journal.
They concluded that there was no evidence regarding therapeutic benefits of curcumin and it is a waste of money
on researching it to find a new drug.
Curcumin may not make for a classical drug going strictly by the tenets of medicinal chemistry, but it certainly
qualifies as an adjunct drug to treat some infectious diseases.
So, summarily dismissing curcumin research as wasteful would be like burying a lot of remarkable science around
Haldi.
What is the Litchi controversy?
Turns out, eating Litchi and then not eating an evening meal, could be fatal. It kills a lot of children in Muzaffarpur
region of Bihar, the litchi capital of India.
Recently, a revelation was made in Lancet. Litchi fruits are laden with naturally occurring toxins like hypoglycin A
and methylenecyclopropylglycine.
These could trigger low glucose levels and metabolic derangement among children. The toxins embedded in the
fruit reverses all its inherent sugariness.
The dispute began when a set of scientists alleged that the Lancet study did not follow a basic ethical practice in
science i.e., acknowledging similar previous findings.
It is called as scientific misconduct. Truly, the Lancet did swung into action to figure out what went wrong in this
case.

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IAS PARLIAMENT

A Shankar IAS Academy Initiative

1.1 Media Ban 5

1.2 Sabarimala temple entry issue 6

1.3 Decriminalizing Defamation 7

1.4 Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal 9

1.5 Land Acquisition Law - Centrals attempt to dilute 10

1.6 Simultaneous Elections 11

1.7 State Funding of Elections 12

1.8 Judging the performance of Judges 13

1.9 Judicial Appointments 14

1.10 Addressing backlog cases in Supreme Court 17

1.11 Judicial Overreach 18

1.12 BCCI Reforms 19

1.13 State of jails 21

1.14 Ways to measure Governance 22

1.15 Protection for RTI activists 23

1.16 Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers 25

1.17 Uniform Asylum Law 26

1.18 Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016 28

2.1 Supreme Court judgment on J&K 29

3.1 LG of Puducherry & Delhi 40

4.1 Right to be forgotten 62

5.1 Hung Assembly - Goa & Manipur 74

1.1 Media Ban

What is the legality?

What is the medias role during emergency?

This helps in ensuring their security of the people.

What was NDTVs defence?

Why is the ban detrimental?

Creates a bad precedent.

Programme code of Cable TV act is vague.

Onus lies on TV channel.

What should be done?

Judiciary should decide on the question of national security, not executive.

1.2 Sabarimala temple entry issue

What is the issue?

1.3 Decriminalizing Defamation

How is it dealt in India?

In India, defamation can both be a civil wrong and a criminal offence.

What was Pre-colonial scenario?

What are the criticisms?

What are Supreme Courts directives?

What was governments response?

What should be done?

1.4 Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal

What is SYL canal and its controversies?

Haryana constructed its part of SYL canal in 1980s.

1996:- Haryana approached SC over delay.

There is a scope for negotiation and conciliation even now.

1.5 Land Acquisition Law - Centrals attempt to dilute

What is the issue?

What is its legality?

What are the concerns?

1.6 Simultaneous Elections

What are the advantages?

It will keep alive the enthusiasm of voters.

Why it is against democratic values?

Why separate elections are desirable?

1.7 State Funding of Elections

How black money plays a role in elections?

Indian elections cost huge sums of money.

Why transparency in political funding is needed?