Recently a politician in Goa was accorded the lifetime status of the rank of Cabinet Minister who was, a six-time Chief Minister of Goa and a legislator for a full 50 years. Hence a PIL has been filed in the High Court of Bombay at Goa.
What is the âLifetime Status of the rank of Cabinet ministerâ?
The former Chief Minister and former Speaker (of the Goa Legislative Assembly) had completed 50 years as a legislator.
The Cabinet decided that in future also, those who complete 50 years and hold posts like CM and Speaker will be given the Cabinet status even after their retirement.
What is the PIL against this designation?
The PIL has urged the High Court to quash the notification of the government under which the person was conferred with the âlifetime statusâ.
It has contended that Goa has a 12-member Cabinet, and the conferment of Cabinet status results in the number of Cabinet ranks rising to 13, which exceeds the ceiling mandated by the Constitution.
This ceiling was mandated by the 91st Amendment which aimed to prevent jumbo Cabinets and the resultant drain on the public exchequer.
How the 91st Amendment Act does relates here?
The Constitution (91st Amendment) Act, 2003 inserted clause 1A in Article 164.
It says the total number of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the Council of Ministers in a State shall not exceed 15% of the total number of members of the Legislative Assembly of that State.
It provided a condition that the number of Ministers, including the Chief Minister in a State shall not be less than twelve.
There are 40 seats in the unicameral Goa Assembly.
Why is the designation problematic?
A cabinet minister for life would be entitled to 12 staff members â OSDs, support staff, peons, driver â which would cost the exchequer Rs 90 lakh a year.
The âCabinetâ rank would also entitle him to government accommodation, vehicle and unlimited free travel for him and his spouse.
This is just none other case but political self-appeasement.
It made the provisions to limit the size of Council of Ministers, to debar defectors from holding public offices, and to strengthen the anti-defection law.
The total number of ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the Central Council of Ministers shall not exceed 15% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha.
A member of either house of Parliament belonging to any political party who is disqualified on the ground of defection shall also be disqualified to be appointed as a minister.
The total number of ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the Council of Ministers in a state shall not exceed 15% of the total strength of the legislative Assembly of that state.
But, the number of ministers, including the Chief Minister, in a state shall not be less than 12.
A member of either House of a state legislature belonging to any political party who is disqualified on the ground of defection shall also be disqualified to be appointed as a minister.
The provision of the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) pertaining to exemption from disqualification in case of split by one-third members of legislature party has been deleted.
It means that the defectors have no more protection on grounds of splits.
The 193 members of the United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution requiring the five permanent members of the Security Council to justify their use of the veto.
Why such move?
The push for reform was driven by Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine.
The measure is intended to make veto-holders United States, China, Russia, France and Britain âpay a higher political priceâ when they use the veto to strike down a Security Council resolution.
For years Russia (and the US) has used its veto power to block UNSC resolutions â which, unlike General Assembly resolutions, are enforceable under international law.
What is the Veto Power at the UN?
The UN Security Council veto power is the power of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to veto any “substantive” resolution.
They also happen to be the nuclear-weapon states (NWS) under the terms of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
However, a permanent member’s abstention or absence does not prevent a draft resolution from being adopted.
This veto power does not apply to “procedural” votes, as determined by the permanent members themselves.
A permanent member can also block the selection of a Secretary-General, although a formal veto is unnecessary since the vote is taken behind closed doors.
Issues with Veto Power
The veto power is controversial. Supporters regard it as a promoter of international stability, a check against military interventions, and a critical safeguard against US domination.
Critics say that the veto is the most undemocratic element of the UN, as well as the main cause of inaction on war crimes and crimes against humanity.
It effectively prevents UN action against the permanent members and their allies.
Back2Basics: United Nations Security Council
The UNSC is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security.
Its powers include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and the authorization of military action through Security Council resolutions.
It is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states.
The Security Council consists of fifteen members. Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, and the United Statesâserve as the bodyâs five permanent members.
These permanent members can veto any substantive Security Council resolution, including those on the admission of new member states or candidates for Secretary-General.
The Security Council also has 10 non-permanent members, elected on a regional basis to serve two-year terms. The bodyâs presidency rotates monthly among its members.
Indiaâs net direct tax collections amounted to âš14,09,640.83 crore for FY22, which is the highest collection ever.
What are Direct Taxes?
A type of tax where the impact and the incidence fall under the same category can be defined as a Direct Tax.
The tax is paid directly by the organization or an individual to the entity that has imposed the payment.
The tax must be paid directly to the government and cannot be paid to anyone else.
 Why in news?
The surge in direct tax collection signals that the Indian economy has bounced back after two years of the pandemic.
Rise in direct tax collection
As against âš14.09 lakh crore this year, our collection in 2020-21 was only âš9.45 lakh crore.
In a single year, the economy has moved upward by nearly âš4.5 lakh crore, registering a growth of 49%.
The collection is the best-ever as far as income tax and corporation tax are concerned.
What about direct tax-to-GDP ratio?
The direct tax-to-GDP ratio is around 12%.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) was working to raise the ratio to 15-20% in 5-10 years.
Why is it significant?
A tax-to-GDP ratio is a gauge of a nation’s tax revenue relative to the size of its economy as measured by gross domestic product (GDP).
The ratio provides a useful look at a country’s tax revenue because it reveals potential taxation relative to the economy.
It also enables a view of the overall direction of a nation’s tax policy, as well as international comparisons between the tax revenues of different countries.
Back2Basics: Types of Direct Taxes
The various types of direct tax that are imposed in India are mentioned below:
(1) Income Tax
Depending on an individualâs age and earnings, income tax must be paid.
Various tax slabs are determined by the Government of India which determines the amount of Income Tax that must be paid.
The taxpayer must file Income Tax Returns (ITR) on a yearly basis.
Individuals may receive a refund or might have to pay a tax depending on their ITR. Penalties are levied in case individuals do not file ITR.
(2) Wealth Tax
The tax must be paid on a yearly basis and depends on the ownership of properties and the market value of the property.
In case an individual owns a property, wealth tax must be paid and does not depend on whether the property generates an income or not.
Corporate taxpayers, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), and individuals must pay wealth tax depending on their residential status.
Payment of wealth tax is exempt for assets like gold deposit bonds, stock holdings, house property, commercial property that have been rented for more than 300 days, and if the house property is owned for business and professional use.
(3) Estate Tax
It is also called Inheritance Tax and is paid based on the value of the estate or the money that an individual has left after his/her death.
(4) Corporate Tax
Domestic companies, apart from shareholders, will have to pay corporate tax.
Foreign corporations who make an income in India will also have to pay corporate tax.
Income earned via selling assets, technical service fees, dividends, royalties, or interest that is based in India is taxable.
The below-mentioned taxes are also included under Corporate Tax:
Securities Transaction Tax (STT): The tax must be paid for any income that is earned via security transactions that are taxable.
Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT): In case any domestic companies declare, distribute, or are paid any amounts as dividends by shareholders, DDT is levied on them. However, DDT is not levied on foreign companies.
Fringe Benefits Tax: For companies that provide fringe benefits for maids, drivers, etc., Fringe Benefits Tax is levied on them.
Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT): For zero tax companies that have accounts prepared according to the Companies Act, MAT is levied on them.
(5) Capital Gains Tax:
It is a form of direct tax that is paid due to the income that is earned from the sale of assets or investments. Investments in farms, bonds, shares, businesses, art, and home come under capital assets.
Based on its holding period, tax can be classified into long-term and short-term.
Any assets, apart from securities, that are sold within 36 months from the time they were acquired come under short-term gains.
Long-term assets are levied if any income is generated from the sale of properties that have been held for a duration of more than 36 months.
Advantages of Direct Taxes
The main advantages of Direct Taxes in India are mentioned below:
Economic and Social balance: The Government of India has launched well-balanced tax slabs depending on an individualâs earnings and age. The tax slabs are also determined based on the economic situation of the country. Exemptions are also put in place so that all income inequalities are balanced out.
Productivity: As there is a growth in the number of people who work and community, the returns from direct taxes also increases. Therefore, direct taxes are considered to be very productive.
Inflation is curbed: Tax is increased by the government during inflation. The increase in taxes reduces the necessity for goods and services, which leads to inflation to compress.
Certainty: Due to the presence of direct taxes, there is a sense of certainty from the government and the taxpayer. The amount that must be paid and the amount that must be collected is known by the taxpayer and the government, respectively.
Distribution of wealth is equal: Higher taxes are charged by the government to the individuals or organizations that can afford them. This extra money is used to help the poor and lower societies in India.
What are the disadvantages of direct taxes?
Easily evadable: Not all are willing to pay their taxes to the government. Some are willing to submit a false return of income to evade tax. These individuals can easily conceal their incomes, with no accountability to the law of the land.
Arbitrary: Taxes, if progressive, are fixed arbitrarily by the Finance Minister. If proportional, it creates a heavy burden on the poor.
Disincentive: If there are high taxes, it does not allow an individual to save or invest, leading to the economic suffering of the country. It does not allow businesses/industry to grow, inflicting damage to them.
As per IMFâs first deputy managing director Gita Gopinath, financial sanctions imposed on Russia threaten to gradually dilute the dominance of the U.S. dollar and could result in a more fragmented international monetary system.
To understand more on this and related risks to the dominance of the dollar in view of the prevailing global situation and what it means for the international financial market.
Russia- Ukraine War and USD
The Russia-Ukraine conflict conveys no signal of coming to an end or any tendency towards a peaceful settlement.
This has disrupted the global supply chain and has caused a major blow to the global economy.
The World Bank has reduced its annual global growth forecast for 2022 by nearly a full percentage point, from 4.1% down to 3.2%.
The financial sanctions imposed on Russia by the major Western powers have prompted changes in the international financial order driven by USD.
The United States has to some extent weaponized the dollar against Russia.
Countries are concerned that the money it holds in dollars would be worthless if dollar inflation set in.
How US Dollar became the global currency?
The U.S. dollar has been the worldâs dominant currency since the end of World War II.
Roughly half of international trade, international loans, and global debt securities are denominated in USD.
The USD became the official reserve currency of the world in 1944. The decision was made by a delegation from 44 Allied countries called the Bretton Woods Agreement.
Despite the challenges faced by the US economy due to fiscal and external deficits of the 1980s, the dollarâs share of global reserves remained steady and reserves even grew as time progressed.
The dominance of the dollar is backed by strong and highly credible institutions, deep markets and the fact that it is freely convertible.
Almost 40% of the world’s debt is issued in dollars. As a result, foreign banks need a lot of dollars to conduct business. This became evident during the 2008 financial crisis.
Implications of USD led inflation
The dollarâs role as the worldâs âreserve currencyâ is a cornerstone of the global economy and global finance as well as geopolitics.
Most of the transactions are dollar-dominated, currency depreciation is rather unlikely to increase exports.
A depreciation in the currency relative to the dollar leads to an increase in the price of imported goods which means high pressures on inflation.
Challenges to USD
In the 1990s the dollarâs role started diminishing and the US became a net debtor to the world.
With the emerging global value chains, Chinaâs integration into the world economy has been an impediment to the economic growth of the US.
A considerable decline in the dollarâs share can be attributed to the greater use of the Chinese renminbi.
It was notified by the IMF official that the dollarâs share of international reserves had fallen from 70% to 60% over a period of time with the growing trading currencies led by the Australian dollar.
Calls for a one world currency
In March 2009, China and Russia called for a new global currency.
China is a huge player in world trade, which you might think would make people want to hold a lot of yuan assets.
They wanted the world to create a reserve currency that is disconnected from individual nations and is able to remain stable in the long run.
They thus want to remove the inherent deficiencies caused by using credit-based national currencies.
In the fourth quarter of 2016, the Chinese renminbi became another one of the world’s reserve currencies.
China wants its currency to be fully traded on the global foreign exchange markets. It would like the Yuan to replace the dollar as the global currency.
What lies ahead?
For many years, undermining the dollarâs dominance has been the dream of governments that have looked uneasily at US global primacy, and formed coalitions.
Some experts also advocate that either Chinaâs or Russiaâs threat to the dollar hegemony will remain a fantasy.
It is predicted that the sanctions against Russia will not foreshadow the decline of the dollar as the reserve currency.
The Russia-Ukraine Conflict will definitely slow down the global economy but will not cause a global recession.
The RBI released the Inflation Expectations Survey of Households (IESH) for March 2022 on April 8. The survey results present interesting behavioural insights for public policy, particularly from a gender perspective.
Significance of inflation expectations
The impact of inflation â the overall increase in the prices in an economy â is felt by everyone.
High inflation adversely affects the poor.
Individuals, therefore, form expectations about how prices will behave in the future to take precautions.
If they anticipate high inflation, they negotiate wages or rents to compensate against a potential fall in their purchasing power.
Self-fulfilling: Increased wages increase the cost of production, making expectations self-fulfilling and, therefore, playing a pivotal role in determining inflation.
Anchoring inflation expectations: Central banks raise interest rates to ‘anchor’ high inflationary expectations when temporary price shocks, on account of drought or disruption in global supply chains, entail the risk of getting transmitted into actual inflation.
What shapes inflation expectations of individuals?
A recent study carried out by Acunto et al., 2020, validates that what agents frequently purchase, instead of those purchased infrequently, shape their perception of the general level of inflation.
Factors shaping individual’s perception: A significant factor shaping perceptions on inflation are the prices that individuals observe in their daily lives, originally posited by Robert Lucas in his seminal Islands model.
Therefore, generalising aggregate inflation expectations for making general views of prices in the economy could be misleading.
This insight has implications for gender-based differences in anticipating inflation in the future.
Existing literature shows that women have higher inflationary expectations compared to men.
 However, a new study reveals that it is not the innate characteristics as much as the traditional gender roles that explain this divergence.
Natural experiments
To test its validity, trends of Inflation Expectations Survey of Households (IESH) before and after the lockdown period present itself as a crude ‘natural experiment’.
The authors hypothesise that if traditional gender roles are the primary reasons behind the gender inflation expectation gap, then the lockdown-imposed work-from-home (WFH) arrangements or loss of employment should contribute in closing this gap.
The logic: during the lockdown, people in urban areas lost jobs or remained at home, taking a relatively equal share in the frequent day-to-day purchases.
Two categories of occupations are studied here: homemakers (assumed to be dominated by women) and financial sector employees (assumed to be dominated by men).
Looking at the trends of the RBI surveys for the period between March 2018 and March 2020, homemakers report higher inflation expectations than financial sector employees.
However, this gap has narrowed over the last two years and has almost converged in March 2022.
A possible explanation of closing of the gap could be the gradual ‘experience effect’ of male-dominated financial sector employees.
Experience effect, contrary to Rational Expectations Theory that assumes individuals base their decisions on the information available to them, is based on the premise that actual personal experiences shape behaviour more than being informed about the outcome of the event.
Conclusion
Focus could be shifted more on the microfoundations â understanding macroeconomic outcomes by studying factors that shape individual behaviour and decision making â for making better policy decisions concerning macroeconomic phenomena.
The performance of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has been under intense scrutiny.
Basis for the criticism of IBC
The Code has been mainly criticised on three counts:
1] Delay in resolution: There are inordinate delays in the resolution procedure.
2] Liquidation:Â There have been more liquidations than resolutions.
3] Low recovery amount: The recovery amounts under IBC are not substantial, making it more of a talking point than an effective structural reform.
Is the criticism about the delay justified?
Assessing IBC based only on the average time taken to resolve successful cases does a substantial disservice to how much more efficient the IBC is compared to the previous regimes.
 It is calculated by taking a simple average of time taken on each completed case.
This is one of the metrics used by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) to compare the IBC regime with the earlier Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) regime.
 However, the performance of a bankruptcy resolution should ideally be evaluated along at least three dimensions:
The average time taken to resolve a case, the fraction of cases resolved within a given timeframe, and the recovery rate conditional on resolution.
Focusing on any single parameter may result in a gross under (over) estimation of the IBCâs (BIFRâs) performance.
By examining the fraction of cases that are resolved within a specific timeframe, we see that for any fraction of the total cases resolved under each scheme, the IBC took considerably less time than BIFR.
Total number of cases solved: Since its inception in 1987, the BIFR has resolved less than 3,500 cases while the IBC, since it was launched in 2016, resolved about 1,178 cases until it was suspended at the onset of the COVID pandemic.
Most analyses of IBCâs performance overlook the important fact that many of the legacy BIFR cases were subsumed by IBC, and these were often zombie firms that were kept alive due to massive evergreening of loans between 2008-2015.
Conclusion
The bottom line is straightforward: The IBC has significantly outperformed the earlier BIFR regime in terms of the speed of resolution.
The European Parliament and European Union (EU) Member States announced that they had reached a political agreement on the Digital Services Act (DSA).
What is DSA?
DSA is a landmark legislation to force big Internet companies to act against disinformation and illegal and harmful content, and to âprovide better protection for Internet users and their fundamental rightsâ.
The Act, which is yet to become law, was proposed by the EU Commission (anti-trust) in December 2020.
As defined by the EU Commission, the DSA is âa set of common rules on intermediariesâ obligations and accountability across the single marketâ.
It seeks to ensure higher protection to all EU users, irrespective of their country.
The proposed Act will work in conjunction with the EUâs Digital Markets Act (DMA), which was approved last month.
Whom will the DSA apply?
Intermediaries: The DSA will tightly regulate the way intermediaries, especially large platforms such as Google, Facebook, and YouTube, function when it comes to moderating user content.
Abusive or illegal content: Instead of letting platforms decide how to deal with abusive or illegal content, the DSA will lay down specific rules and obligations for these companies to follow.
Ambit platforms: The legislation brings in its ambit platforms that provide Internet access, domain name registrars, hosting services such as cloud computing and web-hosting services.
Very large platforms: But more importantly, very large online platforms (VLOPs) and very large online search engines (VLOSEs) will face âmore stringent requirements.â
45 million monthly users-base: Any service with more than 45 million monthly active users in the EU will fall into this category. Those with under 45 million monthly active users in the EU will be exempt from certain new obligations.
Key features
A wide range of proposals seeks to ensure that the negative social impact arising from many of the practices followed by the Internet giants is minimised or removed:
Faster removal of illicit content: Online platforms and intermediaries such as Facebook, Google, YouTube, etc will have to add ânew procedures for faster removalâ of content deemed illegal or harmful. This can vary according to the laws of each EU Member State.
Introduction of Trusted Flaggers: Users will be able to challenge these takedowns as well. Platforms will need to have a clear mechanism to help users flag content that is illegal. Platforms will have to cooperate with âtrusted flaggersâ.
Imposition of duty of care: Marketplaces such as Amazon will have to âimpose a duty of careâ on sellers who are using their platform to sell products online. They will have to âcollect and display information on the products and services sold in order to ensure that consumers are properly informed.â
Annual audit of big platforms: The DSA adds an obligation for very large digital platforms and services to analyse systemic risks they create and to carry out risk reduction analysis. This audit for platforms like Google and Facebook will need to take place every year.
Promoting independent research: The Act proposes to allow independent vetted researchers to have access to public data from these platforms to carry out studies to understand these risks better.
Ban âDark Patternsâ or âmisleading interfaces: The DSA proposes to ban âDark Patternsâ or âmisleading interfacesâ that are designed to trick users into doing something that they would not agree to otherwise.
Transparency of Algorithms: It also proposes âtransparency measures for online platforms on a variety of issues, including on the algorithms used for recommending content or products to usersâ.
Easy cancellation of subscription: Finally, it says that cancelling a subscription should be as easy as subscribing.
Protection of minors: The law proposes stronger protection for minors, and aims to ban targeted advertising for them based on their personal data.
Crisis mechanism clause: This clause will make it âpossible to analyse the impact of the activities of these platformsâ on the crisis, and the Commission will decide the appropriate steps to be taken to ensure the fundamental rights of users are not violated.
Others: Companies will have to look at the risk of âdissemination of illegal contentâ, âadverse effects on fundamental rightsâ, âmanipulation of services having an impact on democratic processes and public securityâ, âadverse effects on gender-based violence, and on minors and serious consequences for the physical or mental health of users.â
Bar over Social Media
It has been clarified that the platforms and other intermediaries will not be liable for the unlawful behaviour of users.
So, they still have âsafe harbourâ in some sense.
However, if the platforms are âaware of illegal acts and fail to remove them, they will be liable for this user behaviour.
Small platforms, which remove any illegal content they detect, will not be liable.
Are there any such rules in India?
India last year brought the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
These rules make the social media intermediary and its executives liable if the company fails to carry out due diligence.
Rule 4 (a) states that significant social media intermediaries â such as Facebook or Google â must appoint a chief compliance officer (CCO), who could be booked if a tweet or post that violates local laws is not removed within the stipulated period.
Indiaâs Rules also introduce the need to publish a monthly compliance report.
They include a clause on the need to trace the originator of a message â this provision has been challenged by WhatsApp in the Delhi High Court.
World military spending continued to grow in 2021, reaching a record $2.1 trillion despite the economic fallout of the pandemic, according to new data on global military spending published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Top defence spenders in 2021
The five largest spenders in 2021 were the U.S., China, India, the U.K. and Russia, together accounting for 62% of expenditure.
The U.S. and China alone accounted for 52%.
Indiaâs defence expenditure
Indiaâs military spending of $76.6 billion ranked third highest in the world.
This was up by 0.9% from 2020 and by 33% from 2012.
Amid ongoing tensions and border disputes with China and Pakistan that occasionally spill over into armed clashes, India has prioritised the modernisation of its armed forces and self-reliance in arms production, the report said.
What about Russia and Ukraine?
Russia increased its military expenditure by 2.9% in 2021, to $65.9 billion, at a time when it was building up its forces along the Ukrainian border.
On Ukraine, the report remarked that as it had strengthened its defences against Russia, its military spending âhas risen by 72% since the annexation of Crimea in 2014â.
Spending fell in 2021, to $5.9 billion, but still accounted for 3.2% of the countryâs GDP.
Japan has recently described the Kuril Islands (which Japan calls the Northern Territories and Russia as the South Kurils) as being under Russiaâs âillegal occupationâ.
Note the Islands of Japan in North to South Direction:Â Hokkaido, Honshu , Shikoku, and Kyushu
What are the Kuril Islands/ Northern Territories?
These are a set of four islands situated between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean near the north of Japan’s northernmost prefecture, Hokkaido.
Both Moscow and Tokyo claim sovereignty over them though the islands have been under Russian control since the end of World War II.
The Soviet Union had seized the islands at the end of World War II and by 1949 had expelled its Japanese residents.
Tokyo claims that the disputed islands have been part of Japan since the early 19th century.
Why in news?
This is the first time in about two decades that Japan has used this phrase to describe the dispute over the Kuril Islands.
Japan had been using softer language since 2003, saying that the dispute over the islands was the greatest concern in Russia-Japan bilateral ties.
What lies behind the dispute?
Japanâs sovereignty over the islands is confirmed by several treaties since 1855.
Russia, on the other hand, claims the Yalta Agreement (1945) and the Potsdam Declaration (1945) as proof of its sovereignty.
It argues that the San Francisco Treaty of 1951 is legal evidence that Japan had acknowledged Russian sovereignty over the islands.
Under Article 2 of the treaty, Japan had ârenounced all right, title and claim to the Kuril Islands.â
However, Japan argues that the San Francisco Treaty cannot be used here as the Soviet Union never signed the peace treaty.
Continuing the WW2
In fact, Japan and Russia are technically still at war because they have not signed a peace treaty after World War II.
In 1956, during Japanese PM Ichiro Hatoyamaâs visit to the Soviet Union, it was suggested that two of the four islands would be returned to Japan once a peace treaty was signed.
However, persisting differences prevented the signing of a peace treaty though the two countries signed the Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration, which restored diplomatic relations between the two nations.
The Soviet Union later hardened its position, even refusing to recognise that a territorial dispute existed with Japan.
It was only in 1991 during Mikhail Gorbachevâs visit to Japan that the USSR recognised that the islands were the subject of a territorial dispute.
Have there been attempts at resolution?
Since 1991, there have been many attempts to resolve the dispute and sign a peace treaty.
The most recent attempt was under PM Shinzo Abe when joint economic development of the disputed islands was explored.
In fact, both countries had agreed to have bilateral negotiations based on the 1956 Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration.
Russia was even willing to give back two islands, the Shikotan Island and the Habomai islets, to Japan after the conclusion of a peace treaty as per the 1956 declaration.
Japanâs attempt to improve ties with Russia was driven by its need to diversify energy sources and Russia by its need to diversify its basket of buyers and bring in foreign investments.
But nationalist sentiments on both sides prevented resolution of the dispute.
Implications for Japan
Soon after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Japan made its unhappiness with Russia clear.
Japan has been among the most steadfast of Western allies in denouncing Russian aggression and punishing it with sanctions.
Japan has probably been spurred by its fears of a Russia-China alliance as Japan itself has territorial disputes and an uneasy history with China.
Secondly, Japan might have felt that this is a good opportunity to further isolate Russia and paint it as a âhabitual offenderâ of international law.
Finally, Tokyo might have been prompted to take this position as it feels that the invasion of Ukraine proves that getting back the Kuril Islands is a lost cause.
The recent anti-encroachment drive in northwest Delhiâs violence-hit Jahangirpuri has become the latest flashpoint between political parties in the national capital.
The matter also reached the Supreme Court, which ordered a stay on the drive.
However, dissidents has now put questions over the legality of actions by municipal authorities and the manner in which certain structures were razed to the ground using bulldozers.
A close look at the pertinent legal provisions and constitutional principles involved in issues related to coercive processes against unauthorised constructions and encroachments may help putting the entire controversy in the right perspective:
What is Encroachment?
Encroachment is a real estate situation where a property owner violates contractual property rights by unlawfully entering, building, or extending structures onto Public Land without permission.
Structural encroachment occurs when a property owner unlawfully builds or extends structures on the Public Land.
Examples of Encroachment:
Unlawfully entering, trespassing, or walking through a property
Building a fence that goes past own property line
Extending structures or buildings onto the public domain (e.g., roads and sidewalks)
Non-government construction that overlaps govt property lines
Why encroachment is a problem?
Land is already a scarce commodity: Illicit occupation of public land puts stress on the already declining land resource availability.
Encroachment results in constriction of the public spaces: Road is narrowed down since it is occupied by structures supporting the livelihoods of the poor.
Public has the right of way: Pedestrians would suffer as people would have fewer spaces to walk. Encroachment on public roads increases the road traffic.
Maintenance of civic amenities becomes difficult: Severs, nullahs are chocked up due to encroachment. This creates sanitation and health crisis especially during monsoons.
Genesis of anti-encroachment drives in India
Anti-CAA protests: In 2019, after protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) turned violent in Uttar Pradesh.
Compensation of public property damage: The CM ordered that compensation from property damage will be extracted from those who participated in the riots, to the tune of Rs 50 lakh.
Seizure of properties: He also announced that properties will be seized if people default on these payments.
How is Encroachment Demolition related to Rioting?
Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984: This is what governs actions taken against people convicted of rioting. However, this act levies a jail term and a fine on the offenders.
Assessment of damages caused: In 2009, the Supreme Court had said that respective high courts can appoint benches to adjudicate on damages during protests and riots.
Civil liability against damaging: In 2018, the Supreme Court had said that individuals will invite civil and criminal liability if found guilty of damaging public property.
What is the communal angle of recent demolition drive?
Ans. State-directed demolition of homes of the alleged rioters
The demolition drive was initiated by North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) to demolish the âillegal constructionsâ of the rioters in Jahangirpuri.
Communal violence had broken out in the area when a religious procession, which did not have police permission, clashed with minority community as it went alongside the place of worship.
This put a repulsive on other incidents, in Khargone in MP and Khambhat in Gujarat, where communal flare-ups were followed by the state-directed demolition of homes of the alleged rioters.
How did this intimidate minority groups?
Anti-encroachment drives in India are not new. What is new is that the current drives are outside the pale of the law.
Actions without notice: Irrespective of the legal status of the settlement, no public authority can demolish buildings without giving the affected parties a chance to be heard.
Bulldozing of petty areas: The bulldozer has now become a symbol of brute state power and a revolting mascot to intimidate minority groups in the country.
Collective punishment is state tyranny: It conveys the cynical use of brute state power for collective punishment undermining the basic tenets of criminal law.
Flawed binary of legality over illegality: The binary of slums settlements has very little meaning in Delhi, and much of urban India, since a majority of the residents appears to be of minority community.
Revengeful majoritarian justice: The demolition of homes and shops of alleged culprits of portrays the establishment as a bulldozer state that dispenses revengeful justice.
Public endorsement from the far-rights: Worryingly, the new rule of the bulldozer state seems to have some level of public endorsement.
Why impulsive encroachment demolition is a bad idea?
Issue of fair trial: From the legal perspective, the concept of a fair trial comes under question, since the government issued those notices before the people accused of participating in the riots were tried by any court.
Ambiguity of Public Property Act, 1984: Senior advocates thus said that such a decision is unconstitutional and has no backing from the law.
Curbing dissent: They also claimed seizure of property was being used as a means to curb peaceful dissent staged by certain communities.
Disregard for the due process of law: Such actions show a blatant disregard for the due process of law and established judicial precedents regarding evictions.
Arbitrary actions: Even before any charges are framed, the executive rather than the judiciary arbitrarily imposes a form of collective punishment upon a whole neighbourhood.
Creation of communal disharmony: Petitioners in the case claimed that the demolition drives were communal in nature since they were aimed at the localities of minority communities.
Larger impact: Rise of minority assertion
Marginalization and alienation: Minority community in India feels to be increasingly marginalized ever since the reigning in of the right-winged government. They have faced a spike in attacks, hate speech and harassment.
Demonizing the entire community: The modus operandi looks similar these days, i.e. to create an event of communal tension and clashes, declare names of rioters in a one-sided way, hence demonizing the community.
Rise in collective insecurity: Arbitrarily punitive demolition of this kind using a bulldozer as an extrajudicial threat or extrajudicial punishment is adding fuel to this temptation of insecurity.
Communal disharmony: Arbitrary state actions tends to divide people on religious linesâ in most cases the minority and to win power on the basis of a religious identity.
Threats of radicalization: The poor and marginalized community is often vulnerable to the brisk of radicalization. There is a possibility of its inevitability.
Supreme Court rulings on removal of unauthorised constructions and encroachments
There has been a long line of cases underlining the significance of due process and adherence to the principle of natural justice where people are deprived of their rights to shelter or to earn a livelihood:
(1) Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Vs Nawabkhan Gulabkhan and others (1977)
The top court held that while a notice may not be required in cases of encroachment of recent origin, if a municipal body allows settlement of encroachers for a long time, it must give a notice of reasonable time to such settlers.
If the encroachment is not removed within the specified time, it added, the competent authority would be at liberty to have it removed.
That would meet the fairness of procedure and principle of giving opportunity to remove the encroachment voluntarily by the encroachers.
The landmark verdict acknowledged the right to shelter and the right to earn livelihood as forming part of right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The apex court rejected the plea of BMC that no notice need be given to slum dwellers since slums were sheer encroachments on public lands.
Removal of encroachmentswithout prior notice was arbitrary; the court held that such powers are designed to operate as an âexceptionâ and not the âgeneral rule.â
(3) MC Mehta Case (2006)
The Supreme Court was dealing with sealing of properties in Delhi on account of unauthorised use of properties (residential properties being used for commercial purposes).
It directed that the MCD would firstissue public notices in leading newspapers, asking violators to stop misuse of properties within the period of 30 days.
Official justification of the recent demolition drive
Anti-encroachment drives were long due: Officials claimed in court, that the demolitions were a part of anti-encroachment drives that had been planned in advance and were not specifically targeting the alleged rioters.
Discouraging the ever-increasing Slumization: The non-enforcement of strict regulations against encourages the public for encroachment hence the move was carried out.
No communal intent: The demolition drive in New Delhi has bulldozed all illicit constructions irrespective of the encroachers identity since the areas are inhabited by all communities.
Way Forward
Prevention of further encroachments: The local authorities and the state governments must become proactive in the prevention of encroachment of public lands.
Law abiding citizens: The citizens should abide by the rules and regulations and if they violate the rule of law, the violators should be penalized.
Due process of law must be held prime: Respecting the law of the land should be the norm and if there are any deviations the illegal structures should be bulldozed only after following due process of law.
Considering involuntary and forceful encroachments: The Supreme Courtâs guidelines in the Olga Tellis judgment needs to be imbibed in true spirit.
Rehabilitation of slum-dwellers: and not the destruction of slums is the only way forward.
Conclusion
Slums and ‘unauthorised’ colonies like Jahangirpuri form the underbelly of India’s capital.
The city derives its energy from the thousands of informal workers living in these colonies.
It is high time the State recognizes their value and rights.Â
