DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS 09 DECEMBER
POLITY
6 years on, Lokpal is yet to get prosecution wing
RTI Findings:
- Lokpal has approved a logo and motto for itself last month. However, it is yet to notify a format for filing complaints.
- Lokpal find it difficult to investigate complaints that do fall within its mandate, as it has no inquiry wing or regulations for inquiries.
- The process of constitution of Inquiry Wing of Lokpal is yet to be initiated in consultation with the Government of India.
- No regulations have been made by the Lokpal under Section 60.
- The rules for the disclosure of assets and liabilities by public servants have not been notified either.
About Lokpal act:
- Lokpal is the national anti-corruption ombudsman, established under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013 to inquire and investigate into allegations of corruption against public functionaries.
- Lokpal consists of a chairperson and a maximum of eight members, 50% of whom are judicial members, who are or have been Judges of the Supreme Court or Chief Justices of a High Court.
- The other half being non-judicial members are people of impeccable integrity and outstanding ability having special knowledge and expertise of not less than twenty-five years in matters relating to anti-corruption policy, public administration, vigilance, finance including insurance and banking, law and management.
- 50% of the members of Lokpal shall be SC/ST/OBCs, minorities and women.
- Selection of chairperson and members of Lokpal would be through a selection committee consisting of PM, Speaker of Lok Sabha, leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, Chief Justice of India or a sitting Supreme Court judge nominated by CJI.
- The Lokpal has jurisdiction to inquire into allegations of corruption against anyone who is or has been Prime Minister, or a Minister in the Union government, or a Member of Parliament, as well as officials of the Union government under Groups A, B, C, and D.
- All entities (NGOs) receiving donations from foreign source in the context of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) in excess of Rs 10 lakh per year are under the jurisdiction of Lokpal.
- The Lokpal, however, cannot inquire into any corruption charges against the Prime Minister if the allegations are related to international relations, external and internal security, public order, atomic energy, and space, unless a full Bench of the Lokpal, consisting of its chair and all members, considers the initiation of a probe, and at least two-thirds of the members approve it.
ECONOMY
States may put Centre on mat on GST
Ahead of the crucial Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting on December 18, where States are likely to put the Centre on the mat on not being paid their dues.
Demand of states:
- Some states are demanding that the cut-off date for ending compensation to the States be moved from 2021-22 to 2026-27.
- States have asked to raise the cess for compensation to states in order to fulfil the shortfall.
- The government of Punjab has even said that it may take the matter to the Supreme Court if the Centre does not release the dues.
Shortfall in Collection:
- The Centre had targeted Rs.1, 09,343 crore-compensation cess collections, of which it has so far collected Rs.64,528 crores and only 3 months, are remaining.
- The Centre had written to all the States voicing concerns that due to the lower GST collections, the compensation cess might not be enough to pay for losses arising out of the tax system.
About GST:
Goods and Services Tax (GST) is an indirect tax (or consumption tax) imposed in India on the supply of goods and services. It is a comprehensive multistage, destination-based tax: comprehensive because it has subsumed almost all the indirect taxes. Goods and services are divided into five different tax slabs for collection of tax - 0%, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%.
Taxes Subsumed under it:
- Central excise duty
- Services tax
- Additional customs duty
- Surcharges
- State-level value added tax
- Octroi
Petroleum products, alcoholic drinks, and electricity are not taxed under GST and instead are taxed separately by the individual state governments.
Reference: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/states-may-put-centre-on-mat-on-gst/article30238832.ece
SECURITY
Citizenship (Amendment) Bill to be tabled in Lok Sabha on December 9
Government has introduced the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in the Lok Sabha.
Provisions of the bill:
- The Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, by wanting to grant citizenship to illegal non-Muslims (Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians) from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.
- The Bill proposes that all such migrants will be eligible for citizenship if they came to India before December 31, 2014.
- All pending legal cases pertaining to citizenship-related matters against them will stand abated.
- The Bill says the six non-Muslim communities “shall not be treated as illegal migrants” for violating provisions of the Passport Act, 1920, or the Foreigners Act, 1946.
- The Bill reduces the mandatory requirement of continuous stay in India from 12 years to five years for “many persons of Indian origin including persons belonging to the minority community from the neighbouring countries”.
- The Bill says the amendments will not apply to the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura, which are included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland that are protected by the Inner Line Permit (ILP).
Reasons behind citizenship bill:
- This is a humanitarian step to grant citizenship to those who suffered for the last 70 years.
- Provisions of Constitutions of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh provide for a specific state religion, it lead to persecution of religious minorities in these countries.
- Their right to practice, profess and propagate their religion has been obstructed and restricted.
- Bill contains provisions to grant Citizenship to such refugees on reasonable grounds, which in no way go against any provision under the Constitution of India and does not violate Article 14.
- The linguistic, cultural and social identity of the people of the North East would be preserved and this Bill contains the solution to the problems of the people of these States.
- Refugees from Uganda were also given citizenship and same steps were taken during Sri Lankan crisis.
Concerns with the bill:
- It will be the first time that citizenship will be provided on the basis of religion.
- It violates Article 14 of the Constitution, which grants the right to equality.
- It violates provisions of the Assam Accord, 1985, according to which all-illegal immigrants, irrespective of religion, who entered India after March 24, 1971, were to be detected and deported.
- It may make many Bengali Hindus residing in the Northeast vulnerable to violence while also leaving several non-Muslim pockets of Pakistan and Bangladesh exposed to their country’s communal forces.
- It can have negative impact on India’s bilateral relations with a friendly neighbour like Bangladesh.
- Bill can particularly be detrimental to the interest of smaller communities, particularly the plains tribes in Assam whose areas are not protected.
- It may put a specific community – Bengali Hindus – widely seen to be the sole beneficiaries of the amendment, more vulnerable to assaults in different northeastern states based on their ethnicity.
ENVIRONMENT
Telangana town to host ‘Bird Walk’ festival
The Forest Department in Kumram Bheem (KB) Asifabad district of Telangana is all set to earn the distinction of being the first in the State to organise a Bird Walk Festival.
- The Bird Walk tour includes a visit to the scenic habitat of the Long-billed vultures in Penchikalpet range, the scavenger bird being the flagship species.
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
43 dead, 16 injured in major Delhi fire
At least 43 people, including minors, died and over 16 were injured after a major fire broke out in a residential building being used as a manufacturing unit in the Anaj Mandi area of Central Delhi.
Details and Reasons:
- Mushrooming of illegal manufacturing.
- The building did not have a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Fire Department, and no fire safety equipment was found to have been installed.
- The property owner has been arrested under IPC Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire).
- The firefighters trying to get inside from the main entrance were unable to move in because of the congested lane thus, derailing the rescue operations.
Reference: https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/43-dead-16-injured-in-major-delhi-fire/article30241204.ece
SOCIETY
Demonising the legal system won’t help
The killing of the four men accused of the rape and murder of the Hyderabad veterinarian will need to be properly investigated, though the Telangana police’s conduct thus far does not inspire confidence.
A flawed argument regarding the lack of rule of law:
- The charge-sheeting rates in cases of rape as well as rape and murder are higher than that for all other violent crimes, and the conviction rates are higher too.
- Pendency rates are roughly the same as the average for all violent crimes.
- There is anecdotal evidence among practising lawyers that the average rape trial in a big city at the trial court stage is now completed within two years, but the appellate process takes longer.
No need for new laws:
- Some of the existing legal provisions are too harsh in ways that harm both men and women.
- Other important legal provisions are not being implemented.
- Justice Verma committee had acknowledged that existing laws were adequate, but some improvements could be made. His recommendations has included a much-needed broadening of the definition of rape.
- Hard cases have already resulted in bad laws in India, and the clamour for new laws may not be the remedy being sought.
- Law has not been much effective against the powerful persons.
Laws Regarding Rape in India:
- Section 375 of the IPC made punishable the act of sex by a man with a woman if it was done against her will or without her consent.
- Sex with or without her consent, when she is under 18 years is considered rape.
- Section 376 provided for seven years of jail term to life imprisonment to whoever commits the offence of rape.
- The 2013 Act, which came into effect on April 2, 2013, increased jail terms in most sexual assault cases and also provided for the death penalty in rape cases that cause the death of the victim or leaves her in a vegetative state.
- It also created new offences, such as the use of criminal force on a woman with intent to disrobe, voyeurism and stalking.
- The punishment for gang rape was increased to 20 years to life imprisonment from the earlier 10 years to life imprisonment.
- Stalking was made punishable with up to three years in jail.
- The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 put the death penalty as a possible punishment for rape of a girl under 12 years; the minimum punishment is 20 years in jail.
Harmful effect of stronger laws:
- The 2013 Criminal Law (Amendment) Act introduced the death penalty for some circumstances around rape, including repeat offences, despite the Verma Committee expressly arguing against this.
- Subsequent laws have raised mandatory minimum sentences and simultaneously raised the age of consent.
- There has been further criminalisation (with longer sentences) of consenting underage couples.
- Two of the largest categories of rape cases pertained to consenting couples criminalised by the woman’s family (over 40% of the cases in Delhi) and ‘breach of promise to marry’ (over 25%).
- The stronger laws have removed any discretion in minimum sentencing from the hands of judges.
Way Forward:
- There is a need for improvements in implementation of existing laws.
- Victims still face cross-examination about their past sexual histories. There is still little by way of rehabilitation or even therapy offered to victims.
Reference: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/demonising-the-legal-system-wont-help/article30239307.ece
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