Polity Flashcards
SEDITION
Section 124A of IPC
Origin
Special Act XVII of 1870 - defined Sedition
1898 amendment made it a punishable offense
Romesh Thappar case, Kedar Nath Singh case, Kanahiya Kumar
Essential ingredients for a seditious act
Disruption of public order
Attempt to violently overthrow a lawful government
Threatening the security of State or of public
AK Gopalan vs State of Madras, Ramesh Singh vs Union of India, Shreya Singhal vs State
What does not tantamount to sedition
Political dissent
A thought non-consonant with the government and its policies
Expression of frustration over the state of affairs e.g. racist state or gender biased state
Expressing different or conflicting ideas of Indian nation
Right to offend
Peaceful protest
PUNJAB’S SACRILEGE LAW
section 295AA in IPC
life imprisonment for whosoever cause injury, damage or sacrilege to four religious texts, that is the Guru Grant Sahib, the Quran, the Bhagwat Geeta and the Bible.
Criticism
- Punishment of life imprisonment is disproportionate.
- Section 295A of IPC exists which criminalizes ‘deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings’ - punishment is 3 years with or without fine
- Sacrilege is vague
- Curbs freedom of speech - criminal law taking away substance of our fundamental rights
- article defiles the sacredness of the Book - becomes an artefact of state power
- Punjab’s sacrilege legislation is akin to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. State interfering in the religious matters is inconsistent with idea of secular India.
FAMILY LAW REFORMS
Recommendations
Age of consent for marriage - current difference of 18 years for girls and 21 years of age for boys - stereotype that wives must be younger than their husbands
Marriage and Divorce o Grounds for divorce (No-fault Divorce)
Community of Property upon Divorce and Maintenance
Rights of Differently-Abled Persons in Marriage
Special Marriage Act * modification of the 30 day notice period for registration of marriage
Custody and Guardianship: Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 to be amended * both the parents equally share responsibility
Adoption and Maintenance: Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 is inadequate
- ‘parents’ in place of ‘mother and father’ in
- word ‘child’ should replace son and daughter
- does not permit a male adult to adopt a female child - provision of adoption to a single parent irrespective of gender
Succession and Inheritance
- opting for ‘tenancy-in-common’ instead of ‘joint tenancy’
- Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) - to be abolished
WRONGFUL PROSECUTION
Law Commission of India (LCI) submitted its 277th report titled “Wrongful Prosecution (Miscarriage of Justice): Legal Remedies” to the Government.
Percentage of under trials Time spent in prisons
- 1% More than 1 year
- 8% Upto 1 year
- 9% 3 to 6 months
- 2% Upto 3 months
National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) annual Prison Statistics India (PSI) report 2015, there were more than 4.19 lakh prisoners across India out of which 67.2% were under trials
Infringement of a fundamental right due to police and prosecutorial misconduct involves State liability
Article 14(6) of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 (ICCPR)
Delhi High Court in Babloo Chauhan Case
- requested LCI - examine possibility - providing relief and rehabilitation to victims of wrongful prosecution
- Draft Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2018
Recommendations of LCI
- Wrongful prosecution’ to be the standards of miscarriage of justice, as against ‘wrongful conviction’ and ‘wrongful incarceration’
- Need for a transparent legislative process
- Designation of Special Courts in each district
- Compensation, both pecuniary and non-pecuniary, to effectuate the rehabilitation of the victims into the society
- Factors to determine compensation
PROXY VOTING BY NRIS
Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2017 to allow for the proxy voting by the Non-Residential Indians
*amendment in Section 60 (special procedure for voting by certain classes of persons)
Criticism
- Vulnerable nature of the process * loss of secrecy * purchasing of the votes
- Implementational Challenges
- Monetary Influence * tilt the balance of power against smaller
- Discrimination against Domestic migrants
Conclusion
1. NRI population cannot be overlooked - large stratum - significant contribution to Indian economy - bilateral or multilateral agreements
2. alternative ways to proxy voting, viz. Personal voting (setting up booth at the embassy itself), e-voting, etc.
3. Safeguards -
# proxy vote to be cross checked through e vote or postal ballot
# preparation of electoral roll and database - kept secretive
MANIPUR PEOPLE’S PROTECTION BILL, 2018
Manipuris include
- Meiteis
- Pangal Muslims
- Manipuri scheduled tribes listed under the Constitution
- Indian nationals who have been living in Manipur before 1951
Inner Line Permit (ILP)
The ILP is a British-era system to regulate entry and exit of outsiders in a protected area
- operational in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland
Issues -
1. Bill sets 1951 as the base year
# people who came to Manipur after 1951 would be viewed as “foreigners” and would have no voting or land rights
2. problematic for tribal communities
# data of several villages in the National Register of Citizens, 1951, as well as in the Village Directory of 1951 is not available or not accurate
3. state of Manipur was formed on January 21, 1972 - stakeholders wanted it as cutoff date
4. ILP - serve interest of Meiteis - enable them to encroach hills & tribal lands
VARIETIES OF DEMOCRACY (V-Dem) REPORT
# international research project which aims to develop new indicators of democracy in all countries all over the world from 1789 to the present # project is led by the V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden # covers 178 countries # backed by the European Union and funded by a multitude of different institutions (government and non-government) and think tanks
Concerns regarding India
- “backslider” since the quality of democracy has decline
- qualifies as an Electoral Democracy
Different Categories for Classification
- Liberal Democracy
- Electoral Democracy
- Electoral Autocracy
- Closed Autocracy
AADHAAR CONSTITUTIONALLY VALID
Highlights of the Verdict
- Constitutionality of Aadhaar:
# passes the triple test laid down in the Puttaswamy (Privacy) judgment to determine the reasonableness of the invasion of privacy (under Art 21) - Existence of a law - backed by the statute i.e. the Aadhaar Act, 2016
- A legitimate state interest – ensuring social benefit schemes to reach the deserving and poor
- Test of proportionality - balances benefits of Aadhaar and the potential threat it carries to the fundamental right to privacy.
- No fear of Surveillance state
- Security of the biometric data
# encrypted, unidirectional relationship between the host application and the UIDAI - Linking of Aadhaar with Financial transactions - unconstitutional
- Aadhaar Act as Money Bill
Impact of the Judgement
- Striking down of Regulation 27(1) & reducing storage period of authentication data from five years to six months will ensure personal data is not misused
- Striking down of Section 47 means citizens can file a complaint in case of data theft
- Aadhaar may only be used by the government, and not by private parties- Sec 57
- constitution bench strikes down the National security exception (Section 33(2)) under the Aadhaar Act while giving citizens the opportunity of being heard before disclosure of information under section 33(1) of the Aadhaar Act
Challenges that still remain
- For the Fintech companies - removing an enabler
- Impact of mandating Aadhaar on the poor
- Privacy - strong data protection law needed - Justice Srikrishna Committee recommendations
- right to be forgotten
- Aadhaar as a single identifier
- Minority Judgment - Justice Chandrachud rejected all the arguments and held Aadhaar Act as unconstitutional on the basis of invasion of privacy, all-pervasive state control, and exclusion. Moreover, he held that passing the Aadhaar Act as a money bill was a “fraud on the constitution.”
Aadhaar: where's it required - Welfare schemes (PDS, LPG, MGNREGA etc.) I-T returns Linking to PAN card where's it not - Banks accounts SIM cards Private companies School admissions NEET, UGC, CBSE
RESERVATION IN PROMOTIONS
Current Judgement
A five-judge Constitution bench allowed for grant of quota for promotions in the government jobs to SCs and STs without the need to “collect quantifiable data”
# court also asked the government to examine the possibility of introducing creamy layer for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs)
# did not make changes about the two other conditions of Nagaraj Case(2006)
Arguments against Reservation in promotion
- Hurts efficiency of administration
- Cornering of Benefits
- Reservation is suffice
Arguments in favour of Reservation in promotion
- False notion of “efficiency”
- Lack of representation in higher levels
- Large number of Vacant posts
- Historical disadvantage
Background
1. Nine judge bench in Indra Sawhney case(1992)
# Supreme Court upheld the Mandal Commission’s 27 percent quota for backward classes with a condition that combined reservation should not exceed 50%.
# struck down the government notification reserving 10% government jobs for economically backward classes among the higher castes.
# Creamy layer must be eliminated from the Backward Classes
# no reservation in the promotions
2. Parliament enacted three constitutional amendments in 1995, 2000 and 2002, the most contested one being Article 16 (4A)
3. Article 16 (4A): Allows for reservation in matters of promotion, with consequential seniority, in favour of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes which are not adequately represented
4. Five judge bench in Nagaraj Case(2006)
# The court upheld the constitutional validity of the amendments
# providing quota in promotions the states must provide:
✓ quantifiable data on the backwardness of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST)
✓ the facts about their inadequate representation
✓ the overall administrative efficiency
CRIMINALISATION OF POLITICS
Dr Rajendra Prasad said, “If the people who are elected are capable and men of character and integrity, then they would be able to make the best of even of a defective constitution. If they are lacking in these, the constitution cannot help the country.
Public Interest Foundation Case a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice issued directions aimed at decriminalisation of politics
According to Association of Democratic Reforms
- 34% of MPs and MLAs have declared criminal cases against themselves.
- 21% have declared serious criminal cases including cases related to murder, attempt to murder, communal disharmony, kidnapping, crimes against women etc.
- chances of winning for a candidate with criminal cases in the elections are 13% whereas for a candidate with a clean record it is 5%
- only 0.5% of legislators cases were convicted
Various committee observation on Criminalization of Politics
1. The Santhanam Committee Report 1963
# more dangerous than corruption of officials
# recommended for Vigilance Commission both at the Centre and in the States.
2. Vohra Committee Report 1993
# studied the problem of the criminalization of politics
# report has not been made public by the government.
3. Padmanabhaiah Committee on Police Reforms
# Corruption is the root cause of both politicization and criminalization of the police - both cannot be de-linked
Reasons for Criminalisation of Politics
1. Vote Bank
2. Institutionalisation of Corruption
3. Loop Holes in Functioning of Election Commission
4. Denial of Justice and Rule of Law
12fast track courts across the country
40% pending cases & judgements pronounced in just 136 cases (11 %)
5. Nothing regulating the appointments to offices within the party
Impact of criminalisation
- Law breakers get elected as law makers
- Loss of public faith in Judicial machinery
- Tainted democracy
- Self perpetuating
Way forward
1. curb the high cost of campaigning
2. Law Commission of India’s report on Electoral Disqualifications
# Filing of a false affidavit should qualify as a ‘corrupt practice’
# effecting disqualification of tainted politicians at the stage of framing of charges
3. Election Commission must take adequate measures to break the nexus between the criminals and the politicians
DISSOLUTION OF MEDICAL COUNCIL OF INDIA
Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018 was issued dissolving the Medical Council of India (MCI) and replacing it with a Board of Governors (BOG) # ordinance amends the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 and provides for the supersession of the MCI for 1 year till National Medical Commission Bill is cleared in the Parliament # Board of Governors (BOG) has 7 members - Chairperson of the Board (NITI Aayog Member Dr. V. K. Paul)
Ranjit Roy Chaudhury committee (2015), Lodha Panel (2016) and Arvind Panagariya have previously suggested scrapping of the MCI
Arguments for scrapping MCI
- Allegations of corruption
- Opaque functioning
- Separation of functions
- Conflict of Interest
- Lack of emphasis on medical ethics
- Rising cost of Medical education
- Lack of sufficient manpower
Issues with implementation of the new structure
- Autonomy
- Issues with the NMC bill
* Fee Capping Dilemma
* Need of diverse stakeholder
* Against federal setup
* Appellate authority
* Renewal of license
* Issues with the bridge course
National Medical Commission Bill, 2017
National Medical Commission (NMC) which shall replace the MCI (Medical Council of India) as top regulator of medical education in India
- have 25 members
- frame policies for regulating medical institutions and medical professionals. * recognize medical qualifications.
- determine fees for some seats in private medical institutions and deemed universities.
Medical Advisory Council (MAC) - states/union territories to express their views and concerns
Four autonomous Boards have been set up under the supervision of the NMC
- Under-Graduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB)
- Post-Graduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB)
- Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB)
- Ethics and Medical Registration
National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) - for admission
State Medical Councils - at the state level.
Way Forward
- conciliatory approach
* Removing the National Licentiate Examination provision: Final MBBS Examination to be held as a common exam across the country and would serve as an exit test called the National Exit Test (NEXT).
* Removing the provision of Bridge course for AYUSH practitioners.
* Fee regulation for 50% seats (bill had 40%) in private medical institutions and deemed universities.
INDEPENDENCE VS ACCOUNTABILITY OF RBI
Section 7 of the RBI Act 1934
Independence of RBI
- Implementing policies
- Free from Political interferences
- Regulation
- Separate institute
- Ensuring sustainable economic growth
Accountability of RBI
- Democracy
- Answerable in failures
- More transparency
- Accountable through government
Way forward
- due regard to both autonomy and accountability
- Institutional autonomy of RBI to be respected
- quality of governance - significant
- FSLRC sought to modernize governance and make regulators more independent as well as more accountable
DEMAND FOR GORKHALAND
Gorkhaland Movement
separate State of Gorkhaland within India for Nepali-speaking Indian citizens (often known as ‘Gorkhas’)
