Polity and Governance K-Snippet

K-Snippet 365 (History and Culture)
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INDEX – POLITY & GOVERNANCE

CONSTITUTION, AMENDMENTS Reports (e-SCR) Project
AND REFORMS 4. Judicial review
1. Constitutional provision for 5. Article 142 & Article 145
reservation benefits to 6. National e-Vidhan
Scheduled Castes and Tribe Application (NeVA)
2. Uniform Civil Code (UCC) 7. Tribunals & Court
3. Inclusion or Exclusion from 8. Tele-law service
the Scheduled Tribes (ST) 9. Crime Multi Agency Centre
List (Cri-MAC
4. Preventive detention 10. National Judicial Data Grid
5. 103rd Amendment 11. The Places of Worship
6. Phone tapping (Special Provisions) Act,
7. Right to be Forgotten 1991
8. 100th International Day of ELECTIONS
Cooperatives 1. Election Commission &Inner
LEGISLATURE AND EXECUTIVE Party Democracy
1. Governor and State 2. Significance of symbols in
Legislatures election
2. Department-Related 3. Simultaneous Elections
Parliamentary Standing IMPORTANT BILLS AND
GOVERNANCE
Committees (DRSCs)
1. POCSO Act, 2012
3. Speaker of Lok Sabha and
2. Armed Forces (Special)
U.S. House of
Powers Act (AFSPA)
representatives Speaker
3. Unlawful Activities
4. Parliamentary Privileges
(Prevention) Act (UAPA),
5. Motion of Thanks
1967
6. Parliamentary Committees
4. Prisons in India
7. Office of the Vice President
5. Aadhaar-Voter ID Linkage
(VP)
6. Postal Index Number (PIN)
8. Indian system for Mayor
7. PM-SHRI scheme
CENTRE – STATE RELATION
8. National Assessment and
1. Present Status of Delhi as
Union Territory (UT) Accreditations Council
2. Creation/Abolition of 9. Professors for Practice
District 10. Regulation of Online
3. Post Devolution Revenue Gaming
Deficit (PDRD) Grants 11. Aspirational Block
4. Mahajan Commission Programme (ABP) &
5. Zonal councils Aspirational District
JUDICIARY Programme
1. Lok Adalat 12. Charge Sheets and First
2. Appointment of Chief Justice Information Report (FIR)
of India (CJI) 13. Bail Process
3. Electronic Supreme Court
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14. World Government Summit IMPORTANT BODIES IN NEWS

2023 1. Bar Council of India (BCI)
15. Hate Speech 2. Appointment of Director
16. Sarna religion General of Police (DGP)
17. Members of Parliament 3. Lokpal and Lokayukta
Local Area Development 4. Unique Identification
Scheme (MPLADS) rules Authority of India (UIDAI
18.Foreign Contribution 5. Central Consumer
(Regulation) Amendment Protection Authority (CCPA)
Rules, 2022 6. NCST
19. Digitalisation of land
records in India
20. Police
Commissionerate System
(PCS) & Dual Command
System (DCS)
21. World Bank’s Worldwide
Governance Indicators
(WGI)
22. National eGovernance
Services Limited (NeSL)
23. Probity Portal (PP)
24. Scheduled Tribes and
other Traditional Forest
Dwellers (Recognition of
Forest Rights) Act, 2006
25. Official Secrets Act
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CONSTITUTION , AMENDMENTS AND REFORMS

1) Constitutional provision for reservation benefits to Scheduled Castes
and Tribes
Article 341:The President may “specify the castes, races or tribes or parts of or groups
within castes, races or tribes which shall…be deemed to be Scheduled Castes”.
Article 342: The President may “specify the tribes or tribal communities or parts of or
groups within tribes or tribal communities shall be deemed to Scheduled Tribes”.
History of Quota Benefits:

The first order under Article 341 was issued in 1950 covering only Hindus.
Sikhs of Dalit origin were included among the beneficiaries of the SC quota through
an order issued in 1956.
In 1990, the government also included Buddhists of Dalit origin for SC quota benefits.
After that, the Government revised the order to state that: “No person who
professes a religion different from the Hindu, the Sikh or the Buddhist religion shall be
deemed to be a member of Scheduled Caste.
Implementation of the Mandal Commission report It led to the inclusion of

many Christian and Muslim communities in the Central and state OBC lists.
Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) website states that rights of

Scheduled Tribe members are irrespective of his or her religious beliefs.
Efforts made in the past to include Muslims and Christians of Dalit origin among SCs
Number of private bills were brought in parliament for inclusion of Muslims and
Christians of Dalit origin among SCs.
In 1996, the government drafted a Bill called The Constitution (Scheduled

Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill but it was not introduced in Parliament due to
divergence of opinions.
UPA I(2004-2008)set up two important panels: 1)National Commission for

Religious and Linguistic Minorities or Ranganath Misra Commission.
2) Sachar committee to study the social, economic, and educational condition of
Muslims.
After 1999,mandatory to get approval of the Registrar General of India (RGI) for
inclusion of communities in Scheduled caste.
In 2011, National Commission for Minorities(NCM) had supported extension of
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SC benefits to Dalit Christians and Muslims.
Reasons for non-inclusion of Dalit Muslims and Christianity converts for

quota benefits:
a)Basic tenets of Islam and Christianity will change as it will formally introduce
caste system in these religions.
b)Political parties or pressure groups may start demanding a scheme of separate

reservations for different sects.
c) It may prove detrimental to national unity due to its potential to create further
divisions in the society.
d) Deviation from basic purpose of quota as envisaged in the constitution: It

was framed only to remove caste-based discrimination and inequality from
Hindu society.
e) Difficult to locate original caste/community of Dalit Christians and

Muslims as these conversions have been taking place for centuries.
f) Nature of conversion(forced or voluntary) is undecided.

g) Converted people (Islam/ Christanity)
cannot be recognized as a “single ethnic group”
which is required condition for inclusion provided in
Article 341 of the Constitution.
Way forward:
a) Make SC status fully religion neutral like
Scheduled Tribes as recommended by Ranganath
Misra Commission.
Recommendation of NCSC on extending

reservation benefits to Dalit Christians and
Muslims in following cases:
a)If they continue the same traditions and practices
as they did before conversion
b) If they still facing untouchability after conversion.
2) Uniform Civil Code (UCC)
Same set of civil laws applicable to all citizens of India in their personal matters
(marriage, divorce, custody, adoption and inheritance)
Article 44 (Directive Principles of State Policy) contains provisions of UCC.
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UCC comes under non justiciable part of constitution.
“Personal laws” comes under Concurrent List.
Current Status of Personal Laws in India:
Different religious communities are currently governed by a system of personal laws,

codified over years through various pieces of legislation.
Hindu personal law is codified in:Hindu Marriage Act, Hindu Succession Act,
Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, and Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act.
Term ‘Hindu’ also includes Sikhs,

Jains and Buddhists for purpose of
these laws.
Muslim personal law’s certain aspects

are recognised in India in acts such as
Shariat Application Act and
Dissolution of Muslim
Marriages Act.
Some secular laws are:

a) Special Marriage Act:For Inter-
religion marriages
b) Guardians and Wards
Act:establishes the rights and duties
of guardians.
Goa is, at present, only state in

India with a UCC.
Portuguese Civil Code,1867 continues

to be implemented after Indian
annexation in 1961.
However, Portuguese Code is not

completely a UCC.
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3) Inclusion or Exclusion from the Scheduled Tribes (ST) List
Official Population of Scheduled Tribes in India:
Under Article 342, 705 ethnic groups are listed as Scheduled Tribes.
Census 2011 data provides that more than 10 crore Indians are notified as STs and
approximately 1.04 crore notified ST population live in urban areas.
STs constitute 8.6% and 11.3% of the population and rural population
respectively.
Recent addition of communities to the ST list:
a) Himachal Pradesh: Hatti tribe from the Trans-Giri area of Sirmour district.
b) Tamil Nadu: Hill tribes from Narikoravan and Kurivikkaran.
c) Chhattisgarh: Binjhia community
d) Uttar Pradesh: Gond community
Cabinet has approved the addition of several alternative names for already existing
Scheduled Tribes in the ST list.
Example: Chhattisgarh’s Sawar, Sawara, and Saunra same tribal community but with
different spellings.
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Now, these communities were entitled to reservation benefits under the Scheduled
Tribes(ST) list.
Criteria to begin the process of inclusion or removal of SC, ST list:

a) Several criteria to establish whether a community is a Scheduled Tribe or not are
i) ethnological traits
ii) traditional characteristics.
iii) distinctive culture
iv) geographical isolation
v)backwardness.
b) The recent view of the Supreme Court(SC) is that it is no longer sure about an
“affinity test” used to sift through distinct traits.
c) Supreme Court(SC) wanted a fix fool-proof parameter for determining whether a

person belongs to a Scheduled Tribe or not.
Procedure to add or remove a community from SC, ST lists:
Discretion of a State government to recommend certain communities for addition or

subtraction from the list of SCs/STs.
Stae government mostly rely on recommendation from studies it commissions from

time to time.
For Example: Hatti community in Himachal Pradesh.
Concerned State government sent the proposal to Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs for
inclusion or removal of any community from the Scheduled List.
After that proposal went to went to the Registrar General of India (RGI).
After approval by the RGI, the proposal is sent to the National Commission for
Scheduled Castes or National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
Proposal is again sent back to the Union government for inter-ministerial deliberations.
After inter-ministerial deliberations it got introduced in the Union Cabinet for final
approval.
The final decision to specify the changes under Articles 341 and 342 rests with the
President’s office.
President assents to a Bill that amends the Constitution (Scheduled Castes)

Order, 1950 and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order,1950 after it is
passed by both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha is necessary for inclusion or exclusion of
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any community in the Scheduled Tribes or Scheduled Castes list.
Final step: President issues a notification specifying the changes in the Scheduled
Tribes or Scheduled Castes list under powers vested in it from Articles 341 and 342.
4) Preventive detention
To detain a person so that to prevent that person

from commenting on any possible crime.
Action taken by the administration on the grounds of

the suspicion that some wrong actions may be done
by the person concerned.
That action will be prejudicial to the state.
Most contentious part of the scheme of fundamental

rights in the Indian constitutions.
Section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,

empowers the police to make preventive arrests to
prevent the commission of “any cognisable
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offence”.
If required preventive detention can be extended beyond 24 hours “under any other
provisions of Section 151 of CrPc Code” or of any other law.
What are the constitutional provisions for preventive detention?
Article 22 grants protection to persons who are arrested or detained.
There are two types of detention i.e. punitive and preventive.
Punitive detention: Punishing a person for an offence committed by him after trial
and conviction in a court.
Preventive detention: Detaining a person without trial and conviction by a court.
Article 22 has two parts

a) First part deals with the cases of ordinary law
b) Second part deals with the cases of preventive detention law.
Rights available under punitive detention but not under preventive

detention?
a) Right to be informed of the grounds of arrest.
b) Right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner.
c) Right to be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, excluding the journey time.
d) Right to be released after 24 hours unless the magistrate authorizes further detention.
What are major differences between Preventive and punitive detention?

Preventive Detention Punitive Detention
1. Section 151 of The Criminal 1.In case of Punitive detention person is
Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC), defines punished for an offence committed by
preventive detention as detention of a him after trial and conviction in a court.
person without trial and conviction by a
court
2.Preventive detention is used to prevent 2.It punishes a person for an offence.
a person from committing an offence in
the near future
3.It is taken as precautionary measure 3.It punishes for the crime committed.
and based on suspicion.
4. Right of personal liberty guaranteed 4. Article 19 or Article 21 guarantee
by Article 19 or Article 21 is not right of personal liberty to detainee
available to detainee under preventive under punitive detention
detention.
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5) 103rd Amendment
Article 15 (6) enables the state
Introduced Article 15 (6) and inserted Article to make special provisions for
16(6) to the Constitution. “any economically weaker
sections of citizens” other than
Enables reservation for “economically weaker “socially and educationally
sections”, other than the SEBCs and SC/ST, in backward classes” and
public employment and education. Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes.
Permits 10% reservation in educational
institutions and public employment for t Article 16(6) Nothing in this
economically weaker section(EWS). article shall prevent the State
from making any provision for
This reservation is exclusively for the general the reservation of appointments
category. or posts in favour of any
economically weaker sections of
It excludes persons from the Scheduled Castes citizens other than the classes
(SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and the Other mentioned in clause (4), in
Backward Classes (OBC) categories. addition to the existing
reservation and subject to a
In 2019, the government notified the criteria maximum of ten per cent. of the
to identify EWS: posts in each category.
a) Anyone with a family income of less than 8 lakh
from all sources in the fiscal year is classified as EWS.
Person excluded from the EWS category were those

a) who had five acres of agricultural land.
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b) Having a residential flat of 1,000 square feet,

c) or a residential plot of 100 square yards and above in notified municipalities,
d) or 200 square yards in other areas
Grounds of challenge EWS quota:
a) Violation of the basic structure of the Constitution as it violated equality before the
law.
b) The violation of the equality code is due to

(i) the Introduction of economic criterion as the reservation was meant only for socially
and educationally backward groups due to historical disadvantages
(ii) excluding OBC/SC/ST candidates from the EWS category
(iii) Introduction of EWS reservation breached the 50% ceiling on the total reservation.
b) It will convert it into an anti-poverty measure instead of measure to overcome

structural barriers of historically disadvantaged social groups.
c) It will make reservations a norm and the principle of non-discrimination and equal
treatment will become the exception.
Since the law is a constitutional amendment, the Supreme Court has to evoke the ‘basic
structure doctrine.
Majority’s reasoning for upholding EWS quota: Justices Dinesh Maheshwari,

Bela Trivedi and J.B. Pardiwala rejected the basic structure challenge.
a) Instrument of affirmative action: Economic weakness can be addressed through

reservation.Besides social and backward classes, reservations can also cover any
disadvantaged section.
b)EWS quota did not violate any essential feature of the Constitution: As
classifying a section based on economic criterion alone was permissible under the
Constitution.
c) The equality principle does not get offended due to exclusion of the classes already
enjoying reservation from the EWS category.
d) The majority view was that the 50% ceiling itself was not inflexible or inviolable and
the 50% limit was applicable only to the existing reserved categories (OBC/SC/ST).
e) Amendment survived the two standards i.e. ‘width test’ and ‘identity test’
prescribed to check the violation of basic structure:
i) the ‘width test’ (it is not of such wide amplitude as to obliterate or destroy any basic
feature)
ii) the ‘identity test’ (as it does not alter or erase the identity of a basic feature such as
the equality code.
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Dissent of Chief Justice U.U. Lalit and Justice Ravindra Bhat:
a) Amendment violated the equality code of the basic structure particularly the
principles of non-discrimination and non-exclusion.
b) Agreed that introducing special provisions on the basis of economic criteria is

legitimate and does not violate the basic structure of the Constitution.
c) But EWS category violated the basic structure as it excluded backward classes from
the EWS quota benefit.
View of Justice Bhat on EWS reservation:

a) It arbitrarily excluded the socially and historically disadvantaged classes.
b) Excluding OBCs, SCs and STs “on the ground that they enjoyed pre-existing benefits
is to heap fresh injustice based on past disability,”.
c) Additional reservation for those already represented in public employment violated
the equal opportunity norm of the basic structure.
d) EWS category “snaps this link between equal opportunity and
representation” by introducing a category that is not premised on ‘inadequate
representation’.
Article 17: Abolition of untouchability in any form. It imposes an obligation on
the state to prohibit caste discrimination in any manner.
Key features of Basic Structure Doctrine: Secularism, Federalism,
Independence of the judiciary, Rule of law and equality before the law etc.
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6) Phone tapping
Monitoring of internet-based communications and phones by a third party by secret

means.
Other Meaning: Wiretapping or line bugging or interception of the phone.
Indian Telegraphic Act, 1885:Both, Central and State Governments can tap
phones.
In states: Police can tap phones.
Agencies authorised to tap phone at Centres:

a) Intelligence Bureau
b) CBI
c) Enforcement Directorate,
d) Narcotics Control Bureau,
e) Central Board of Direct Taxes
f) Directorate of Revenue Intelligence
g) National Investigation Agency
h) R&W, Directorate of Signal Intelligence
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i) Delhi Police Commissioner
Tapping by any other agency except mentioned above would be considered illegal.
Constitutional & Legal Safeguards on Phone tapping:

a) Seventh Schedule
b) Article 19: Freedom Of Speech
c) Article 21: Right to Privacy
d) Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.
7) Right to be Forgotten
Right to have publicly available personal information removed from the internet, search,
databases, websites, or any other public platforms, once the personal information is no
longer necessary.
Origin: to ‘right to oblivion’ in French jurisprudence.
RTBF is not an absolute right.
Recognised as a statutory right in European Union under General Data Protection

Regulation (GDPR).
Recognized as a right for the first time by EU Directive on Data Protection in 1995.
Article 17 of GDPR, 2016 provides Right to Erasure (or RTBF), which permits a data
subject to request a controller to delete personal data concerning him or her without
undue delay.
In India, there is no law specifically for RTBF.
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8) 100th International Day of Cooperatives

International Day of Cooperatives (CoopsDay)is observed on July 2 across the globe.
The theme of 100th International Cooperative Day is “Cooperatives Build a Better
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World”.
Considering the importance of Atmanirbhar Bharat in creating a better world, the

Ministry of Cooperation and NCUI are organizing the event with the theme
“Cooperatives Build an Atmanirbhar Bharat and Better World.”
The aim of the International Day of Cooperatives is to increase awareness of

cooperatives and promote the movement’s ideals of international solidarity, economic
efficiency, equality and world peace.
The National Cooperative Union of India ( NCUI ) is an apex organization of the

cooperative movement in India with a focus on cooperative education and training.
Under leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Union Government is

empowering the cooperative sector with the mantra of 'Sahakar Se Samriddhi'.
Recently the Union Cabinet has taken an important decision to further strengthen the
cooperative sector by approving the computerization of Primary Agricultural Credit
Societies (PACS).
PARLIAMENT AND STATE LEGISLATURE

1) Governor and State Legislatures
Governor’s role in law making:

He/ She is appointed by the Central government, he is part of the state legislature.
No bill can become law without his/her assent.
After the assent of the governor bill passed bylegislative assemblies transformed into
law.
Article 161: Governor is bound by the advice of the State’s Council of Ministers.
SC reiterated that Governor of a State is “but a shorthand expression for the State
government”.
Current controversies:
a) Delay by TN Governor in forwarding the Bill for exemption from the NEET to the
President.
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b) Kerala governor publicly announced hat he would not give assent to the Lokayukta
Amendment Bill & Kerala University Amendment Bill.
Article 200: Provides certain

rights to governor when Bill
reaches him fromAssembly.
a) First option: The Governor
can give assent to the bill.
b) Second option: Bill can be
sent back to the assembly
requesting lawmakers to
reconsider some provisions of
the Bill, or the Bill itself.
c) Third option: The
Governor can reserve the Bill
for the consideration of the
President.
d) Fourth option: The
Governor can withhold the
assent to the bill.
Article 200 affirms the

primacy of the legislature in
legislative exercise.
According to constitution
only that Bill can be reserved
for the consideration of the President, if in the opinion of the Governor it endangers the
position of HighCourts with respect to its power.
International practices with regards to assent of the bill:

a) United Kingdom:
1) Royal assent is necessary for any Bill passed by the Parliament to become a law.
2) Crown can withhold assent to the Bill.
3) But, currently in practice there is no veto power exercised by the crown.
b) United States:
1) President can refuse assent and return a Bill to the House.
2) If both Houses pass it again with two thirds of majority the bill becomes a law.
Issues associated with assent power of Governor:

1) No remedy is provided by Indian Constitution when Governor withholds assent to the
Bill
2) Constitutional challenge due to Article 361 if the state government challenge
the refusal of assent by the Governor in court.
3) Governor can indefinitely sit on the Bill passed by an
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Assembly due to absence of timeline for the Governor to decide the assent.
Way Forward:Governors should givereasons while refusing to give assent to the Bill.
Supreme Court judgment in Rameshwar Prasad and Ors. vs Union Of India

and Anr:
If the Governor refused the assent to the Bill with malafide intentions then the
Governor’s action of refusal could be struck down as unconstitutional.
2) Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committees(DRSCs)
Parliament has 24 Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committees (DRSC).
Jointly constituted by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairman of the Rajya
Sabha.
It comprise members from Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha in a ratio of 2:1.
Mandate of DRSCs:
a) To examine various legislations referred to it
b) The budget proposals of different Ministries.
c) To do policy thinking on the vision, mission, and future direction of the concerned
Ministries.
During the tenures of the 14th , 15th and 16th Lok Sabhas percentage of Bills that have
been referred to the DRSCs are 60%,71%, and 27%, respectively.
Importance of Department-Related Parliamentary Standing

Committees(DRSCs):
a) Improve the productivity of Parliament: The productivity of the Lok Sabha
and the Rajya Sabha is 47% and 42% respectively.
b) Proper examination of Bills, especially from the perspective of consumers and
stakeholders.
c) Prevent Bills from later/abrupt withdrawal by the government or just
remained a bureaucratically conceived piece of legislation.
Example: Passage of three Farm Bills.
d)Improve legislation’s content due to bonhomie and cordial deliberations in these
committee meetings.
e) Utilization of skills and experience of members of the committee.
Steps to ensure proper utilization of Department-Related Parliamentary

Standing Committees(DRSCs):
a) Provision for compulsory/automatic process of reference of Bills to standing
committees with few exceptions..
b) Speaker and Chairman of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha must have powers to refer
Bills to a DRSC of Parliament with some exemptions.
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c) Frank and free discussions in the Parliamentary Standing Committee without

whip of the party
d) Fixed timeline for recommendations and presentation of committee report
decided by the Speaker/Chairman.
e) Invitation of experts like subject matter experts/young researchers in the
committees.
f) Collaboration of Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and committee
chairmen to organize parliamentary works during the inter-sessional period.
3) Speaker of Lok sabha and U.S. House of representatives Speaker
U.S. House of representatives Speaker:

a) Elected by a simple majority during the first session of Congress
b) He is simultaneously the House’s presiding officer, party leader,and institution’s
administrative head, among other duties.
c) Constitution does not prevent a congressperson from nominating an outsider.
d) Speaker usually is selected from among the elected members of the House
e) He is elected by the house every two years.
f) Speaker is second in line to succeed the President, after Vice President.
Speaker of lok sabha:

a) Elected by simple majority of members present and voting in the house.
b) The Speaker is the Presiding Officers of the Lok Sabha.
c) The Speaker is the head of the Lok Sabha Secretariatwhich functions under his/her
ultimate control and direction.
d) Need to be a Lok Sabha member to be elected.
e) Speaker of the Lok Sabha serves a fiveyear term.
f) Holds office from his/her election till immediately before the first meeting of the Lok
Sabha after the dissolution of the one to which he/she was elected.
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4) Parliamentary Privileges
Legal immunity enjoyed by members of legislatures.
Legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for certain
actions done in course of their legislative duties.
Parliament is sole authority to ascertain if there has been a breach of privilege or

contempt of House.
After consent of presiding officer , Council can either consider the question and come to
a decision or refer it to
Committee of Privileges.
Committee of
Privileges is a 10-
member panel in Rajya
Sabha and a 15-member
panel in Lok Sabha.
Constitutional
Provisions:
Article 105: Powers,
Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and its Members.
Article 194 : Powers, privileges, etc., of the Houses of Legislatures and of the members
and committees.
Statutory Provisions:Code of Civil Procedure provides 1908, provides for

freedom from arrest and detention of members under Civil process during the
continuence of the meeting of the House or the Committee.
5) Motion of Thanks
Article 87: President's special address to houses of parliament at commencement of

first session after each general election and first session of every fiscal year.
Following this, a ‘motion of thanks’ is moved in two Houses thanking President for
his/her address, which is then put to vote.
MPs can express their disagreement by moving amendments to motion.
Defeat of ‘Motion of thanks’ is seen as a defeat of the government
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6) Parliamentary Committees (PC)
Panel of MPs that is appointed or elected by House or nominated by Speaker.
It works under direction of Speaker and presents its report to House or to Speaker.
Origins in British Parliament.
Draw their authority from Article 105(privileges of MPs) and Article 118
(Parliament can make rules to regulate its procedure and conduct of business).
Parliament is not bound by recommendations of committees.
Rajya Sabha(RS) secretariat:

a) It was set up pursuant to provisions contained in Article 98 (provide for separate
secretarial staff for each House of Parliament).
b) It functions under guidance and control of RS Chairman.
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EXECUTIVES
1) Office of the Vice President (VP)
2nd highest constitutional office after that of the President.
Ranks 2nd in the order of precedence.
Article 63: “there shall be a Vice-President of India”.
Article 64: Vice-President “shall be ex officio Chairman of the Council of the States”
(Rajya Sabha)”
Article 65: VP can act as President in case of Vacancy. He can also discharge the
functions of the President when the latter is unable to do so.”.
Article 66: Process of the election of the

Vice-President.
Vice-President “shall be elected by the members

of an electoral college”.
Electoral College consists of the members of both

Houses of Parliament.
Election through system of proportional

representation by means of the single
transferable vote.
The elector has to mark preferences against the

names of the candidates.
The elector can mark as many preferences as the number of candidates.
Marking of the first preference is compulsory for the ballot paper to be valid and others
are optional.
Means: Single transferable vote and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot.
Vice-President “shall not be a member of either House of Parliament or of a House of

the Legislature of any State”.
For the 16th Vice-Presidential Election, 2022: Total members were 788 in
Electoral College.
a) From Rajya Sabha: 233 elected members + 12 nominated members.
b) From Lok Sabha: 543 elected members.
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Eligibility and term of

office
Article 66(3) says “No
person shall be eligible for
election as Vice-President
unless he
(a) is a citizen of India
(b) has completed the age of
thirty-five years
(c) is qualified for election
as a member of the Council
of States.
Article 66(4): “A person

shall not be eligible for
election as Vice-President if
he holds any office of profit.
Article 67 lays down that

the “Vice-President shall
hold office for a term of five
years from the date on which
he enters upon his office”.
However, the Vice-President

“shall, notwithstanding the
expiration of his term, continue to hold office until his successor enters upon his office”.
The Vice-President may leave office before the end of his term
a) By resigning to the President.
b) He may be removed…by a resolution of the Council of States passed by a majority of
all the then members of the Council and agreed to by the House of the People”.
Article 71: “Matters relating to, or connected with, the election of a President or Vice-
President”.
All doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection with the VP election of shall be
decided by the Supreme Court whose decision shall be final.
Parliament may by law regulate any matter relating to or connected with the election of
a President or Vice-President.
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LOCAL GOVERNMENT
1) Indian system for Mayor
Municipal Corporation mayor usually chosen

through indirect election by councillors
from among themselves.
Councillors act by committee.
Standing Committee is most powerful having

role of steering committee, exercising
executive, supervisory, financial, and personnel
powers.
Chief Executive Officer: Municipal

Commissioner and he is also head of executive
arm of Municipal Corporation.
Municipal Commissioner vested with all

executive powers.
74th Constitutional Amendment Act,

1992 provides for elected and nominated
councillors.
Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and

Tamil Nadu have mayors who are elected directly
Recently, SC said the Constitution does not allow nominated members of a municipality
the right to vote for selecting post of mayor.
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CENTRE STATE
1) Present Status of Delhi as Union Territory (UT)
69th Amendment of Constitution in 1991 gave National Capital of Delhi special

status,
NCT Delhi has its own democratically elected government and legislative assembly.
Articles 239AA and 239ABinserted after Article 239A of Constitution.
Legislative Assembly shall have power to enumerate anything in State List or in

Concurrent List in so far as it is is applicable to Union territories.
L-G refer it to President for decision and act according to the decision given thereon by
the President in case of difference of opinion between Lieutenant Governor (L-G) and
his Ministers on any matter.
Public order, Police and Land in NCT of Delhi fall within domain of Union
Government.
Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act

(GNCTD) ,2021
a) Term “government” in any law made by Legislative Assembly shall mean L-G.
b) L-G’s opinion shall be obtained before government takes any executive action based
on decisions taken by the Cabinet or any individual ministers.
c) L-G will not assent to and pass on to President for consideration any Bill which
“incidentally covers any of matters which falls outside purview of the powers conferred
on Legislative Assembly”
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2) Creation/Abolition of District:Recently, 7 new districts were created in West

Bengal.
Creation or Abolition of districts:
a) Power lies with state governments, who
can pass a law in Assembly or simply issue
an order and notify it in gazette.
b) Centre does not have a say in the matter.
c) Permission of centre is required when a
change of name of a district or railway
station is contemplated.
Number of districts around the country has

been going up steadily over the years.
The 2001 Census recorded 593 districts,

which went up to 640 in 2011.
India currently has more than 775 districts.
Uttar Pradesh has the most districts (75) in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh
(52). Goa, by contrast, has only 2 districts.
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3) Post Devolution Revenue Deficit (PDRD) Grants

Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance
has released 7th monthly instalment of PDRD grant
to 14 States.
Provided to States under Article 275 of

Constitution.
Grants are released to States as per

recommendations of successive Finance
Commissions.
Aim: To meet the gap in Revenue Accounts of

States post devolution.
Fifteenth Commission decides the eligibility of States to receive this grant and the
quantum of grant for the period from 2020-21 to 2025-26.
4) Mahajan Commission
Centre set up the Mahajan
Commission in 1966.
Objective: To resolve the border

dispute in Maharashtra,
Karnataka and Kerala.
Recommendation of the
Commission:264 villages be
transferred to Maharashtra and
that Belagavi (Belgaum) and 247
villages remain with Karnataka.
In 2004, Maharashtra rejected

the report and moved the
Supreme Court. Belagavi is
currently part of Karnataka.
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5) Zonal Councils
These are the statutory bodies.
States Reorganisation Act of 1956 divided the country into five zones- Northern,
Central, Eastern, Western and Southern and provided a zonal council for each zone.
North-Eastern Council was created by a separate Act of Parliament, the North-

Eastern Council Act of 1971.
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These bodies can make recommendations on matters such as Centre and States border
disputes, linguistic minorities, inter-State transport or matters connected with the
reorganisation of States.
The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of each of these Councils
Objectives of the Council:

(a) National integration
(b) Arresting the growth of acute State consciousness.
(c) Enable Co-operation between Centre and the States.
(d) Establishing a climate of co-operation amongst the States.
JUDICIARY
1) Lok Adalat
it is Alternative Disputes Resolution (ADR) Mechanism available to common
people.
It is a forum where the disputes/ cases pending in the court of law or at pre-
litigation stage are settled/ compromised amicably.
Lok Adalat is primarily a “People’s Court” wherein decisions are arrived at between
two or more disputing parties on mutually acceptable terms amicably.
Under the Legal Services Authorities (LSA) Act, 1987, an award made by a Lok
Adalat is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties and
no appeal lies against thereto before any court.
Lok Adalat is not a permanent establishment. However, as per Section 19 of the

LSA Act, 1987, Lok Adalats are organized by Legal Services Institutions as per
requirement.
National Lok Adalats are organized simultaneously in all Taluks, Districts and High
Courts on a pre-fixed date.
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Three types of Lok Adalats:

(a) National Lok Adalats by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA)
(b) State Lok Adalats by the State Legal Services Authorities within the State
(c) Permanent Lok Adalats
E-Lok Adalat is a process to settle disputes, combining technology and alternative

dispute resolution (“ADR”) mechanisms which offer a faster, transparent and accessible
option.
Benefits associated with E-Lok Adalats: (a) Improved access to justice (b) Cost Effective
and Saves time.
2) Appointment of Chief Justice of India (CJI)
CJI and other judges of SC are appointed Member and Composition of

by the President under clause (2) of Supreme Court collegium:
Article 124 of the Indian Constitution. a) Headed by the incumbent Chief Justice
of India (CJI).
Article 124: Appointment by the b) Consists of five members including
President is to be done “after the incumbent Chief Justice of India
consultation” with judges of the (CJI) and four other seniormost
Supreme Court, as the President may judges of the court at that time.
“deem necessary”.
Article 217: Deals with the appointment of High Court judges.

It says the President should consult the CJI, Governor, and Chief Justice of the High
Court concerned.
CJI retire at the age of 65 years.

High Court judges retire at 62 years.
Eligibility for becoming the CJI: Apart from being an Indian citizen, the person
must
(a) have been for at least five years a Judge of a High Court or of two or more such
Courts in succession or
(b) have been for at least ten years an advocate of a High Court or of two or more
such Courts in succession, or
(c) be, in the opinion of the President, a distinguished jurist.
System followed for recommending and appointing judges:

a)While appointment of judges, the collegium system is followed.
b) Collegium system consists of five senior most judges of the Supreme Court and the
High Courts.
c) Names first suggested for appointment by the collegium gets a background inquiry
done by the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
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c) Collegium’s will prevail in case government raise objections.
The term “collegium” is not mentioned in the constitution.
Constitution only speaks of consultation by the President.
Usual convention: Senior most judge of the court after the chief justice is
recommended as the successor.
This convention was discarded by former PM Indira Gandhi, who appointed Justice AN
Ray as CJI in 1973 over his seniors.
Government’s Memorandum of procedure (MoP) for the appointment of SC

Judges:
For the appointment of SC Judges, seniority is to be the norm.
Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs seeks the recommendation of the
outgoing CJI for the appointment of the next CJI.
After the collegium’s recommendations are finalized and received from the CJI
Law Minister put up the recommendation to the Prime Minister
PM advise the President on the matter of appointment.
Cases leading to the current system of appointment:

a) First Judges Case(1981):
President can refused the recommendation made by the CJI for “cogent reasons”.
President or the executive were in a more influential position in deciding appointments.
b) Second Judges Case (1993): SC introduced the Collegium system
“consultation” really meant “concurrence” .
It was not the CJI’s individual opinion that matters.
Now an institutional opinion formed in consultation with the two senior-most judges in
the SC for appointment.
c) Third Judges Case (1998): SC expanded the collegium.

Now, decisions are to be taken by a majority of the five senior most judges.
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Procedure for removal of CJI in the Constitution:
SC judge can be removed by an order of the President passed after an address by each
House of Parliament
It must be supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by

a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting
Address in the same session presented to the President.
CJI can be removal on one of the two grounds – proved misbehavior or incapacity.
Constitution does not use the word ‘impeachment’.
The procedure for removal of judges is elaborated in the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968.
Impeachment used to refer to the proceedings under following Articles
Article 124: For the removal of a Supreme Court judge.
Articles 124(2): Appointment of judges to the Supreme Court.
Article 217 : Appointment of judges to the High Courts.
Article 218: For the removal of a High Court judge
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Steps for removal of judges from office:

a) Impeachment motion may originate in either House of Parliament.
b) To initiate proceedings:
(i) at least 100 members of Lok Sabha may give a signed notice to the Speaker
or
(ii) at least 50 members of Rajya Sabha may give a signed notice to the Chairman.
c) Speaker or Chairman may consult individuals and examine relevant material related
to the notice.
d) Based on evidence Speaker decides to either admit the motion or refuse to admit it.
d) If the motion is admitted, the Speaker or Chairman will constitute a three-member
committee to investigate the complaint.
e) Committee comprise of: (i) a Supreme Court judge (ii) Chief Justice of a High
Court; and (iii) a distinguished jurist.
f) The committee will frame charges based on which the investigation will be conducted.
g) A copy of the charges will be forwarded to the judge who can present a written
defence.
h) After investigation, the Committee submit its report to the Speaker or Chairman.
i)Speaker or Chairman then lay the report before the relevant House of Parliament.
j) If the report records a finding of misbehaviour or incapacity, the motion for removal
will be taken up for consideration and debated.
k)The motion for removal is required to be adopted by each House of
Parliament by:
(i) A majority of the total membership of that House;
and
(ii) A majority of at least two-thirds of the members of that House present and
voting.
l) If the motion is adopted by this special majority, the motion will be sent to the
other House for adoption.
m) Once the motion is adopted in both Houses, it is sent to the President.
n) President will issue an order for the removal of the judge.
Role of Government in the collegium system:

a) The government plays role in the appointment of judges in the higher judiciary only
after names have been decided by the collegium.
b) Recommended names for appointment by a High Court collegium reach the

government only after approval by the CJI and the Supreme Court collegium.
c) Government plays a very minuscule role in the entire process of

appointing judges to the higher judiciary.
d) Government directs Intelligence Bureau (IB) to conduct an inquiry in case a lawyer is

to be elevated to High Court or the Supreme Court judge.
e) Under Constitution Bench judgments the government can raise objections and
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seek clarifications regarding the collegium’s choices, but if the collegium reiterates the
same names, the government is bound to appoint them as judges.
f) Government can delay making the appointments, if it seems unhappy with one or
more judges recommended for appointment by the collegium.
Criticism of the Collegium system:

a) Collegium system is non-transparent and closed-door affairs
b) It does not prescribe norms regarding eligibility criteria for the appointment of
judges.
c) No official minutes of collegium proceedings: Even lawyers are not aware of
when their names have been considered for elevation as a judge.
d) Led to tussles between the judiciary and the executive.
e) Lead to the slow pace of judicial appointments.
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3) Electronic Supreme Court Reports (e-SCR) Project
Initiative to provide digital version of apex court’s judgments in manner as reported in

official law report ‘Supreme Court Reports’.
Entire gamut of judgments from inception of SC in 1950 till date would be available
freely to lawyers and law students.
These judgments will be accessible on Supreme Court’s website, mobile app and on
National Judicial Data Grid’s judgment portal
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CJI announced the launch of e-SCR project to provide access to judgements to common
public.
4) Judicial Review
Type of court proceeding in which a judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action
made by a public body.
Article 13 expressively provides for doctrine of judicial review.
Scope of judicial review power of SC in India is narrower than that of what exists in US.
American Constitution is based on ‘due process of law’and Indian

Constitution is based on ‘procedure established by law’.
SC stated that suitability of a candidate cleared by Collegium for appointment as a judge

cannot be a subject of judicial review.
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5) Article 142 & Article 145 (5)
Article 142
a) Article 142: Enforcement of
decrees and orders of Supreme
Court
b) SC in exercise of its jurisdiction
may pass such decree or make such
order as is necessary for doing
complete justice in any cause or
matter pending before it.
c) Any decree so passed or order so
made shall be enforceable
throughout the territory of India in
such manner as may be prescribed.
Recently, SC set free the remaining

six convicts in Rajiv Gandhi
assassination case by exercising its
powers under Article 142 of
Constitution.
Article 145(5):
In view of Article 145(5), concurrence of a majority of judges at the hearing will be

considered as a judgment or opinion of court.
Article 145(5) states that no judgment shall be delivered by SC without concurrence of a

majority of judges present at hearing of case, but
nothing in this clause shall prevent a judge from
delivering a dissenting judgment.
Constitutional bench of SC ruled that majority

view of a larger bench will always prevail over a
bench of lesser strength.
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6) National e-Vidhan
Application (NeVA)
Objective: To make all work and data

related to legislative bodies available
online for use of both citizens and
members of Assemblies.
e-Vidhan is re-designated as NeVA.
Nodal Ministry:Ministry of
Parliamentary Affairs
Aim of NeVA:
a) To bring all legislatures of country
together, in one platform
b) Creating a massive data depository.
c) Streamlining information related to
various state assemblies.
d) Eliminate use of paper in day-to-day
functioning.
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7) Tribunals &Courts
Tribunals:
Established by acts of
Parliament.inserted via
42nd CAA, 1976 by adding
323A (Administrative
Tribunal) and 323B (For
other matters)
Recommended by Swaran
singh Committee
Objective: To resolve
disputes and complaints on
specific matters.
Not bound by specific

procedures like CrPC but
governed by Principles of
Natural
Justice.
Members: A mix of judicial and experts with special Knowledge
Limited to the laws under which they are Set.
High Courts:
Established by Constitution of India only.
Objective:To interpret and maintain law and order in their jurisdiction and give
decisions on civil and criminal cases.
Bound by procedural codes
Members are only from Judiciary.
Power to use all enacted laws before making a decision
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8) Tele-law service
MoU has been signed between Department of Justice and NALSA on Integrated
Delivery of Legal Services.
Tele-law service:
a) Launched in 2017 by Department of Justice (Ministry of Law & Justice).
b) It is a reliable and efficient e-interface and pre-litigation tool.
c) Tele–Law mainstreams legal aid to marginalized seeking legal help.
d) It helps them by connecting them with Panel Lawyers through tele/video-
conferencing infrastructure available at Common Service Centres (CSCs).
9) Crime Multi Agency Centre (Cri-MAC)

Launched in 2020 by Ministry of Home Affairs.
Objective:
a) To share information on crime and criminals 24x7 with various law enforcement
agencies
b) To ensure a seamless flow of information among them.
Aim of application run by NCRB: To help in early detection and prevention of

crime incidents across the country.
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10) National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG)

NJDG is a database of orders, judgments and case details of 18,735 District &
Subordinate Courts and High Courts created as an online platform under the
eCourts Project.
Data is updated on a near real-time basis by the connected District and Taluka
courts.
All High Courts have also joined theNJDG through web services, providing easy
access facility to the litigant public.
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11) The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991
Prohibits conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance
of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on the 15th day of
August, 1947.
Section 5 stipulates that the Act shall not apply to the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri
Masjid case, and to any suit, appeal or proceeding relating to it.
ELECTIONS
1) Election Commission &Inner Party Democracy
Types of Indian Political Parties:

a) Cadre-based parties:
Organizational structure directed towards ideological goals or principles.
For Example: Bharatiya Janata Party or the Communist parties.
b) Parties having core ideals but loose association of individuals with

different opinions:
For Example: Indian National Congress party.
c) Parties with social or regional clout:

Influence among certain sections of the society and regions.
For Example: Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party for Rajbhar community and
Apna Dal for Kurmi community.
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Examples of regional parties are Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party etc.
Reasons for non-democratic/autocratic tendencies and among political

parties:
a) Multi-party system and federalised nature of India’s polity
b)Domination of “charismatic” individuals or their families in party structure.
c) Opaque financing structures of most political parties.
d) Dominance of the high command leading to centralised control of parties by a
single individual or a family.
e) Inadequate competition for internal polls: Parties lack sufficient contestation
for leadership posts.
f) Fear of disunity: Political parties fear that internal contests may foster disunity due
to the zero-sum nature of electoral politics.
g) Absence of statutory or legal basis to mandate internal elections: Election
commission does not have powers to enforce inner party democracy or to mandate
elections.
h) Prevalence of nomination and consensus-building methods for selection of
party leadership.
i) Political parties lack a constitutional foundation: a) Phrase “political
party” was nowhere in the Indian Constitution.
b) For the first time, a political party is defined from Anti-defection law, 1985.
j) Paradoxical nature of legislations: India is a party-led democracy.
But in India, candidates are subject to rules and regulations more than political parties.
Article 324 of the Constitution, or Section 29(A) of the Representation of the People
Act, 1951 did not provide ECI the power to regulate internal structures, organisations
or elections of the party.
Way forward:
1) Inception of party constitution for internal regulation of political parties.
2) Model of state funding of political parties:
a) S.Y. Quraishi(former CEC) proposed that parties should receive money as per the
number of votes polled for them.
b) For example, the state can pay political parties Rs.100 for each vote polled in their
favor.
3) Ensure electoral transparency: Parties must submit documents of expenditure
incurred during elections and in the non-election period.
4) Attaching cost to no-compliance of EC orders :
EC should utilize its executive power to ensure organizational elections as happened
during T.N.Seshan’s tenure.
5) Parties should establish a balance between divisiveness of election and high
command culture.
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2) Significance of symbols in elections

Symbols are campaigning tools for parties.
It helps several nondescript and small political parties to connect with the voters.
Since India’s first national polls in 1951-52 symbols have become a crucial part of the
electoral process.
Reason for allocation of visual symbols to parties and candidates: To

help 85 % of the electorate who were illiterate at that point, to identify the party of their
choice.
Types of symbols as per the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment)

(Amendment) Order, 2017:
a) Party symbols are either “reserved” or “free”.
b) “Reserved” symbols” are allotted to eight national parties and 64 state parties
across the country.
c) “Free” symbols are allotted to the thousands of unrecognized regional parties from
the Election Commission’s pool of nearly 200 symbols.
d) Unrecognized parties in India: EC maintains that there are 2,538 unrecognized

parties India.
e) A recognized state party of a particular state can “reserve” the symbol and can use it
to contest elections in another state
f) provided the symbol is not being used or bears resemblance to that of any other party.
Procedure to allot symbols to political parties:
Election Commission order,1968 to provide for “specification, reservation, choice

and allotment of symbols at parliamentary and assembly elections, for the recognition of
political parties”.
Guidelines for symbol allocation: EC’s free symbols list consists of three symbols
One symbol is allotted to the party/candidate on a first-come-first-serve basis to party

candidate.
Who takes the decision on assigning the symbol in case of split in recognised political
party?Election Commission
Basis on which Election Commission decide on party symbol disputes:
Under Paragraph 15 Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order,
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1968 EC decides party symbol disputes among rival groups or sections of a

recognized political party staking claim to its name and symbol.
Paragraph 15 provides that EC is

the only authority to decide issues on a
dispute or a merger.
This was validated in Sadiq Ali and

another vs. ECI case in 1971 by
Supreme Court.
EC before recognizing one group as

the official party ascertains the support
enjoyed by a claimant within a political
party in its organizational wing and in
its legislative wing.
ECI examines the party’s

constitution and its list of office-
bearers submitted when the party was
united to decide of majority in
organizational and legislative wing.
In case of Organisational wing ECI

decides the dispute based on how
many office-bearers, members or
delegates support the rival claimants.
While in case of legislative wing, the

party decides by the number of MPs
and MLAs in the rival camps.
It may also consider affidavits filed by

these members.
After definite finding ECI decide
the dispute for name and symbol of the
recognized party in favor of that
faction which commands enough
support in its organizational and
legislative wings .
ECI may give permission to other group to register itself as a separate political party.
What happens in case of uncertainty about the majority of either faction ?

a) EC may freeze the party’s symbol
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b) Allow the groups to register themselves with new names

c) Add prefixes or suffixes to the party’s existing names.
Decision of dispute in case of immediate electoral purposes: It may freeze the

party’s symbol and advise the groups to fight the elections in different names and on
temporary symbols.
In case rival factions settle their differences in future the claimants may
approach the EC again and seek to be recognised as a unified party.
ECI may restore the symbol and name of the original party.
3) Simultaneous Elections (SE)
Synchronizing elections to Lok Sabha and State Assemblies are together ins uch a
manner under which voters in a particular constituency vote for both on same day.
It does not mean that voting across country for Lok Sabha and State Assemblies
happen on a single day
It can be conducted in a phase-wise manner and voters in a particular constituency vote

for both State Assembly and Lok Sabha the same day.
It were the norm until 1967.
Following dissolution of some Legislative Assemblies in 1968 and 1969 and Lok Sabha
in 1970, elections to State Assemblies and Parliament have been held separately.
Referred:
a) Proposed by Election Commission in 1983.
b) Law Commission and NITI Aayog
c) Recommended by Dinesh Goswami Committee
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IMPORTANT BILLS AND GOVERNANCE ASPECTS

1) POCSO Act,2012
Aim: To protect children from sexual abuse.
It raises the consent age for sexual intercourse from 16 to 18 years.
If anyone engages in a penetrative sexual assault on a minor under the age of 18 ,

then he or she can be “imprisoned for a term which is not less than seven years but
which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to [a] fine.”
Under the POCSO Act, 16 years old girl is considered a “child” and hence her consent
does not matter.
Any sexual intercourse as rape if children below 18 years of age are involved and and
this may lead to stringent punishment.
Issues associated with POCSO law:

a) Severe distress to concerned families of boys and girls.
b) Most often disgruntled parents file cases to foil the relationship between
two adolescents. .
c) Parents often misuse the law as they want to control the marriage choices of their
sons and daughter.
d) According to Section 19 of the POCSO Act, anybody, including children, if
suspected that an offence is likely to be committed under the Act or about to be
committed is required to report it.
e)) Contrary to sciences leading to unhealthy development of young minds.
f) A case is only registered against a boy and the girl is an aggrieved party.
g) Even cases of elopements and love affairs or cases of ‘non-serious’ offences were
transferred to the POCSO court.
h) Immense psycho-social trauma due to draconian aspects of the POCSO Act.
Another issue that may make women more vulnerable:

A proposed amendment to the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill,
2021 that will increase the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years.
Various Judgements and Committees:

a) Vijaylakshmi vs State Rep case,2016:
Madras High Court dismissed a POCSO case by saying that the definition of ‘child’
under Section 2(d) of the POCSO Act can be redefined as 16 instead of 18.
It further added that rigorous provisions of the POCSO Act should exclude bodily
contact or allied acts or consensual sex after the age of 16.
b) Justice J.S. Verma Committee on Amendments to Criminal Law

Recommended a reduction in the age of consent to 16, and also calls for necessary
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amendments in the POCSO Act.
c) High Court of Karnataka directed State Education Department

To set up a committee to evolve a mechanism for educating students about the acts,
which are criminalised under the POCSO Act, 2012 and the IPC.
Way forward:
a) Decriminalise sex among older adolescents by lowering the age of consent to
the age of marriage.
b)Implement the suggestion of Courts that differences in consensual relationships
should not be more than five years.
c) Long-term solution: Amendment to the age of consent criteria in the POCSO Act.
d) Awareness building among adolescents through educational material on the
law on sexual offences and its consequences.
e) Investigation and prosecution must consider the realities of adolescent
attraction at the age of 16 and the ascertainment of consent while protecting
vulnerable children from sexual assault or exploitation or grooming.
2) Armed Forces (Special) Powers Act (AFSPA)
Foundation of Armed Forces (Special) Powers Act (AFSPA):

a) Armed Forces Special Powers Ordinance was promulgated by the colonial
government of Britain on 15 August 1942, to suppress the Quit India movement.
b) “Assam disturbed areas” ordinance in 1947 to deal with partition-induced
internal security challenges.
c) Assam Disturbed Areas Act of 1955 to deal with the uprising in the Naga Hills
and adjoining areas.
d) Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers Act, 1958 formed the
basis for Armed Forces (Special) Powers Act (AFSPA).
Government of India invoked various acts to deal with security challenges:

a) When the Northeastern state governments failed to control violence, the parliament
passed the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, in 1958.
b) In 1990, an identical Act specific to Jammu and Kashmir was enacted.
Meaning of AFSPA:
AFSPA gave special power to armed forces for maintaining public order in “disturbed
areas”.
Powers of Armed Forces:
a) Armed forces can prohibit a gathering of five or more persons in an area.
b)If they feel a person is in contravention of the law they can open fire after giving due
warning.
c) Without a warrant, the army can arrest a person on suspicion, enter or search
premises; and ban the of firearms possession.
After taking any person into custody army may hand over that person to the officer in
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charge of the nearest police along with a report detailing the circumstances that led to
the arrest.
Imposition of AFSPA:
Section 3 of the AFSPA: Under this Governor of a state and administrator of a Union
Territory (UT) can declare an area “disturbed”.
Thereafter, the governor issued an official notification in The Gazette of India giving the
Centre the authority to deploy the “armed forces in aid of the civil power”.
AFSPA gives powers to

a) any commissioned officer, warrant officer, non-commissioned officer or
b) any other person of equivalent rank in the armed forces for the maintenance of public
order
They can “fire upon or otherwise use force” after giving a necessary warning
depending upon his discretion.
Periodic review for extension of AFSPA:

a) Assam and Manipur governments issue a notification for periodic review of
AFSPA
b) Ministry of Home Affairs does it for Tirap, Changlang, Longding.
c) MHA also does for areas falling under Namsai and Mahadevpur police stations
bordering Assam falling in Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
According to The Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act, 1976 once a region is
declared “disturbed”, it has to maintain the status quo for a minimum of three months.
Safety nets available under Armed Forces (Special) Powers Act (AFSPA):
a) Security forces can not open fire without giving prior warning to the suspect.
b) In case any suspect is apprehended by the security forces he or she should be handed
over to the local police station within 24 hours.
c) Armed forces should not act as an independent body, they must act in
cooperation with the district administration.
Controversies surrounding the Act:

a) Allegations that AFSPA gave the armed forces personnel the “license to kill”.
b)Rights groups maintained that it is a tool of State abuse, oppression and
discrimination.
c) According to the United Nations, AFSPA has no place in Indian democracy.
d) Receives staunch opposition from human rights groups for being aggressive.
Incidents that support the repeal of AFSPA:

a) In the 1950s, the Indian military air bombed Nagaland and Mizoram under AFSPA.
b) Mass killings and rape Allegations against security forces.
c) Fallout of AFSPA in Manipur: Malom massacre in 2000, and the killing and
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alleged rape of Thangjam Manorama.

d) Manipur’s Irom Sharmila went on a hunger strike after ten people were killed
waiting at a bus stop in Malom in Manipur.
e) Mon firing incident in Nagaland where security forces incessantly opened fire on
a vehicle carrying coal miners without giving prior warning.
Concept of “ disturbed area” under Section 3 of the AFSPA:
a) The whole or part of

the state or Union
Territory can be declared
as disturbed by the Central
Government, States
Governor or Union Territory
administrator.
b) For declaring an area as

disturbed a suitable
notification have to be made
in the Official Gazette.
c) As per s “disturbed
areas” can be invoked in
places where “the use of
armed forces in aid of the
civil power is necessary”.
d) In the majority of cases, the Ministry of Home Affairs enforce AFSPA according to
necessity but, State governments can also enforce AFSPA in exceptions.
e) An area can be disturbed due to differences or disputes between members of

different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities.
States under AFSPA:

a) Entire Nagaland, Assam, Manipur (excluding seven assembly constituencies of
Imphal) and parts of Arunachal Pradesh are under this act.
b) In Arunachal Pradesh, AFSPA was reduced in eight police stations in Tirap,

Longding and Changlang districts bordering Assam.
c) Jammu and Kashmir too have a similar Act.
Due to changing political scenarios and public demand various state

governments repealed the AFSPA:
a) Punjab withdrew from AFSPA in 1997 followed by Tripura in 2015.
b) Before 1st April 2018, AFSPA was effective in a 20 km area along the Assam-
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Meghalaya border .
c) After that AFSPA was revoked by the centre from Meghalaya.
d) In 2004, Manipur had withdrawn AFSPA from seven Assembly constituencies
surrounding the State capital Imphal.
Centre -States relations with respect to AFSPA:

a) Center can unilaterally impose AFSPA, but it is mostly done informally in
consonance with the state government.
b) State governments can recommend the Central government to repeal

AFSPA:
a) But Nagaland’s recommendation for repeal of AFSPA did not meet with success. b)
Centre imposed AFSPA in Tripura (1972) despite the opposition from the state
government.
c) Manipur’s former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh opposed the repeal of AFSPA
in 2012 in light of the dangerous law and order situation.
d) Many North-Eastern politicians have built their careers on an anti-AFSPA stance.
Recently on September 30, the MHA extended the AFSPA in parts of Nagaland and
Arunachal Pradesh for another six months
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3) Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967
It allows the government to declare an organisation an “unlawful association” or a

“terrorist organisation”, or a “ban” on the organisation.
Under Section 3 of the UAPA Act, the government through gazette notification can
declare an association as “unlawful”.
Section 2(1)(p) of the UAPA defines an “unlawful association”
as an association which has for its object any unlawful activity or offence defined under
Sections 153A or 153B of the Indian Penal Code.
Unlawful activity or offence described under Sections 153A or 153B of the

Indian Penal Code is encouraging hostility between various groups and making
imputations that are harmful to national integration
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Unlawful association
is also one that
“encourages or aids
persons to undertake
any unlawful activity,
or of which the
members undertake
such activity”.
Process to declare
an association
unlawful:
a) Section 4 of the
UAPA, it is mandatory
for the government to
send the notification to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Tribunal within 30
days of issuing the ratified ban gazette notification.
b) Details were given to the Tribunal about the cases registered by National
Investigation Agency, Enforcement Directorate, and state police forces.
c) Tribunal( headed by a retired or sitting judge of a High Court) issued a show-

cause notice to the unlawful association to reply in writing about why it should not be
banned.
d) After both sides’ arguments, the Tribunal conducts an inquiry for declaring an
“unlawful association” that needs to be submitted within six months.
e) If the tribunal approves the ban it becomes applicable for five years.
Impact on association after it is declared as unlawful

a) Criminalisation of its membership and the forfeiture of the properties of the
organisation.
b) Section 7 , the government can prohibit the use of funds for an unlawful association.
c) Section 8, the government can notify and seize all the places used by unlawful
association.
d) Under the law, aggrieved persons can make an application to the Court of the District
Judge within the local limits within 15 days of the date of such order.
UAPA tribunal:
a) Government can constitute a tribunal under a High Court judge for its bans to have
long-term legal sanctity.
b) Government order of declaring an organisation as an “unlawful association” would
come into effect after the confirmation by the tribunal.
c) Ban notification can also come into effect immediately
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d) In exceptional circumstances if the government gave the reasons for it in recording

and writing and the tribunal has the power to endorse or reject it.
Constitution of the tribunal:

1) A High Court judge is a single member of the tribunal.
2) In case of a vacancy (other than a temporary absence) in the Tribunal, the Centre
appoints another judge.
c) Responsibility of the centre to provide the necessary tribunal staff to discharge its
functions.
d) Consolidated Fund of India bears all expenses incurred by a tribunal.
Powers of UAPA tribunal:

a) It can regulate its own proceedings.
b) It has powers to decide the place where it can hold its sittings. So, tribunals can
hold hearings in different states.
c) It is vested with the same powers as a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure,
1908.
d) Every proceeding before the Tribunal is regarded as a judicial proceeding.
4) Prisons in India
Prisons is a state subject.
Governed by Prison Act 1894 and prison manuals of respective state governments.
Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) provides regular guidance and advice to States and
UTs on various issues concerning prisons and prison inmates.
Modernisation of Prisons (MoP) Project:
Financial assistance (in form of Grant in aid) to States and UTs by Government of India
through MoP for using modern-day security equipment in Prisons for
a) Enhancing the security of jails and
b) To facilitate the task of reformation and
c) Rehabilitation of prisoners through correctional administration programmes.
Duration of the project is for five years 2021-26.
Project will cover all States and UTs and cover the following prison types-
Central Jails, District Jails,Women Jails,Special Jails etc.
Core components of MoP project are

a) video conference infrastructure.
b) body worn cameras.
c) door frame/Metal detector/Security Poles etc.,
d) Baggage Scanners/ Frisking/ Search/ Jamming Solutions etc.
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e) correctional programmes
5) Aadhaar-Voter ID Linkage
Election Laws
(Amendment) Act, 2021
passed in parliament to
amend the Representation of
the People Act, 1950.
Section 23(4) was inserted

in the Representation of the
People Act, 1950.
Section 23(4) states that

the electoral registration
officer may askcitizensto
furnish their Aadhaar
numbers.
i) “for the purpose of establishing the identity of any person”
or
ii) “for the purposes of authentication of entries in electoral roll of more than one
constituency or more than once in the same constituency”
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Changes in the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

a) Rule 26B was added
to provide that “every
person whose name is
listed in the roll may
intimate his Aadhar
number to the
registration officer”.
b) Form 6B provides
the format in which
Aadhaar information
may be submitted to the
electoral registration
officer.
c) Form 6B provides
the voter to either
submit their Aadhaar
number or any other listed document.
Reasons behind linking voter IDs with Aadhaar:

a) Higher Coverage of Aadhaar than any other official document. At the end of
2021, 99.7% of the adult Indian population had an Aadhaar card.
b) Reliable, quicker and cost efficient authentication and verification in
Aadhaar.
c) Clean up the electoral rolls by weeding out duplicate entries, bogus voters.
d) Ensurs that only one Voter ID is issued per citizen of India.
e) Curb the menace of multiple enrolment of the same person in different places.
f) Enable Digital and remote voting process
Concerns associated
with linking voter IDs
with Aadhaar:
a) Confusion
throughout Election
Laws (Amendment)
Act, 2021 whether the
linkage of the Aadhaar
with Voter ID is optional
or not made the choices
complicated.
b) Higher error rate in
Aadhaar: Widespread
errors and discrepancies
in government schemes linked with Aadhaar
UIDAI in 2018 notes that Aadhaar based biometric authentication had a 12% error
rate.
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c) Constitutional violation: SC in Lal Babu Hussein case (1995) held that the
Right to vote cannot be disallowed by insisting only on four proofs of identity.
d) May turn into futile exercise: As Aadhaar is only a proof of residence and not a
proof of citizenship.
e) Violations to an individual’s right to privacy granted under Puttaswamy
Judgment (Aadhaar Card judgment)
f) Influence the voting process as linkage may help in creating voter profiles based
on age, location, religion, etc.
g) Possibilities of data weaponization through voter profiling that may become
disaster for democratic processes.
g) Selective disenfranchisement of a certain class of voters who opposes to a
particular political ideology..
Way Forward:
a) Enable prior consent mechanism by providing control, rights, and options to the
citizens to define the usage of their personal data by government agencies.
b) Proper data protection law that clearly defines the jurisdiction of legislature,
executive and judiciary.
c) ECI should limit itself to utilizing existing proofs for voter authentication and
Aadhaar declaration should remain voluntary.
6) Postal Index Number (PIN)
Six-digit code (PIN) code introduced by India Post on August 15, 1972.
It is an alpha-numeric or numeric number that is included in the postal address.
It is for easy identification of the sorting-district and the addressee’s delivery post
office.
The postal code, known with different names in different countries viz. postcode, zip
code, etc.
The Universal Postal Union says that 160 countries of the world have so far
introduced postal codes.
History of the Postal Code:The codes were introduced nationwide in

Germany in 1944, Singapore (1950), Argentina (1958), the U.S. (1963), Switzerland
(1964), India (1972), and the U.K. (1974).
Effects of Postal Code:

a) Gave unique identity to all physical addresses of the country.
b) It helped in bypassing inaccurate addressing and ensured accurate and fast
delivery by post offices.
c) Revolutionized the manual postal sorting.
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Issues faced by PIN Code:

a) Even after five decades, a substantial volume of mail in India is not PIN coded.
b) Delay in processing at the sorting centers as in cities such as Delhi and Kolkata.
c) With the revolution of mobile telephony in the last two decades Personal mail has
almost vanished .
d) Manual Beat sorting at the post office delays the process
Way Forward:
a)Integrating the beat code with the six-digit PIN code.
b) Change in Method of Beat-sorting: It can be done in the circle hub, if the beat
code is integrated with the PIN code.
c) Utilization of new machinery such as letter sorting machines, flat sorting
machines and parcel sorting machines.
d) Centralize the parcel delivery centers and mechanize the beat as the logistic system.
e) Rationalization of PIN codes as the system of postal code.
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7) PM-SHRI scheme
To reflect the key features of

the National Education
Policy(NEP), 2020.
14,500 schools across

states and Union Territories
will be redeveloped
It will encompass all aspects

of the National Education
Policy (NEP).
Act as National Education

Policy labs or “NEP labs”.
Existing schools run by the

Centre, states, UTs and local
bodies can be upgraded to
PM SHRI schools.
Any school can be PM SHRI schools either KVs, JNVs, state government schools
or even those run by municipal corporations.
It will ensure extensive learning experiences. pedagogies and assessment systems
Provide career guidance and monitoring by alumni and good physical infrastructure
Integration with other schemes (PM Poshan, Samagrah Shiksha and Ayushman
Bharat) to act as community centers.
Environment Friendly : These will be energy-efficient natural farming patches and

rainwater harvesting systems.
Introduction of vocational education as well as linkages of skill counsellors with

local industry.
Impact of PM-SHRI schemes on the educational landscape of the country:

Reduction in regional disparities in education.
Way forward to make PM-SHRI a success:

a) Separate budget allocation to PM SHRI schools by Central and state governments.
b) Focus on teacher training programme consistent with pedagogical practices
proposed by the NEP.
c) Include the “PM TRI” scheme i.e. Teachers for Rising India.
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8) National Assessment and Accredditation Council
Autonomous body under the

University Grants Commission
(UGC).
Responsible for assessment and

certification of Higher Education
Institutions (HEIs) as part of
accreditation.
It is a multi-layered evaluation
process.
It evaluates quality standards of
higher education
institutions(HEIs) in terms of
a) curriculum b) faculty c)
infrastructure d) research, and other
parameters.
Ratings for institutions vary from

A++ to C.
When an institution gets a D, it

means that it is not accredited.
Higher education institutions (HEIs) have to voluntarily submit applications for

assessment.
Higher education institutions must be accredited in accordance with the 2012 UGC
(Mandatory Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Educational
Institutions) Regulations.
NAAC accreditation is valid for five years.
Number of accredited institutions in India:

 Out of 1,043 universities and 42,343 colleges, only 406 universities and 8,686
colleges were NAAC-accredited.
 Highest number of accredited colleges are in Maharashtra (1,869 ) followed
by Karnataka (914).
 Most accredited universities are in Tamil Nadu( 43).
 NAAC reviewed 19 universities and 121 colleges four times, with a gap of five
years between each grading.
Criteria’s to be followed to apply for accreditation process:
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 Higher education institution with a minimum of six years of operation or

with at least two graduated batches can apply for accreditation.
 Institutes must be recognised by the UGC .
 Institutions should have regular students enrolled in their full-time teaching and
research programmes.
 Accreditation process is done in cycles:
 a) Cycle 1 accreditation is the first time accreditation of an institution.
b) Thereafter, Cycles 2, 3, and so on cycles happen after subsequent five-year periods.
Accreditation process:Follows an “input-based” approach.

It mainly relies on applicant institutions’ self-assessment reports.
First step of evaluation: Applicant institutions must submit a self-study information
report related to quantitative and qualitative metrics.
Second Step: Validation of institution’ s data by NAAC expert teams.
Third Step: Thereafter, the NAAC peer team visits the institutions.
Latest controversy/issues related to accreditation process:

a) Bribery allegations that Maharaja Sayajirao University unduly tried to
influence the peer review team with gold, cash and other favours.
b) Higher education institutes (HEIs) do not apply for NAAC evaluation due to fear of
obtaining a poor grade or no accreditation.
Way forward
a) Reducing the role of the peer team.
b) Adopt an “outcome-based approach” .
c) Introduce Provisional Accreditation system for Colleges (PAC)
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9) Professors for Practice
An individual who is
a) “distinguished expert” and
b) “made remarkable
contributions in their
professions”
is eligible for
appointment for the
post of Professor of
Practice.
Individuals must have

at least 15 years of
service or
experience.
Higher Educational
Institutions are free to
decide the sector from
where they want to
rope in professionals.
Diverse
Background of
professor of practice: Anyone from technology, science, social sciences, media,
literature, armed forces, law, fine arts, etc.
Professors of Practice positions are not open for serving or retired teachers.
Professors of Practice does not fall within

a) the ambit of formal academic qualification or
b) UGC’s minimum qualifications for the appointment of teachers and other academic
staff.
Engagement for Professor of practice can be full-time or part-time for at least four
years.
Initially, the hiring will be for one year and can be extended to four years based on
performance.
Institutes and experts being hired decides the remuneration.
Universities can also approach the industries for financial support.
Mechanisms for appointments of Professors of Practice:
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Basis of appointments:
a) On a nomination basis, Universities and colleges will carry out appointments.
b) Vice-chancellors or directors can invite nominations for filling up posts.
c) Nominations cannot exceed 10 per cent of the sanctioned faculty strength of an
institute.
After the invitation of nominations, Interested persons can send their applications.
Selection committee consists of 2 senior professors from the respective institute, and 1
“eminent external member”.
Academic council and the executive council of the institutes took the final calls on
appointments.
Role of Professors of practice:

a) Development and designing of courses and curriculum for the institute along with
delivering lectures.
b) Enhancing industry-academia collaborations.
c) Collaborate with regular faculty members for joint research projects or
consultancy services.
Objectives:
a) Augment faculty resources in universities and colleges: Recruiting industry
experts and professionals will help in filling vacancies.
b) Improving the quality of graduates being produced by Indian colleges and
universities.
c) To facilitate and promote the integration of academic scholarship with practical
expertise and experience.
d) To churn out industry-ready graduates.
10) Regulation of Online Gaming
No dedicated regulatory
body for online gaming in
India.
Ministry of Electronics and

Information Technology
(MeitY) is responsible for
overseeing the sector.
Information Technology Act,

2000 governs online
activities in India.
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Amendments to Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and

Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021): Regulations for online gaming
platforms.
Key amendments
Online game: Game that is offered on Internet and is accessible by a user through a
computer resource if he makes a deposit with expectation of earning winnings.
Self-regulatory body (SRB): Only games that are cleared by SRB will be allowed to
legally operate in India.
Norms for Online gaming companies:
a) Cannot engage in betting on outcome of games.
b) Appoint a compliance officer, nodal officer (act as liaison official with government
and assist law enforcement agencies), and grievance officer (resolve user complaints).
c) Mandatory KYC verification of players.
MeitY has established three Grievance Appellate Committees (GAC) under rule 3A of IT
(Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
Each GACs consists of

a chairperson as Ex-officio, and
two whole-time members (one is retired member)
for a term of three years from the date of assumption of office or until further orders,
whichever is earlier.
11) Aspirational Block Programme (ABP) & Aspirational District

Programme
Aspirational Block Programme (ABP):

a) Mentioned in Union Budget 2023-24.
b) Coverage: Covering 500 blocks. Over half of these blocks are in Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.
c) Objective:Saturation of essential government services across multiple domains such
as health, nutrition, education, agriculture etc.
d) Key Indicators: 15 key socio-economic indicators (KSIs). States have flexibility to
include additional state specific KSIs.
e) Programme Focus:Improving governance by converging existing schemes.
Aspirational District Programme:

Objective: To transform 112 most under-developed districts quickly launched in 2018.
Programme focus: On strength of each district, identifying low-hanging fruits for
immediate improvement and and measuring progress by ranking districts monthly.
5 broad socioeconomic themes are Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture &
Water Resources,Financial Inclusion & Skill Development and Infrastructure.
Approach: Convergence, Colloaboration and Competition.
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12) Charge Sheets and First Information Report (FIR)
Charge Sheet:
a) Formal police record showing the names of each person brought into custody, nature
of the accusations, and identity of the accusers.
b) SC held that charge sheet by probing agency is not a “public document”.
First Information Report (FIR)

a) Written document prepared by police when they receive information about
commission of a cognizable offence.
b) Youth Bar Association Case (2016):SC issued directions to police to upload FIRs
in website within 24 hours except in sensitive cases like rape.
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13) Bail Process
Refers to temporary release of accused in a criminal case in which court has a trial
pendingand is yet to announce the judgement.
Bail is a right if the person accused is detained or arrested for a bailable offence under
(Section 436 of CrPC).
Anticipatory Bail: A person can apply for this if he/she could be arrested for a non-
bailable offense (Section 438 of CrPC).
Court has power to cancel bail at any stage under sections 437 and 439 of CrPC.
Grounds of cancellation of bail: When a person is indulged in criminal activity and
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misuse of their liberty.
14) World Government Summit 2023
Held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Theme “Shaping Future Governments”.
It is a global forum held annually in Dubai.
It brings together leaders in government, business, technology, and civil society.
Objective: To discuss pressing issues facing humanity and to shape future of

governments worldwide.
15) Hate speech
Hate speech is generally incitement to hatred primarily against a group of persons,
It is not defined in any law in India, but dealtwith IPC section like 153A, 295A etc.
Hate speech can be conveyed through any form of expression, including images,
cartoons, memes, objects, gestures and symbols.
It can be disseminated offline or online.
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Legislations around Hate Speech:
Article 19(2) gives all citizen the right to freedom of speech and expression but subject
to reasonable restrictions.
Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860’s sections like 153A, 153B, 298 etc deals with Hate
speech that can cause imputations to national integration.
Representation of People Act, 1951:

Section 8: disqualifies a person from contesting elections if he illegimately use
freedom of speech and
expression.
Section 123(3A) and section
125 prohibits promotion of
enmity on grounds of religion,
race, caste, community in
connection with elections.
Protection of Civil Rights

Act, 1955:
Section 7 penalises incitment

to, and encoragement of untouchability through words.
Section 124A of Indian Penal Code (IPC) defines sedition.
It as an offence committed when any person by words or otherwise brings or attempts to

excite disaffection towards the government established by law by
a) words, either spoken or written
b) signs
c) visible representation, or otherwise.
It is a cognisable, nonbailable and non-compoundable offence under the law.
Impact on person charged under sedition law:

a) Barred from a government job.
b) Have to live without their passport.
c) must produce themselves when required.
Law Commission of India (LCI) in 2018 recommended repeal of section 124A of IPC.
Important Judgements:
a) Kedar Nath vs State of Bihar, 1962: Citizen can criticize the government till the
point it did not led to the violence.
b) P Alavi vs State of Kerala, 1982: Sloganeering, criticizing of Parliament or
Judicial setup did not amount to sedition.
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16) Sarna religion

Various tribal communities of five states demanded that Centre recognise their religion
as 'Sarna'.
Sarna:
A"religion" based on concept of nature worship.
It is followed by tribals in several Indian states.

17)Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS)
rules
Now, interest accumulated on MPLADS fund deposited in Consolidated Fund of

India.
Objective of the Change : Timely and efficient utilisation of funds
MPLADS enables MP to suggest and get executed developmental works of a capital

nature based on local needs.
MPs receive Rs.5 crore each year in two instalments of Rs. 2.5 crore each.
MP shall recommend
a) atleast 15% of MPLADS funds for areas inhabited by SC population
b) and 7.5 %for areas inhabited by ST population.
MPLADS funds are non-lapsable.
District Authority is responsible for overall coordination and supervision of works.
Implementing agency:Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation

(MoSPI)
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18) Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2022
Recent Changes:
a) Individuals can send up to ₹10 lakh without informing the government.
b) Time limit prescribed for intimation to Central Government increased from 15 days
to 45 days.
c) List of compoundable offences(where complainant can agree to take back charges
levied against accused) under FCRA increased to 12 from 7.
FCRA is implemented by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), supported by

Intelligence Bureau.
FCRA Act: Major Provisions
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a) Mandatory Aadhaarsubmission of every office-bearer of NGOs to receive

foreign
funds.
b) Followiing can not receive foreign funds:
i) candidates for elections
ii) Journalists or newspaper and media broadcast companies.
iii) Judges and government servants
iv) Members of legislature and political parties or their office-bearers.
v) Organisations of a political nature
c) FCRA Account in such branches of State Bank of India, New Delhi to receive funds.
d) Validity of FCRA registrationis for five years.
e) Use of funds is limited to the purpose for which it was received
19) Digitalisation of land records in India
Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP):

a) Implemented by Ministry of Rural Development.
b) Central sector scheme.
c) Major components are a) Computerization of land record; b) Survey/re-survey; c)
Computerization of Registration.
Other measures taken to promote digitization:

a) National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS).
b) Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) System: A unique ID
of 14 digits for every plot of land based on Geo-reference coordinate of vertices of the
parcel.
c) BhuNaksha: Digital Cadastral Mapping.
d) Survey of Villages Abadi and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas
(SVAMITVA) scheme to demarcate inhabited (Abadi) land
Efforts at State level:

a) Bhoomi joint project funded by Centre and state of Karnataka to digitise paper
land records.
b) Telangana’s Dharani project integrates RoR data with individual land plot maps.
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20) Police Commissionerate System (PCS) & Dual Command System

(DCS)
Police Commissionerate
System (PCS):
a) Commissioner of Police (CP) is
head of a unified police command
structure.
b) CP is responsible for forcein city,
and is accountable to state
government.
c) Drawn from Deputy Inspector
General rank or above and is
assisted by
Special/Joint/Additional/Deputy
Commissioners.
d) Has power of preventive arrest,
imposing Section 144 of CrPC Act
and initiate chapter proceedings.
e) Also has magisterial powers
related to regulation, control, and
licensing.
Dual Command System (DCS):

a) District Magistrate (DM) and
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Superintendent of Police (SP) share powers and responsibilities in a district.

b) DM is entrusted with issuing arrest warrants, licenses
c) SP has powers and responsibilities to investigate crime and make arrests.
d) System is designed to ensure lower concentration of powerand making police more
accountable to DM at district level
21) World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI)
Aggregate and individual governance indicators for over 200 countries and territories
over the period 1996–2020.
Based on 6 dimensions of governance such as

1) Control of Corruption
2) Rule of Law
3) Voice and Accountability
4) Government Effectiveness
5) Regulatory Quality
6) Political Stability and Absence of Violence/ Terrorism
It combines views of a large number of enterprise, citizen and expert survey respondents
in industrial and developing countries.
In an analysis of World Bank’s WGI, India’s scores were “much below” its peers on all
counts.
22) National EGovernance Services Limited (NeSL)
India’s first Information Utility.
Registered with Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) under aegis of
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016.
Primary role: To serve as a repository of legal evidence holding the information

pertaining to any debt/claim.
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23) Probity Portal (PP)
It is quality of having strong moral principles (such as honesty, uprightness,

transparency and incorruptibility).
It was launched in 2017.
Objective: To capture data from all Ministries/Departments/Autonomous

Organizations/Public Sector Banks in respect of issues like:
a) Number of cases pending for sanction for prosecution.
b) Implementation of Rotational Transfer Policy.
c) Number of penalty disciplinary proceedings.
Now, DoPT has completely revamped the Portal to add more functionalities to improve
user experience.
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24) Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition

of Forest Rights) Act, 2006
25) Official Secrets Act

The Official Secrets Act was first enacted in 1923 and was retained after Independence.
The law makes spying, sharing ‘secret’ information, unauthorised use of uniforms,
withholding information, interference with the armed forces in prohibited/restricted
areas, among others, punishable offences.
OSA does not define “secret” or “official secrets”.
Page | 81
IMPORTANT BODIES IN NEWS

1) Bar Council of India (BCI)
Established by Parliament
under Advocates Act,
1961
Objective: Toregulate and

represent Indian bar.
Statutory functions of
BCI:
a) Lay down standards of
professional conduct and
etiquette for advocates.
b) Safeguard rights,
privileges and interests of
advocates.
c) Recognise Universities
whose degree in law shall be
a qualification for enrolment
as
an advocate
2) Appointment of Director General of Police (DGP)
Prakash Singh vs Union Judgement (2006): SC issued guidelines for DGP

appointment
DGP is to be selected by state government from among three-senior most officers

whose
name has been suggested by UPSC (Issued its guidelines in 2009).
UPSC suggest names on basis of their length of service, very good record and experience
(30 years).
DGP should have a fixed tenure of two years in the post, irrespective of retirement
date.
Page | 82
3) Lokpal and Lokayukta
‘Lokpal-Lokayukta’, coined by L. M. Singhvi Administrative Reforms

Commission in 1966.
Central Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 was notified in 2014:

a) Provides for establishment of a statutory body of Lokpal for Union and Lokayukta for
States.
b) Objective: To inquire into allegations of corruption against public functionaries.
c) Lokayuktas are state equivalents of central Lokpal.Maharashtra in 1971, and Kerala
in 1999 already have Lokayuktas.
It extends to the whole of India and apply to public servants in and outside India
Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013:
a) Composition: Chairperson and a maximum of eight members.

b) Tenure of office: Term of five years or until attaining age of 70 years, whichever is
earlier.
c) Shall be appointed by President on recommendations of a SC.
d) Selection Committee (SC): It constitute of
i) Prime Minister as Chairperson.
ii) Lok Sabha Speaker,
iii) Leader of Opposition
iv) Chief Justice of India (CJI) or his nominee.
v) Eminent jurist nominated by President based on recommendation of other members
Page | 83
of panel.
e) Timelines for enquiry, investigation:60 days for completion of inquiry and 6
months for completion of investigation by CBI.
f) Removal: Removed by President after an inquiry by SC for that a petition has to be
signed by at least 100 Members of Parliament (MP).
g) Lokpal Jurisdiction:Prime Minister, Ministers, MP, Group A, B, C and D officers
and officials of central government.Any society or trust or body that receives foreign
contribution above ₹10 lakh.
4) Unique Identification Authority of India(UIDAI)
Under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
Established under the provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and
Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (“Aadhaar Act 2016”).
Mandate: To assign a 12-digit unique identification (UID) number (Aadhaar)

to all the residents of India.
New amendment in Aadhaar rules:

a)Supporting documents updated “at least once” by Aadhaar holders on completion of
10 years from enrolment date.
b) Updation to ensure continued accuracy of Aadhaar-related information in CIDR
(Central Identities Data Repository).
Page | 84
CIDR contains all Aadhaar numbers issued to

Aadhaar holders along with, corresponding
demographic and biometric information of such
individuals etc.
Aadhaar biometrics can not be used for

forensics:
a) As Biometric data collected for Aadhaar
cannot be used to identify criminals or solve
crimes.
b) Sharing or use of biometric information for
any purpose other than generation of Aadhaar
number and authentication, is impermissible
under Aadhaar Act, 2016.
5) Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA)

Central Consumer Protection Authority is a regulatory authority set up under Section
10(1) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 in relation to matters affecting rights of
consumers by individuals or entities following improper trade practices or by display of
inappropriate or wrong advertisements affecting public interest and helps promoting
consumer trust by enforcing the rights of consumers through effective guidelines.
6) National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST)

NCST was established by amending Article 338 and inserting a new Article
338A in the Constitution through the Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003.
Scheduled Tribes
Article 366 defined scheduled tribes as "such tribes or tribal communities or parts of
or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under Article 342
to be Scheduled Tribes for the purposes of this constitution".
Article 342: The President may, with respect to any State or Union territory, and
where it is a state, after consultation with the Governor there of by public
notification, specify the tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within tribes
or tribal communities which shall, for the purposes of this constitution, is deemed to
be scheduled tribes in relation to that state or Union Territory, as the case may be.
Parliament may by law include in or exclude from the list of Scheduled tribes
specified in a notification.
Page | 85
Page | 86
Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)

Tribal communities are often identified by some specific signs such as primitive traits,
distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness to contact with the community at
large and backwardness.
Along with these, some tribal groups have some specific features such as
dependency on hunting, gathering for food, having pre-agriculture level
of technology, zero or negative growth of population and extremely low
level of literacy. These groups are called Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups.
75 such groupsof tribals in 18 States and 1 Union Territory.
Page | 87
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K-Snippet 365 (History and Culture)

INDEX – POLITY & GOVERNANCE

14. World Government Summit IMPORTANT BODIES IN NEWS

CONSTITUTION , AMENDMENTS AND REFORMS

History of Quota Benefits:

Implementation of the Mandal Commission report It led to the inclusion of

Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) website states that rights of

In 1996, the government drafted a Bill called The Constitution (Scheduled

UPA I(2004-2008)set up two important panels: 1)National Commission for

In 2011, National Commission for Minorities(NCM) had supported extension of

SC benefits to Dalit Christians and Muslims.

Reasons for non-inclusion of Dalit Muslims and Christianity converts for

b)Political parties or pressure groups may start demanding a scheme of separate

d) Deviation from basic purpose of quota as envisaged in the constitution: It

e) Difficult to locate original caste/community of Dalit Christians and

f) Nature of conversion(forced or voluntary) is undecided.

Recommendation of NCSC on extending

2) Uniform Civil Code (UCC)

Article 44 (Directive Principles of State Policy) contains provisions of UCC.

UCC comes under non justiciable part of constitution.

“Personal laws” comes under Concurrent List.

Current Status of Personal Laws in India:

Different religious communities are currently governed by a system of personal laws,

Term ‘Hindu’ also includes Sikhs,

Muslim personal law’s certain aspects

Some secular laws are:

Goa is, at present, only state in

Portuguese Civil Code,1867 continues

However, Portuguese Code is not

3) Inclusion or Exclusion from the Scheduled Tribes (ST) List

Official Population of Scheduled Tribes in India:

Criteria to begin the process of inclusion or removal of SC, ST list:

c) Supreme Court(SC) wanted a fix fool-proof parameter for determining whether a

Procedure to add or remove a community from SC, ST lists:

Discretion of a State government to recommend certain communities for addition or

Stae government mostly rely on recommendation from studies it commissions from

President assents to a Bill that amends the Constitution (Scheduled Castes)

any community in the Scheduled Tribes or Scheduled Castes list.

To detain a person so that to prevent that person

Action taken by the administration on the grounds of

That action will be prejudicial to the state.

Most contentious part of the scheme of fundamental

Section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,

What are the constitutional provisions for preventive detention?

Article 22 grants protection to persons who are arrested or detained.

There are two types of detention i.e. punitive and preventive.

Preventive detention: Detaining a person without trial and conviction by a court.

Article 22 has two parts

Rights available under punitive detention but not under preventive

What are major differences between Preventive and punitive detention?

Person excluded from the EWS category were those

b) Having a residential flat of 1,000 square feet,

Grounds of challenge EWS quota:

b) The violation of the equality code is due to

b) It will convert it into an anti-poverty measure instead of measure to overcome

Majority’s reasoning for upholding EWS quota: Justices Dinesh Maheshwari,

a) Instrument of affirmative action: Economic weakness can be addressed through