💥Join UPSC 2027,2028 Mentorship (August Batch) + XFactor Notes & Microthemes PDF
Talk to Mentor

Civilsdaily

Login

Subject: Polity

  • Centre notifies GNCT Act that gives more powers to Delhi L-G

    GNCT Act comes into effect

    • The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued a gazette notification stating that the provisions of the Government of National Capital Territory (GNCT) of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021, would be deemed to have come into effect from April 27.
    • The Act defines the responsibilities of the elected government and the L-G along with the “constitutional scheme of governance of the NCT” interpreted by the Supreme Court in recent judgements regarding the division of powers between the two entities.

    What the Amendment seeks to achieve

    • The Act will clarify the expression Government and address ambiguities in legislative provisions.
    • It will also seek to ensure that the L-G is “necessarily granted an opportunity” to exercise powers entrusted to him under proviso to clause (4) of Article 239AA of the Constitution.
    • Clause (4) of Article 239AA provides for a Council of Ministers headed by a Chief Minister for the NCT to “aid and advise the Lieutenant Governor” in the exercise of his functions for matters in which the Legislative Assembly has the power to make laws.
    • Now Act will also provide for rules made by the Legislative Assembly of Delhi to be “consistent with the rules of the House of the People” or the Lok Sabha.

  • Need for diversity and propriety in judiciary

    The article highlights the issue of women representation and its implications for the role of the judiciary.

    Improving representation of women

    • Presently, the Supreme Court is left with only one woman judge, who is also going to retire next year, after which, the SC will be left without a woman judge.
    • The collegium failed to take timely steps to elevate more women judges in the SC.
    • In the 71 years of history of the SC, there have been only eight women judges — the first was Justice Fathima Beevi, who was elevated to the bench after a long gap of 39 years from the date of establishment of the SC.
    • In the submissions filed by the AG on the issue states that improving the representation of women in the judiciary could go a long way towards attaining a more balanced and empathetic approach in cases involving sexual violence.
    • The AG also brought up the fact that there has never been a woman Chief Justice of India (CJI).

    Women representation in developed countries

    • The situation is not any different in developed countries such as the US, UK, Ireland, France and China.
    • According to the data collected by Smashboard, a New Delhi and Paris-based NGO, not only has no woman ever been appointed as the CJI, the representation of women across different courts and judicial bodies is also abysmally low.

    Way forward

    • In the last few meetings of the collegium, there has been some talk of promoting women to the apex court.
    • In this regard, if Justice B V Nagaratha of the Karnataka High Court is elevated to the Supreme Court, she could become the first woman CJI in February 2027.
    • But her elevation will lead to the supersession of 32 senior judges.
    •  Supersession itself is perceived as a threat to an independent judiciary
    • Seniority combined with merit is the sacrosanct criteria for promotion in the judiciary.
    • New CJI should secure the trust of members of his collegium to fill the backlog of 411 vacancies across high courts and six vacancies in the SC.

    Consider the question “What are the various structural issues faced by the judiciary in India? Suggest the measures to deal with them.”

    Conclusion

    A greater number of women in the Supreme Court would eventually lead to a woman CJI. This would be a gratifying change, which may mark the beginning of a new era of judicial appointments.

  • Enforcing COVID-19 rules is State’s responsibility: ECI

    What prompted ECI to give clarification

    • In its oral observations, the Madras High Court blamed the ECI for the second wave of COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
    • The Madras High Court said the ECI was unable to ensure political parties followed the rules while campaigning for the Assembly elections.

    What the ECI said

    • The ECI said that the enforcement under the 2005 Act has to be ensured by the SDMA [State Disaster Management Authority] concerned and notified authorities under the Act.
    • The Commission has always emphasised that the State authorities shall ensure COVID-19 compliance in the matter of public gatherings, etc. for campaign purposes.
    • At no occasion, the Commission takes over the task of SDMA for enforcement of COVID-19 instructions.

  • Need to address the systemic issues plaguing the judiciary

    The article highlights the issues facing the judiciary in India and emphasises the need for addressing these issues.

    Separating judiciary from the executive

    • Today, the judiciary, especially the SC, is called upon to decide a large number of cases in which the government has a direct interest.
    • These can be politically sensitive cases too.
    • The framers of the Constitution understood the importance of the oath of office of judges of the Supreme Court of India (SC) and carefully designed its language.
    • The words, “without fear or favour” to “uphold the constitution and the laws” are extremely significant and stress the need for a fiercely independent court.
    • Article 50 of the Constitution provides: “The State shall take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the State.”

    Master of roaster issue

    • The Chief Justice of India is the first amongst the equals but by the virtue of his office assumes significant powers as the Master of the Roster to constitute benches and allocate matters.
    • The SC has re-affirmed this position in a rather disappointing decision in Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms v. Union of India, (2018).
    • The result has been catastrophic.
    • Many matters were either treated casually or deflected for no reason from serious hearing.

    Accountability from legislature and executive

    • The SC is expected to seek strict accountability from the legislature and executive and any infraction of the Constitution and laws must be corrected.
    • Yet, this is not happening.
    • A country of billion-plus needs its highest court to stand for the people, not seemingly for the executive of the day.

    Inherent and fundamental challenges

    • The judiciary is besieged by inherent and fundamental challenges.
    • Millions of pending cases, quality of judges and their decisions, organisational issues and its integrity and impartiality, need urgent attention.
    • Yet, in the last two decades precious little has been done.
    • Justice is eluding the common man, including the vulnerable sections of society.

    Way forward

    • The new Chief Justice must seriously introspect and free himself of the bias in constituting benches and allocating cases and take concrete steps to revitalise the administration of justice.
    • Only then will the rule of law be restored and the Constitution served.

    Consider the question “Examine the inherent and fundamental challenges faced by the judiciary in India. Suggest the measures to deal with these challenges.” 

    Conclusion

    The Chief Justice of India on account of the position he holds as paterfamilias of the judicial fraternity, was suspected by none other than Dr B R Ambedkar. Let us hope the new Chief Justice makes serious efforts to prove otherwise.

  • Task force in J&K under Article 311 to act against govt staff without probe

    Why the task force

    • The Jammu and Kashmir administration has set up a Special Task Force (STF) to initiate action against government employees suspected of activities against security of the State.
    • The order has been passed under provisions of Article 311(2) (C) of the Constitution.
    • The STF would be headed by the J&K Additional Director General of Police, CID, and include Inspectors General of Police, Kashmir and Jammu, a representative of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, and a representative of the department the employee belongs to.

    What are the provisions under Article 311 (2) C

    • Article 311(2) says no government employee shall be dismissed or removed or “reduced in rank” except after an inquiry.
    • However, its sub-section C says this clause will not apply “where the President or the Governor, as the case may be, is satisfied that in the interest of the security of the State, it is not expedient to hold such inquiry”.

  • SC paves way for appointment of ad-hoc judges in HCs

    Appointment of retired judges under Article 224A

    • The Supreme Court cleared the way for appointment of retired judges as ad-hoc judges in High Courts under Article 224A of the Constitution.
    • The court ruled that the Chief Justice of a High Court may initiate the process of recommending a name if the number of judges’ vacancies is more than 20 per cent of the sanctioned strength.
    • The court said the appointments can follow the procedure laid down in the Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of judges.
    • The move will help to deal with mounting backlog of cases.
    • Since the nominees have been judges before, the need to refer the matter to the IB or other agencies would not arise, shortening the time period.

    Back2Basics: About Article 224A

    • It allows the Chief Justice of a High Court to allow a retired judge of any High Court to sit and act as the judge of the High Court for that State.
    • Previous consent of the President is necessary.
    • The acting retired judge would be entitled to such allowances as the President may by order determine and have all the jurisdiction, powers and privileges of, but shall not otherwise be deemed to be, a Judge of that High Court.
    • This Article was not part of the Constitution of India, 1950. It was inserted by the Constitution (Fifteenth Amendment) Act, 1963.

  • Supreme Court sets timeline for Govt to clear judges’ names

    Why the timeline

    • The Supreme Court laid down a timeline for the Centre to clear names recommended by the High Court Collegiums.
    • The Bench noted that there are almost 40% vacancies in the High Courts, with many of the larger High Courts working under 50% of their sanctioned strength.
    • Against the sanctioned strength of 1,080 High Court Judges, 664 have been appointed but 416 vacancies remain. 
    • The Bench rejected the contention that laying down a timeline “would be contrary to” certain “observations made in the Third Judges case”, saying the “observations” referred to “deal with the judicial review of a particular appointment and not such aspects of the appointment process like delay”.

    The timeline

    • The Intelligence Bureau (IB) should submit its report/ inputs within 4 to 6 weeks from the date of recommendation of the High Court Collegium, to the Central Government.
    • It would be desirable that the Central Government forward the file(s)/ recommendations to the Supreme Court within 8 to 12 weeks from the date of receipt of views from the State Government and the report/ input from the IB.
    • It would be for the Government to thereafter proceed to make the appointment immediately on the aforesaid consideration and undoubtedly, if Government has any reservations on suitability or in public interest, within the same period of time it may be sent back to the Supreme Court Collegium with the specific reasons for reservation recorded.
    • If the Supreme Court Collegium, after consideration of the aforesaid inputs, still reiterates the recommendation(s) unanimously…, such appointment should be processed and appointment should be made within 3 to 4 weeks.

  • Issues with ordinance in India

    Repromulgation of ordinances raises several questions and it also goes against the Supreme Court judgement. The article explains the issues involved.

    Ordinance route and issues with it

    • The central government has repromulgated the ordinance that establishes a commission for air quality management in the National Capital Region.
    • This raises questions about the practice of issuing ordinances to make law, and that of re-issuing ordinances without getting them ratified by Parliament.
    • Law making is a legislative function, this power is provided for urgent requirements, and the law thus made has an automatic expiry at the end of six weeks from the time Legislature next meets.

    How frequent is the use of ordinance route

    • In the 1950s, central ordinances were issued at an average of 7.1 per year.
    • The number peaked in the 1990s at 19.6 per year, and declined to 7.9 per year in the 2010s. 
    • The last couple of years has seen a spike, 16 in 2019, 15 in 2020, and four till now this year.
    • States have also been using the ordinance route to enact laws.
    • For example, in 2020, Kerala issued 81 ordinances, while Karnataka issued 24 and Maharashtra 21.
    • Kerala has also repromulgated ordinances.

    What the Supreme Court said

    • The issue was brought up in the Supreme Court through a writ petition by D.C. Wadhwa.
    • He found out that Bihar had issued 256 ordinances between 1967 and 1981, of which 69 were repromulgated several times, including 11 which were kept alive for more than 10 years.
    • A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, in 1986, ruled that repromulgation of ordinances was contrary to the Constitutional scheme.
    • The judgment did not stop the practice.
    • Instead, the Centre also started to follow the lead of Bihar.
    • For example, in 2013 and 2014, the Securities Laws (Amendment) ordinance was promulgated three times.
    • Similarly, an ordinance to amend the Land Acquisition Act was issued in December 2014, and repromulgated twice – in April and May 2015.
    • The matter came up again in the Supreme Court in  2017, a seven-judge Constitution Bench declared this practice to be unconstitutional and declared it to be a fraud on the Constitution.
    • Even this judgment has been ignored.
    • The Indian Medical Council Amendment Ordinance was issued in September 2018, and reissued in January 2019.

    Way forward

    • Ordinances are to tackle exigencies when the legislature is not in session, and expire at the end of six weeks of the next meeting of the legislature.
    • This time period is given for the legislature to decide whether such a law is warranted.
    • Repromulgation is not permitted as that would be a usurpation of legislative power by the executive.
    • As governments, both at the Centre and States, are violating this principle, the legislatures and the courts should check the practice.
    • By not checking this practice, the other two organs are also abdicating their responsibility to the Constitution.

    Consider the question “What are the issues with the repormulgation of ordinances by the government? Suggest the measures to deal with the issue.”

    Conclusion

    As the Supreme Court said, repromulgation would most certainly be a colourable exercise of power for the Government and it needs to be avoided.

  • The Election Commission of India cannot be a super government

    The article highlights the issue of lack of clarity on the extent of the power of the Election Commission of India.

    Where ECI derives its power from

    • Supreme Court held in Mohinder Singh Gill vs Chief Election Commissioner that Article 324 contains plenary powers to ensure free and fair elections.
    • These plenary powers are vested in the ECI which can take all necessary steps to achieve this constitutional object.
    • Thus, the model code of conduct has been issued in exercise of its powers under Article 324.
    • Besides the code, the ECI issues from time to time directions, instructions and clarifications on a host of issues which crop up in the course of an election.

    The model code of conduct

    • The model code of conduct issued by the ECI is a set of guidelines meant for political parties, candidates and governments to adhere to during an election.
    • This code is based on consensus among political parties.
    • The model code is observed by all stakeholders for fear of action by the ECI.
    • However, there exists a considerable amount of confusion about the extent and nature of the powers which are available to the ECI in enforcing the code as well as its other decisions in relation to an election.

    Issues with model code of conduct

    1) Issue of enforceability

    • As the code of conduct is framed on the basis of a consensus among political parties, it has not been given any legal backing.
    • A committee of Parliament recommended that the code should be made a part of the Representation of the People Act 1951.
    • However, the ECI did not agree to it on the ground that once it becomes a part of the law, all matters connected with the enforcement of the code will be taken to court, which would delay elections.
    • But then the question about the enforceability of the code remains unresolved.
    • Paragraph 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 says that the commission may suspend or withdraw recognition of a recognised political party if it refuses to observe the model code of conduct.
    • But it is doubtful whether this provision is legally sustainable.
    • When the code is legally not enforceable, how can the ECI resort to a punitive action such as withdrawal of recognition?

    2) Transfer of officials

    • Observers of ECI report to it about the conduct of certain officials of the States where elections are to be held.
    • Transfer of an official is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the government.
    • It is actually not clear whether the ECI can transfer a State government official in exercise of the general powers under Article 324 or under the model code.
    • Transfer of an official is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the government.
    • It is actually not clear whether the ECI can transfer a State government official in exercise of the general powers under Article 324 or under the model code.
    • Further, to assume that a police officer or a civil servant will be able to swing the election in favour of the ruling party is extremely unrealistic and naive.

    3) ECI’s intervention in administrative decisions

    • According to the model code, Ministers cannot announce any financial grants in any form, make any promise of construction of roads, provision of drinking water facilities, etc or make any ad hoc appointments in the government. departments or public undertakings.
    • These are the core guidelines relating to the government.
    • But in reality, no government is allowed by the ECI to take any action, administrative or otherwise, if the ECI believes that such actions or decisions will affect free and fair elections.
    • A recent decision of the ECI to stop the Government of Kerala from continuing to supply kits containing rice, pulses, cooking oil, etc is a case in point.
    • The Supreme Court had in S. Subramaniam Balaji vs Govt. of T. Nadu & Ors (2013) held that the distribution of colour TVs, computers, cycles, goats, cows, etc, done or promised by the government is in the nature of welfare measures and is in accordance with the directive principles of state policy, and therefore it is permissible during an election.
    • So, how can the distribution of essential food articles which are used to stave off starvation be electoral malpractice?

    Consider the question “The model code of conduct issued by the Election Commission of India is in the forms of guidelines and lacks legal backing. In light of this, examine the issues that arise due to the lack of legal backing.”

    Conclusion

    There is no doubt that the ECI, through the conduct of free and fair elections in an extremely complex country, has restored the purity of the legislative bodies. However, no constitutional body is vested with unguided and absolute powers.

  • Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN)

    An apex body of Naga tribes has asked the Nagaland government not to be hasty with the exercise to prepare the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN), seen as a variant of Assam’s National Register of Citizens.

    Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN)

    • The Government of Nagaland has decided to set up a Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) with the aim of preventing fake indigenous inhabitants’ certificates.
    • The RIIN will be the master list of all indigenous inhabitants of the state.

    How will the list be prepared?

    • The RIIN list will be based on “an extensive survey”.
    • It will involve official records of indigenous residents from rural and (urban) wards and would be prepared under the supervision of the district administration.
    • The preparation of the list will start from July 10, 2019, and the whole process will be completed within 60 days from the start.
    • Designated teams of surveyors will be formed within seven days from the date of publication of the notification, and thereafter these teams will be sent across each village and ward.
    • The database will note each family’s original residence, current residence as well as the concerned Aadhaar

    What is the review procedure?

    • Respondents will be given an opportunity to make their case before the authorities.
    • Eventually, respective Dy. Commissioners will adjudicate on the claims and objections based on official records and the evidence produced.
    • This process will be completed before December 10, 2019.

    Unique identity through Indigenous Inhabitant Certificate

    • Based on the adjudication and verification, a list of indigenous inhabitants will be finalised and each person will be given a unique ID.
    • The final list or the RIIN will be created and its copies will be placed in all villages and ward.
    • Electronic copies of the list will also be stored in the State Data Centre. A mechanism or electronic and SMS-based authentication will be put in place.
    • All indigenous inhabitants of the state would be issued a barcoded and numbered Indigenous Inhabitant Certificate.
    • The process will be conducted across Nagaland and will be done as part of the online system of Inner Line Permit (ILP), which is already in force in Nagaland.

    Back2Basics: Inner Line Permit (ILP)

    • ILP is an official travel document required by Indian citizens residing outside certain “protected” states while entering them.
    • The ILP is issued by the Govt. of India and is obligatory for all those who reside outside the protected states.
    • With the ILP, the government aims to regulate movement to certain areas located near the international border of India.
    • ILP’s origin dates back to the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulations, 1873, which protected the British Crown’s interest in tea, oil and elephant trade.
    • It prohibited “British subjects” or Indians from entering these protected areas.
    • After Independence, in 1950, the word “British subjects” was replaced by Citizens of India and the focus of the ban on free movement was explained as a bid to protect tribal cultures in northeastern India.