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Subject: Polity

  • Regulating the Big Techs and competition in the market

    competition

    Context

    • The Indian anti-trust body, the Competition Commission of India (CCI)’s move, in October, to impose a penalty of ₹1,337.76 crore on Google for abusing its dominant position in the android mobile device ecosystem, has forced us, once again, to rethink the market power of Big Tech companies.

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    Background: Acknowledging the big tech company’s market distorting abilities

    • India did not account for network effect of big techs: When India established the CCI under the Indian Competition Act 2002, it was to protect and promote competition in markets, and prevent practices that hinder competition. However, it did not account for the network effect of Big Tech companies as a force to reckon with.
    • Countries are realised their market dominance and moved to transform competition law: As their market dominance increased rather exponentially, the European Union, the United States, and even Australia realised their market-distorting abilities and moved to transform their competition law.
    • For instance, European union’s Digital market Act: The EU’s Digital Market Act and “gatekeepers” who will enforce rules and regulations ex-ante to foresee anti-competitive practices is an example.

    Competition Commission of India

    • CCI is the competition regulator in India.
    • It is a statutory body responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 and promoting competition throughout India and preventing activities that have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India.
    • It was established on 14 October 2003. It became fully functional in May 2009.

    competition

    Big techs and the Market dominance issue

    • Market dominance is natural but gets hazy when its abused: In any free economy, market dominance is natural but things get hazy when it is abused to prevent competition.
    • Google’s case: As the CCI says, the intent of Google’s business was to make users on its platforms abide by its revenue-earning service, i.e., an online search to directly affect the sale of their online advertising services. Thus, network effects, along with a status quo bias, created significant entry barriers for competitors to enter or operate in the markets concerned.
    • Fundamental role of pricing and as a determinant of competition: Predatory pricing entails the lowering of prices that forces other firms to be out competed. Amazon and Flipkart were accused of deep discounting and creating in-house brands to compete with local sellers. Only recently, the CCI raided their offices in an anti-competition probe, leading to Amazon being forced to cut its ties with Cloudtail.
    • Consumers consent has no value: A crucial aspect of self-preferencing beyond the search algorithms is the bundling of services, especially with pre-installed apps, where the manufacturers eliminate competition without the consumer’s consent. Apple is facing heat in the U.S. and Europe over pre-installed apps after Russia forced Apple to provide third-party apps at the time of installation.

    competition

    Use of data, issue of consumer protection

    • Big techs self-asserted right to use, store and transfer consumers data: While the data economy has evolved, we have not dealt with its regulation as effectively. There is sensitive data stored on these platforms (financial records, phone location, and medical history). Big corporations have asserted ownership of the right to use or transfer this data without restriction.
    • Data greed as a motivation: While one might attribute it to efficiency barriers, the greed for data is a motivation. Further, the storage and collection of women’s and children’s data need to be dealt with more cautiously to build a safe digital place.
    • Market distortions lead to data monopoly and poor quality of services: Market distortion can also lead to poorer quality of services, data monopoly, and stifle innovation.

    Steps to ensure a level playing field and consumer protection in the age of digital transformation?

    • Urgent to need to prevent market failures and mitigate possible anti-competitive act: While the competition laws address that anomaly, they are too slow to respond in complex technical sectors. By the time an order is passed, the dominant player has gained an edge — as in the case of Google. Thus, in this context, there is an urgent need for ex-ante legislation to prevent market failures and mitigate possible anti-competitive conduct.
    • Harmony of the competition law and e-commerce rule: For a consumer, there is a need to establish harmony of the Competition law with the new Consumer Protection Act 2020 and e-commerce rules. The new law should include a mechanism to ensure fair compensation for consumers who face the brunt of the anti-competitive practices of the Big Techs. This should ensure that the penalties and restrictions being imposed on companies also ensure proportionate compensation for consumer losses.
    • Ensure a level playing field for local sellers: Pricing plays a fundamental role in defining the position of any digital platform in the marketplace. It is essential to establish an ex-ante framework to ensure a level playing field for local sellers. The Government’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform is a reliable option for these small players.
    • New laws and provisions for digital marketplace: There is an urgent need to contextualise the law to the digital marketplace and devise new provisions with adequate ex-ante legislation. The EU has already noted this need through the Digital Markets Act. It is time that similar legislation is adopted in India.

    competition

    Prelims shot: What is “ONDC”?

    • Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) seeks to promote open networks, which are developed using the open-source methodology.
    • The project is aimed at curbing “digital monopolies”.
    • This is a step in the direction of making e-commerce processes open-source, thus creating a platform that can be utilized by all online retailers.
    • They will encourage the usage of standardized open specifications and open network protocols, which are not dependent on any particular platform or customized one.

    Conclusion

    • Witnessing the big tech’s ability of market distortion, data monopoly and market dominance, Country’s competition laws need to be vigilant through an ex-ante framework to ensure highest consumer protection. With India now on the cusp of a digital transformation, it is essential that the country a level-playing field to ensure a fair opportunity for new-age start-ups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

  • Karnataka-Maharashtra border Dispute: Is it just a political tool?

    border

    Context

    • The eruption of strong language chauvinism on the border of Karnataka and Maharashtra is neither sudden nor primarily linguistic. The number of speakers of both of Marathi and Kannada languages has been overwhelmingly large. If it is not language, is it the sudden memory of a badly mangled territorial border that has irked people?

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    What is the dispute in short?

    • A petition filed by the Maharashtra government, challenging some provisions of the State Reorganisation Act, 1956 and demanding 865 villages from five districts of Karnataka. The five districts are Belagavi, Karwar, Vijayapura, Kalaburagi and Bidar.,
    • In Karnataka, tensions are high, especially in Belagavi district, which borders Maharashtra

    border

    When did the dispute begin?

    • Since the State Reorganisation Act passed in 1956: Maharashtra and Karnataka have sparred over the inclusion of some towns and villages along the state border ever since the State Reorganisation Act was passed by the Parliament in 1956. The Act was based on the findings of the Justice Fazal Ali Commission, which was appointed in 1953 and submitted its report two years later.
    • Erstwhile Mysore renamed and formed State of Karnataka and the differences erupted: On November 1, 1956, Mysore state later renamed Karnataka was formed, and differences between the state and the neighbouring Bombay state later Maharashtra erupted.
    • View of Maharashtra: Maharashtra was of the view that the northwestern district of Karnataka, Belagavi, should be part of the state, leading to a decade-long violent agitation and formation of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi (MES), which still holds sway in parts of the district and the eponymous city

    border

    What was the Centre’s response?

    • Union government ste up a Commission in 1966: Amid protests and pressure from Maharashtra, the Union government set up a commission under retired Supreme Court judge Justice Meharchand Mahajan on October 25, 1966. S Nijalingappa was the karnataka Chief minister then and VP Nayak was his Maharashtra counterpart.
    • Report come up with a settlement on merging of towns and villages: The report was expected to be a binding document for both states and put an end to the dispute. The commission submitted its report in August 1967, where it recommended merging 264 towns and villages of Karnataka (including Nippani, Nandgad and Khanapur) with Maharashtra, and 247 villages of Maharashtra (including South Solapur and Akkalkot) with Karnataka.
    • Report tabled in 1970 but no implementation took place as it became a poll issue: Though the report was tabled in 1970 in the Parliament, it was not taken up for discussion. Without the implementation of the recommendations, demands of Marathi-speaking regions to be part of Maharashtra and Kannada-speaking regions to be part of Karnataka continued to grow. MES made it a poll issue in many parts of Belagavi and won successive elections from constituencies in the district.

    Bilingualism: an essential element of the culture of the area

    • Extended families on both sides: The castes and communities on both sides of the disputed border have their extended families spread on either side of it.
    • Harmonious Cultural exchange: All of the harmoniums and sitars played by the greatest among Karnataka’s singers have been made in Maharashtra’s Miraj town for the last 120 years.
    • Influence of Bhakti movement on one another: In the past, the bhajans of Tukaram have made their way into the hearts of the Kannada speakers with as much ease as did the vachanas of Basaveshwar’s saint-followers into the minds of Marathi speakers.
    • Influence of one another’s language: Thousands of Marathi words are of Kannada origin and a similar number of words in Kannada have assimilated the Indo-Aryan roots through Marathi.

    Critique: Dispute is more of a political tool

    • Dispute is visible but not in the essence: The dispute is in the name of language, but it is not linguistic in essence. It is in the name of a border, but it is not territorial in essence.
    • The dispute is becoming more of a political demand: People know that the area will see disturbance when politicians want to unleash it. Appealing to language chauvinism acquires an instrumentalist-political demand.
    • Diverting the discontent: The truth is, neither the language nor the people along the state border are an issue for them, as they should be. What matters to the political war-lords is to find a way of diverting the discontent, no matter what harm it brings to the harmony of communities in the area.

    Conclusion

    • Almost two decades after the petition, its maintainability remains challenged. Karnataka has resorted to Article 3 of the Indian Constitution to argue that the Supreme Court does not have the jurisdiction to decide the borders of states, and only Parliament has the power to do so. Maharashtra has referred to Article 131 of the Constitution, which says that the Supreme Court has jurisdiction in cases related to disputes between the Union government and states.

    Mains Question

    Q. There seems the cultural, traditional and lingual exchange in the border areas of the states in India. Despite of the cultural amity, disputes resurface time ang again. Discuss with a case of Maharashtra Karnataka border dispute.

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  • Parliament must examine Age of Consent issue: CJI

    CJI DY Chandrachud appealed to Parliament to have a relook at the issue of age of consent under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

    What is the Age of Consent?

    • The age of consent for sex in India is 18 under the POCSO Act.
    • Consent given by a girl aged below 18 is not regarded as valid and sexual intercourse with her amounts to rape.

    What are the terms of the POCSO Act?

    • Under the POCSO Act, 2012, considers a child anyone below 18 years of age.
    • Even if the girl is 16 years old, she is considered a “child” under the POCSO Act and hence her consent does not matter, and any sexual intercourse is treated as rape.

    Issues with such consent

    • Consent is ignored: It thus opens the accused up to stringent punishment.
    • Child abuse charges are ruled out: There have been several instances when the courts have quashed criminal proceedings of rape and kidnapping.
    • Misuse of the provision: The court is often convinced that the law is being misused to suit one or the other party.

    Case study

    • In 2019, a study, Why Girls Run Away to Marry – Adolescent Realities and Socio-Legal Responses inIndia, was published by Partners for Law in Development,
    • It made a case for the age of consent to be lower than the age of marriage to decriminalise sex among older adolescents to protect them from the misuse of law.

    Is the law being misused?

    (1) Foiling consensual relations

    • Sometimes, disgruntled parents file a case to foil a relationship between two adolescents or children on the threshold of adolescence.
    • POCSO is often used by parents who want to control who their daughters or sons want to marry.

    (2) Coercion for marriage:

    • The study noted that in many cases, a couple elopes fearing opposition from parents resulting run away to get married.
    • The parents then book the boy for rape under the POCSO Act and abduction with the intent to marry under IPC or the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.

    Judicial interpretations for lower age of consent

    • In 2021, in the Vijaylakshmi vs State Rep case, the Madras High Court, while dismissing a POCSO case, said the definition of ‘child’ under Section 2(d) of the POCSO Act can be redefined as 16 instead of 18.
    • The court suggested that the age difference in consensual relationships should not be more than five years.
    • This, it said, will ensure that a girl of an impressionable age is not taken advantage or duped sexually of by a person who is much older.

    Policy measures so far

    • A parliamentary committee is looking into the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021 which seeks to increase the minimum age of marriage for women to 21 years.
    • Rights activists feel instead of helping the community, raising the age may force vulnerable women to remain under the yoke of family and social pressures.

    Way forward

    • With the courts and rights activists seeking an amendment to the age of consent criteria, the ball lies in the government’s court to look into the issue.
    • In the meantime, adolescents have to be made aware of the stringent provisions of the POCSO Act and also the IPC.

     

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  • Religious conversion and Fundamental right to freedom of religion

    religion

    Context

    • While hearing a petition seeking a ban on forced conversions, Division Bench judge of the apex court said, “The purpose of charity should not be conversion. Every charity or good work is welcome, but what is required to be considered is the intention,” The observation, loaded with significant implications, is to be considered in the light of the provisions of the Constitution relating to people’s fundamental right to freedom of religion, its legislative history and judicial interpretation.

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    Fundamental right to freedom of religion

    • Right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion before the constitution of India: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, which was before the makers of the future Constitution for independent India had proclaimed: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance” [Article 18].
    • Extensive debate on religious freedom as a people’s right in the Constituent Assembly: Keeping this in mind, religious freedom as a people’s right was repeatedly debated in the Constituent Assembly. In cognisance of Christianity’s traditions of evangelism and proselytisation, it was to include the right to propagate religion.

    religion

    Journey of a Right to freedom of religion before and after The Constitution

    • British rulers facilitated conversion to their religion: The British rulers of India, who were never shy of introducing measures to facilitate the conversion of others to their faith.
    • British rulers enacted Native Converts Marriage Dissolution Act in 1866: They had enacted in 1866 a Native Converts Marriage Dissolution Act to provide the facility of divorce to married Indians who converted to Christianity and were thereupon deserted by their non-converting spouses.
    • The Act recently dropped which was once thought to by the law commission of India: After Independence, the Law Commission of India recommended that this Act be revised to make it a general law on the effect of post-marriage change of religion, but the government did not take any action on it. The original Act remained in force till recently but was eventually dropped from the statute book by the Repealing and Amending Act of 2017.
    • Alerted by the missionaries’ princely states enforced anti conversion laws: Alerted by the missionaries’ evangelistic activities, several princely states of the pre-Independence era had enforced anti-conversion laws Raigarh, Udaipur and Bikaner among them.
    • Constitution Bench in case where state freedom of religion Acts was challenged: During 1967-68, state legislatures in Orissa and Madhya Pradesh enacted similar laws, both ostensibly titled as Freedom of Religion Act. Christian leaders lost no time in challenging their constitutional validity in the Supreme Court. Heading a Constitution Bench, Chief Justice of the time AN Ray, argued that converting people interfered with their religious freedom and held that Article 25 granted “not the right to convert another person to one’s own religion but (only) to transmit and spread one’s religion by an exposition of its tenets” .
    • The Constitution Bench decision inspired some other states to enact similar laws: Beginning with the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act 1978. Today there are such laws in about half of our states. Some of these have been either newly enacted or made more stringent, since the beginning of the present political dispensation in 2014. All of them prohibit converting people from one to another religion without their free will and, to indicate this, use various expressions like force, fraud, inducement and allurement.
    • Drafts on the conversion: While the first draft of the future Constitution proposed to restrain conversion except by one’s own free will, the second was to recognise the “right to preach and convert within limits compatible with public order and morality.”
    • Constitution recognised the right to propagate: Eventually, the Constitution recognised the right to propagate, along with freedom of conscience and the right to profess and practice, one’s religion as people’s fundamental right. Prima facie, individuals’ right to forsake their religion by birth and embrace another faith was integral to freedom of conscience
    • Supreme Courts observations regarding the right to propagate: As regards the propagation of religion, in two cases decided in 1954, the apex court observed that Article 25 covered every individual’s right “to propagate his religious views for the edification of others” (RP Gandhi) and that “it is the propagation of belief that is protected, no matter whether the propagation takes place in a church or monastery, or in a temple or parlour meeting” (Shirur Math).

    Do you know this interesting news?

    • The Bombay High Court has recently held that the freedom of conscience of a person “includes a right to openly say that he does not believe in any religion”

    religion

    Mahatma Gandhi’s view on freedom of religion

    • Mahatma Gandhi once said that “all faiths are equally true though equally imperfect”
    • He had pleaded that, instead of converting others to one’s own faith, “our innermost prayer should be that a Hindu should be a better Hindu, a Muslim a better Muslim and a Christian a better Christian” (Young India, 1924).
    • He had also once said: “If I had power and could legislate I should stop all proselytising” (Harijan, 1935).

    How is religious freedom protected under the Constitution?

    • Article 25(1) of the Constitution guarantees the “freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion”.
    • It is a right that guarantees a negative liberty — which means that the state shall ensure that there is no interference or obstacle to exercise this freedom.
    • However, like all fundamental rights, the state can restrict the right for grounds of public order, decency, morality, health and other state interests.

    Conclusion

    • An observation made by the Supreme Court on “forced conversions” is to be considered in the light of the provisions of the Constitution relating to people’s fundamental right to freedom of religion, its legislative history and judicial interpretation and set the future roadmap to make. Pluralism and inclusiveness are characterized by religious freedom. Its purpose is to promote social harmony and diversity.

    Mains question

    Q. What is Fundamental right to freedom of religion? What was Mahatma Gandhi’s view on religion? How it is interpreted in the constitution of India?

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  • Election Security Deposit and its symbolic significance

    A political party based in New Delhi lost its election deposit for most of its candidates in the assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

    Do you know?

    In the first Lok Sabha elections in 1951-52, almost 40 per cent of the total candidates lost their deposits. Nearly 86 per cent of the candidates contesting Lok Sabha elections in 2019 lost deposits, according to a report released by the Election Commission of India.

    What is an Election Security Deposit?

    • An election security deposit is an amount that is to be deposited with the Returning Officer when a candidate files their nomination.
    • This is to be submitted either in cash, or a receipt must be enclosed with the nomination paper.
    • It mentions that the said sum has been deposited on the candidate’s behalf in the Reserve Bank of India or in a Government Treasury.
    • The main purpose of this practice is to ensure that only genuinely intending candidates end up filing the nomination to be a part of the electoral process.

    Is the amount same for all elections?

    • No, it depends on the particular election being conducted, and the Representation of the People Act of 1951 mentions different amounts depending on the level of election:
    1. In the case of an election from a Parliamentary constituency, meaning a Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seat, the amount is Rs 25,000 and Rs 12,500 for a Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidate.
    2. In the case of an election from an Assembly or Council constituency, meaning at the level of legislative bodies in the states, it is Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 for an SC/ST candidate.
    3. Even in the case of Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections, a deposit of Rs 15,000 is to be made.

    Losing the deposits

    • As per the same Act, the deposit has to be forfeited at an election if the number of valid votes polled by the candidate is less than 1/6th of the total number of valid votes polled.
    • Or, in the case of the election of more than one member, it would be 1/6th of the total number of valid votes so polled divided by the number of members to be elected.
    • This refers to elections by proportional representation method, as is the case in Rajya Sabha.
    • If the candidate does meet the threshold, “the deposit shall be returned as soon as practicable after the result of the election is declared.”
    • If a candidate withdraws their nomination or passes away before the polls, the amount is returned.

     

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  • What it takes to become a ‘National Party’ in India?

    A political party (revived from the anti-corruption movement) is on track to be recognized as a 9th national party by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

    What is a national party?

    • The name suggests that a national party would be one that has a presence ‘nationally’, as opposed to a regional party whose presence is restricted to only a particular state or region.
    • National parties are usually India’s bigger parties.
    • However, some smaller parties, like the communist parties, are also recognised as national parties.
    • A certain stature is sometimes associated with being a national party, but this does not necessarily translate into having a lot of national political clout.

    So how is a political party defined?

    The ECI’s Political Parties and Election Symbols, 2019 handbook species following criteria:

    For recognition as a NATIONAL PARTY, the conditions specified are:

    1. a 6% vote share in the last Assembly polls in each of any four states, as well as four seats in the last Lok Sabha polls; or
    2. 2% of all Lok Sabha seats in the last such election, with MPs elected from at least three states; or
    3. recognition as a state party in at least four states.

    For recognition as a STATE PARTY, any one of five conditions needs to be satisfied:

    1. two seats plus a 6% vote share in the last Assembly election in that state; or
    2. one seat plus a 6% vote share in the last Lok Sabha election from that state; or
    3. 3% of the total Assembly seats or 3 seats, whichever is more; or
    4. one of every 25 Lok Sabha seats (or an equivalent fraction) from a state; or
    5. an 8% state-wide vote share in either the last Lok Sabha or the last Assembly polls.

    Benefits for recognized parties

    • This is subject to the fulfillment of the conditions prescribed by the Commission in the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.

    (a) Reserved Sybol

    • If a party is recognised as a ‘state party’, it is entitled for exclusive allotment of its reserved symbol to the candidates set up by it in the state in which it is so recognised.
    • If a party is recognised as a ‘national party’ it is entitled for exclusive allotment of its reserved symbol to the candidates set up by it throughout India.

    (b) Proposer for nomination

    • Recognised ‘state’ and ‘national’ parties need only one proposer for filing the nomination.

    (c) Campaigning benefits

    • They are also entitled for two sets of electoral rolls free of cost and broadcast/telecast facilities over state-owned Akashvani/Doordarshan during the general elections.

     

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  • Delhi HC seeks Centre’s response against cancellation of OCI card

    The Delhi High Court has sought a response from the central government on a petition against the cancellation of a person’s Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card.

    Who is an Overseas Citizen?

    • An OCI is a category introduced by the government in 2005.
    • Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) of certain categories as specified in the Citizenship Act, 1955 are eligible for being OCI cardholders.
    • Some of the benefits for PIO and OCI cardholders were different until 2015 when the government merged these two categories.
    • The MHA defines an OCI as a person who was a citizen of India on or after January 26, 1950; or was eligible to become a citizen of India on that date; or who is a child or grandchild of such a person, among other eligibility criteria.
    • According to Section 7A of the OCI card rules, an applicant is not eligible for the OCI card if he, his parents or grandparents have ever been a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh.

    Privileges to an OCI

    • OCI cardholders can enter India multiple times, get a multipurpose lifelong visa to visit India, and are exempt from registering with Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) no matter how long their stay.
    • If an individual is registered as an OCI for a period of five years, he/she are eligible to apply for Indian citizenship.
    • At all Indian international airports, OCI cardholders are provided with special immigration counters.
    • OCI cardholders can open special bank accounts in India, they can buy the non-farm property and exercise ownership rights and can also apply for a driver’s license and PAN card.
    • However, OCI cardholders do not get voting rights, cannot hold a government job and purchase agricultural or farmland.
    • They cannot run for public office either, nor can they travel to restricted areas without government permission.

     

     

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  • Why is Parliament silent on Voiding of NJAC: Vice-President

    njac

    VP asked the two Houses for not taking cognizance, over the last seven years, of the 2015 Supreme Court judgment setting aside the Constitutional amendment to constitute the National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC).

    Background

    • Since few days, Judiciary and Executive are at loggerheads.
    • VP pointed out that the amendment had been passed with unprecedented support by both Houses and approval from 16 State Assemblies.
    • However, on October 16, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that it was not in consonance with the basic structure of the Constitution, and scrapped the legislation.

    What was NJAC?

    • The NJAC was a body which was proposed to make appointments of Chief Justices, Supreme Court judges, and High Court judges in a more transparent manner as compared to the existing collegium system.
    • It sought to replace the Collegium System.
    • It was proposed via the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014.
    • The bill was passed by both the houses; Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and also received the President’s assent.
    • The commission was established by the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2014.
    • The Act proposed that the members of NJAC would be composed of members from the legislative, judicial, and civil society.

    Composition of NJAC

    • Chief Justice of India would be the Chairman of the NJAC
    • Two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court
    • The Law and Justice Minister
    • Two eminent persons would be selected by a committee which would be composed of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of Opposition

    Why was the NJAC Act struck down?

    • The five-judge SC bench struck down the NJAC Act along with the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act in a 4:1 ratio.
    • It was repealed by a five-judge bench, famously known as the Fourth Judges Case, 2015.
    • It was termed ‘unconstitutional’ and was struck down, citing it as having affected the independence of the judiciary.

    Benefits of the NJAC Act

    Justice Chelameshwar praised the NJAC Act because-

    • Transparent process: It involved a smooth and transparent process for the appointment of judges.
    • Brings checks and balances: the exclusion of checks and balances principle leads to the destruction of the basic structure of the Constitution.
    • Seeks balance of power: In a democratic setup, the executive cannot be completely excluded.
    • Global examples: In the dissent order, an example of the United States of America was given, where the head of the Executive is conferred with the power to appoint the judges.

    Issues with collegium system

    • Alleged favouritism: The collegium system does not provide any guidelines or criteria for the appointment of the Supreme Court judges and it increases the ambit of favouritism.
    • Ambiguous process: The absence of an administrative body is also a reason for worry because it means that the members of the collegium system are not answerable for the selection of any of the judges.
    • Isolating the executive: The check and balance principle is necessary because it ensures that no organ of democracy is exercising its power in an excessive manner.
    • Extra-constitutional nature: The collegium system tells us that even though the collegium system is not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution, rather it has evolved over a period of time from different landmark cases.
    • Lack of transparency: Nepotism has been often witnessed in the judiciary due to a lack of criteria for the appointment of judges.

    What can we, as aspirants, observe here?

    • After analyzing both NJAC and the collegium system, it can be inferred that neither of the methods is complete and both lack certain aspects.
    • Many former judges and legal experts are supporting the NJAC.
    • However, legal jurists are divided on NJAC, with some supporting it while others calling for amendments to the Act.
    • It is quite evident that neither the collegium system nor the NJAC is accurate; both have some shortcomings.

    Way forward

    • NJAC needs to be amended to keep the judiciary independent.
    • According to Justice Deepak Gupta, retired senior civil servants need to be inducted into the body appointing judges.
    • The Supreme Court needs to lay down certain guidelines for appointing judges and those guidelines should be strictly followed and codified.
    • Apart from that, all the notifications should be issued in the public domain to make the process more transparent.

     

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  • Who exactly counts your Vote after polling?

    For a country like India where each individual constituency can have lakhs of voters, counting votes is a complex process that requires both pace and precision.

    Where are the Votes counted?

    • Ideally, all votes should be counted in one location in the constituency.
    • However, during General Elections, when seats are larger with multiple Assembly constituencies, many counting centres can be appointed, depending on the number of votes that need to be counted.
    • The location(s) for counting votes is decided by the Returning Officer (RO), with multiple centres in assembly segments being under the supervision of the Assistant Returning Officers (ARO).
    • In counting centres, ideally all votes are counted in one big hall having multiple tables.
    • However, if the RO feels there is a risk of overcrowding, more rooms may be opened up after permission from the Election Commission (EC).

    Role of Returning Officer

    • The RO is appointed for each constituency by the Election Commission.
    • During the duration of the election, the RO is the highest authority in the constituency having a wide range of powers in order to peacefully and impartially conduct elections.
    • With respect to counting of votes, the RO has the following duties:
    1. To designate the counting centres and get them approved by the Commission well in advance;
    2. To send notice to the candidates about the place, date and time of counting of votes;
    3. To appoint and train counting staff;
    4. To count the votes and declare the result.
    • ROs themselves do not count all votes but verify the counting at multiple stages and announce the results.
    • They are the final authority in the matter of vote counting in an election.

    Supervision of the process

    • A counting room will have multiple counting tables with each counting a set number of postal ballots/EVMs on a round-to-round basis.
    • On each table, there is a counting supervisor and up to two assistants who do the actual counting.
    • They should be gazetted officers and are appointed by the RO.
    • They receive specific training pertaining to the tasks they are expected to undertake.
    • For instance, for those counting postal ballots, the training is different from that received for counting EVM votes.

    Observers in the counting process

    • The EC appoints observers at each counting room, who are supposed to record the proceedings and file a report.
    • They are generally employees of the GoI, and are tasked with the duty to oversee overall functioning of the election apparatus.
    • Candidates who were on the ballot are also allowed in the counting room along with their representatives.
    • All parties and candidates send counting agents in order to ensure that votes are counted fairly and according to procedure, and lodge complaints, if any.

     

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  • Analyzing the Reservation system and the EWS

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    Context

    • Reservation was introduced as a short-term measure to give opportunities to classes of people who were socially and educationally backward and/or inadequately represented in education, employment, politics and other spheres. The intent was laudable. Reservation has increased the standard of life for many. But what was supposed to be a short-term measure got extended due to various political and sociological compulsions.

    What is the idea of reservation?

    • Based on historical injustice: Reservation is intrinsically linked to the historical injustice meted out to Shudras and Dalits.
    • Reservation for egalitarian society: It was during the anti-caste movement that the idea of reservation came up as a way for an egalitarian social order, to ensure fair representation in the socio-political order, and to mitigate and compensate for the inhuman exclusion of humans based on ascriptive status.
    • Equal participation in nation building: Reservation is implemented in politics, education and public employment so that all those in the hierarchy can participate in nation-building on equal terms.

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    Is the reservation system successful in eliminating the cause?

    • Cannot claim it successful: Even after seven decades of reservation, we are not able to claim success in eliminating the cause that required reservation in the first place.
    • successive governments kept extending in a hope of a different outcome: In our personal lives and careers, if a solution to a problem doesn’t give the expected result within a reasonable time frame, we reconsider the solution and try to improve it. However, successive governments kept extending the reservation system, hoping for a different outcome.
    • Reservation system being used as a self-perpetuating mechanism: People who benefited from reservation wanted the system to continue for successive generations too. It was clear that the reservation system was being used by them as a self-perpetuating mechanism.
    • Those who really need are deprived: Since the reservation is used as perpetuating mechanism, those who really needed reservation were deprived of its benefits.

    Analysis over the outcomes of reservation system and the rising silent demands

    • Background, at the time of Independence and the family professions: At the time of Independence, the economy was primarily agrarian and based on traditional commerce. People were largely unskilled. They continued engaging in the professions that their family had practiced for generations.
    • Profession changed from caste-based to skill-based: Free school education and industrialization helped people learn new skills, which gave them scope to migrate to greener pastures. As cities became cosmopolitan, the class divide became a thing of the past. Employment in the industrial sector became largely skill-based rather than caste-based.
    • Social and educational backwardness go hand-in-hand with economic weakness: More than 70 years of reservation has brought economic prosperity to a large section of people and given them adequate representation.
    • Befitted should make a way for others and to completely oppose the demands: Ideally, families that have been brought above the poverty line through adequate employment opportunities and other benefits should make way for others who are less fortunate; instead, they oppose extending the system to the economically weaker sections (EWS) of society only because some of the beneficiaries could be from the so-called ‘forward’ communities.
    • Caste system becoming less prevalent in today’s technology cum information age: The cause for social inequality and oppression was somewhat wrongly attributed to a particular faith and the practice of caste system prevalent in those days. In this technology-cum-information age, the surging middle class population makes the caste system less prevalent.
    • Economic prosperity helps to neutralise the social injustice: The economic prosperity seen today has neutralised to a large extent the very reason for social injustice the class disparity.
    • The reservation is still kept alive: However, the caste and reservation system are still being kept alive only so that political parties and those who have benefited from the system so far can continue to milk it.

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    What are the Misconceptions clarification and the judgement over EWS

    • Misunderstanding that the basic structure of the constitution may violet: Most objections to this come from a misunderstanding that the basic structure of the Constitution has been violated by the EWS amendment, which seeks to empower the privileged sections of society who are neither socially and educationally backward nor inadequately represented.
    • Misconception that it will reduce the availability of seats: Another misconception is that the 10% quota in the open category in favour of ‘forward’ communities reduces the availability of seats in the open category for other classes and communities.
    • What the government clarified: The government has clarified that this 10% is in addition to the existing reservation in favour of SEBCs. This means it does not in any way affect reservation up to 50% for SEBCs, OBCs, SCs and STs.
    • The egalitarian judgement: The judgment that sets the basis for this 10% quota said, “If an egalitarian socio-economic order is the goal, the deprivations arising from economic disadvantages, including those of discrimination and exclusion, need to be addressed to by the State; and for that matter, every affirmative action has the sanction of our Constitution.”

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    Conclusion

    • The government has a constitutional and moral duty to achieve the goal of “social, economic and political justice,” mentioned in the Preamble. The 10% quota for the EWS aims to correct an anomaly in the system that is depriving deserving and qualified people. We need to accept that reservation on the basis of economic criteria is the need of the hour and the stepping stone to achieving economic and social justice.