Current Affairs

1)Gender Typecasting in Courts

What is the News:
· Supreme Court has released guidelines "handbook on combating gender stereotyping"
to take down gender stereotyping words in Court proceedings, by correcting
language/words that imparts "incorrect ideas" about women. The handbook is a guide for
Judges and Lawyers.
· How will it be useful: - use of gender-neutral language ie. Language which is conscious
about words and depiction of women, will provide for gender perspective and inclusivity.
o The choice of words or a lack thereof is integral to everyday language and
judgements.
o So, gender neutral language is necessary for gender inclusiveness and gender
sensitization.

Changes Introduced
· Changes are mainly regarding terminologies used for women in judicial proceedings and
in final verdict by court.
· E.g., Instead of "Affair” term "relationship outside marriage" is used
· For "adulteress" term "women who has engaged in sexual relation outside marriage" is
used
· Instead of "chaste women", "dutiful wife", "housewife" simple terms as Women, Wife,
Homemaker to be used in judiciary
· Court said that it is wrong to assume that women are "overly emotional, illogical and
cannot take decision"

Gender Representation in Judiciary:

· Women are highly underrepresented higher in judiciary with only 6 percent of women
judges in Supreme Court and about 11 percent in High Courts.
· At subordinate court level women constitute about 30 percent of judicial officers.
· Out of all the registered advocates in India women are only about 15 percent.
· Government has set a goal of having 33 percent of women at all judicial positions.
· There has never been a female Chief Justice in India.
 Causes of Underrepresentation:
· No significant attempt has been made to address the situation, either by the judiciary or
by legislation, except for the setting up of targets that don’t have any legislative backing.
E.g., no reservation policy for women in the High Court and Supreme Court.
· Lack of judicial infrastructure, some subordinate courts lack even clean toilets and tap
water facility. Even the security of court premises is not ensured in subordinate courts.
· Triple burden of Profession, Childcare and Household faced by women place them at a
disadvantage in terms of their career.
· To appear in district judge entrance exam lawyers, you need to have seven years of
continuous legal practice and be in brackets of 35-45 years of age. This is a major
disadvantage for women as many will have career gaps due to childbirth.
· Significantly small number of women litigants and women advocates.
· Historically legal profession was not considered suitable for women.
· Opaqueness of Collegium system and most of the times collegium system is dominated
by men.

Importance of Women in Judiciary

· “When judges interpret law with their reason and opinion, that is a reflection of their
perceptions, that perception should not be devoid of women’s perceptions and should be
representative of both men and women." - Justice Ayesha Malik (justice in Pakistan
Supreme Court)
· For integrating gender perspective and giving equal visibility to women. It will make
judiciary more Transparent, Inclusive, and representative.
o Women in judiciary will bring second gender perspective, because of distinct
set of life experiences and circumstances will reflect in their reasoning.
o Bringing different perspectives and diverse reasoning on the bench will gain
greater trust of the public and society.
o Women presence will enhance legitimacy of courts and a comparative
improvement in quality of decision making.
· A 2016 study conducted by researchers at Antioch University concluded that the lack of
diversity in the judiciary is linked to lower convictions for corruption.
o The study found that states with higher representation of women judges
convicted politicians at higher rates for corruption.
· a 2017 study found that states with a high percentage of female judges had significantly
lower gender-related pay gaps.
· It motivates more women to seek justice.
· Women judges can have more balanced and empathetic approach in cases involving
sexual violence and child abuse.
· An equitable justice system will become a reality.
· This lack of representation can lead to discrimination and perpetuates gender
inequalities.
 Conclusion
· Not only in judiciary but in parliament, police forces, paramilitary forces also women are
underrepresented which can be attributed to patriarchal and a gendered setup of society.
· Women’s representation in the judiciary has historically been extremely low. This is
largely due to socio-cultural barriers, as well as systemic disparities in the legal
system.
o Law was, traditionally, seen as a “male profession,”
· Paradigm must change as in process of administration of justice as judicial decisions have
a wide and deep impact on social constructs, social order and systematic inequalities
that prevail in system.
· Former CJI have mooted that women must have 50% reservation in judiciary as their
right, so legislation should take adequate steps in this regard.
· Institutional, social, and behavioral changes are required which will take time.
· Appointing more women can have a lasting and positive impact on the legal system and
create a fairer and more balanced legal system.
· More women in the judiciary leads to improved outcomes for victims of domestic
violence, lower gender-related pay gaps and better prosecution of corrupt practices.

2)Kashmir & 370 and Supreme Court

Why in News:
· The Supreme Court is hearing a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of article
370 of the constitution.
· A five-judge constitutional bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y.Chandrachud is
conducting a hearing.
· Advocate Kapil Sibal is appearing on behalf of petitioners,
· with primary argument that article 370 was no longer a ‘temporary provision’ and has
possessed a permanent character after dissolution of constituent assembly of Jammu &
Kashmir, so its abrogation should be declared void.

Why was special status to JK.

· Because of circumstances in which Kashmir acceded to India. In 1947 Hari Singh faced
military attack from warring tribes of NWFP, in a hurry he wrote a letter to Mountbatten
seeking his help.
· Mountbatten said he cannot help until Hari Singh accedes to Dominion of India,
· So, Hari Singh attached a conditional Instrument of Accession and specified matters in
which dominion of India can make laws ie. Defense, Foreign Affair, Communication &
all other legislative powers were to be retained with state.
 Status of accession.
· At time of accession India was governed by GOI Act, 1935 while JK had its own
constitution since 1939 it was a princely state.
· Hari Singh added to IOA that " nothing in this instrument shall be deemed to commit in
any way to acceptance of any future constitution of India or to fetter my discretion to
enter into arrangement with GOI under any such future constitution"

Features of Article 370.

· Three core principles:
o limited power of parliament to legislate on matters specified in Instrument of
Accession.
o On other matters parliament can make laws for state only with states
Concurrence.
o Article 1 ie. India as union of states and article 370 only were made applicable to
state of Jammu and Kashmir as such, and other parts of constitution would be
applicable only through orders passed by President.

So, at time of August 2019 state was under president’s rule so Concurrence was managed as
parliament was acting on behalf of JK legislative assembly and president applied order to JK.

Article 35 A
· Grants special privileges to permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir as preference
in posts to public sector etc.
· Only permanent citizens of Jammu and Kashmir are eligible to buy land and invest in
real estate properties in the state.
· Article 35 A was repealed by “Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act of 2019”
· Article 35 A was the main cause of distinction between permanent and rest of states
citizens.

How was status removed.

· As state was under president rule, concurrence of state government, was as same as of
Governor so order stating that " all provisions of constitution will be applicable to JK"
was passed with concurrence of state.
· The state was bifurcated and 2 new UT of JK & Ladakh created.
· Another resolution adopted in parliament to declare art. 370 as inoperative,
 o (governor is not considered here but, concept of parliament acting as state
legislative assembly because of president rule was used, so in all conceivable
way government secured its decision against challenge in SC)

Main questions before the Supreme Court.

· Wether status of JK has not become permanent as constituent assembly has refrained
from any decision on art. 370.
o note but art. 370 was under temporary provisions
· Whether abrogation of 370 was more than a constitutional amendment ie. Can it be
treated as basic structure?

Developments after 370 Abrogation

· Right to Information is accessed to Kashiri population.
· The private sector can invest in Kashmir.
o Fresh foreign and domestic investment will create job opportunities in the valley.
As of now 40% of Kashmiris lack job.
o Earlier private investment in healthcare, education, and tourism was severely
constrained. Industrialization of the state will increase manifold.
· Article 370 and 35 A place restrictions on transfer of land. Now horticulture and food
processing industries will get a big boost. The handicraft industry will be able to export
nationally and internationally.
· Women marrying outside the state had no rights on land. All women will now retain
full and legal rights on land and all other rights
· Act for Protection of Women from Domestic Violence was not applicable.
o All Central Acts and Laws protecting the rights of women and children to be
made fully applicable to the State
· Right to Education, which makes education a Fundamental Right for Children in the age
group of 8- 14 years was not applicable.
o Now Right to Education shall be extended to J&K to ensure universal education
coverage
· Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, Juvenile Justice Act etc. were also not applicable.
o Now Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 will now be
applicable here and will ensure adequate protection of women and child rights
· Benefits for Schedule Tribe
o Despite having nearly 12% population, the Socioeconomically disadvantaged
tribal community (ST) had no political reservation (Gujjars, Bakerwals and
others) Tribal/ST Communities residing in forests since generations had no
rights or protection
 o STs will now get political representation through reservation in Regional
Parliament seats like in the rest of the country
o The Scheduled Tribes & other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of
Forest Rights) Act, 2006 has now been made applicable.
o Rights of Tribal/ST Communities residing in forests of will now be protected
· Benefits to schedule casts
o The most disadvantaged castes (SC) employees were not getting full benefits of
reservation especially in promotion like their colleagues in the rest of the country
o Sanitation workers in the state were being denied citizenship rights
o As a result, they could not get other jobs forcing them to remain sanitation
workers
o All sanitation workers will now get full citizenship and other rights and benefits
o Manual scavenging will stop
o National Commission for Sanitation Workers Act, 1993 will now apply
o This will improve working conditions of sanitation workers and provide for
redressal of grievances
· Other Backward Castes in J&K to get full benefits of reservation in employment and
education- now like in the rest of the country

3) Poverty Estimation in India

Poverty
· Poverty is a state or condition in which a person or community lacks the financial
resources and essentials for a minimum standard of living, which includes food, shelter,
clothing, healthcare, education.
· As per World Bank, poverty is deprivation of well-being and is comprised of various
dimensions such as low income, lack of basic amenities and services required to live a
dignified life.
· Poverty is intersectional. It is deeply linked with- racism, mass incarceration, housing
crisis, domestic violence, gun violence, social isolation, welfare cuts, opioid epidemic,
· Poverty is Traumatic and Humiliating

Statistics on poverty
· As per 2021 MPI report of NITI Aayog 25% of Indian population is multidimensionally
poor.
· According to a recent report by United Nation’s Multidimensional Poverty Index
(MPI) India has a 10% reduction in poverty over 5 years. Reduction is mostly on account
of improvement in nutrition, years of schooling, and sanitation.
· MPI is based on 12 indicators as education, malnutrition, sanitation etc.
· As per the MPI report of UN, rural areas experienced the most substantial decline in
poverty levels.
· Poverty predominantly affects rural areas with 84% of all poor people living in rural
areas.
· NFHS 5 (2019-21) has estimated a decline in percentage of population living under
poverty from 25 percent in 2015-16 (NFHS-4) to 15 percent in NFHS-5.
· Extreme poverty is as low as 0.8% (of population) in India as of 2019.Extreme poverty is
defined by the World Bank as living below 1.9$ or less per day in Purchasing Power
Parity (PPP) terms.
· As per IMF Extreme Poverty is almost eradicated in India mostly on account of
governments Public Distribution System (PDS)
· In India, 21.9% of the population lives below the National Poverty Line which was
estimated in 2011 as 816 Rs. per capita per month for rural areas and 1000 per capita per
month for urban areas.
· As of now India lacks official poverty figures. The National Statistical Office is
carrying out a Consumption Expenditure survey, which is to measure poverty level. By
the end of 2023 India is projected to have its official poverty figures.
· International Scenario: -In 2018, almost 8% of the world’s workers and their families
lived on less than US$1.90 per person per day (international poverty line).
· Poor as percentage of India: -
o Constitute almost 30 percent of the population as per C.Rangrajan methodology
which was spending less than 47 Rs a day in urban area and 27rs a day in urban
area.
o Constitute almost 22 percent of the population as per Suresh Tendulkar
methodology which was expenditure of Rs 33 a day in urban areas and Rs 27 a
day in rural areas
o Constitute almost 21 percent of population as per World Bank estimations
which considers expenditure of less than $ 1.90 per day as poor. When adjusted to
purchasing power parity (PPP) this figure is Rs 28.5

Quotes
· Overcoming hunger is not a gesture of charity, it is an act of justice. It is an act of
fundamental human rights, the right to dignity and a decent life. -Nelson Mandela
· Poverty is not just lack of money; it is not having the capability to realize one's full
potential as a human being. -Amartya Sen
· Poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere. - Jawaharlal Nehru
· The opposite of poverty is not wealth, the opposite of poverty is justice. -Bryan
Stevenson
· Poverty is the worst form of violence. -Mahatma Gandhi

Poverty Estimation
· The incidence of poverty is measured by the poverty ratio, which is the ratio of the
number of poor to the total population expressed as a percentage. It is also known as
head-count ratio.
· In India, two commonly used method to estimate poverty are through the measurement
of income and consumption levels.
· Official Poverty line calculations and estimation in India is done by NITI Aayog and is
based on the Consumption Expenditure and NOT on Income Levels, because of
factors such as Variation in Income, additional and side incomes are difficult to account
for, while consumption pattern broadly remain stable.
· Poverty estimation in India is based on household Consumption Expenditure Survey
(CES) of consumer expenditure is done by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO)
under the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MOSPI) once in every
5 years.
· Actual calculation and Poverty estimation figures in India is carried out by NITI
Aayog’s task force through the calculation of poverty line based on the data captured by
the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) under the MOSPI.
· Based on the above estimations and calculations a poverty line is derived. A poor
household is defined as one with an expenditure level below a specific poverty line,
called a BPL household.
· Poverty Line is the minimum expenditure required to purchase Basket of goods required
to satisfy basic needs and is an approach to measure poverty by consumption basis.
· Actual estimation of poverty is done by NITI Aayog and not by MOSPI or NSSO, as they
only capture data.
· NSSO relies on Mixed Reference Period (MRP) method of data collection which
measures consumption of five-year low frequency items over a period of 30 days. These
items are clothing, health, education etc.
 Issues in Poverty Estimation:
· In 2019 Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) had decided not
to release the results of the all-India Household Consumer Expenditure Survey conducted
by the National Statistical Office (NSO) during 2017-2018.
· In explanation of reasons for withholding the data, government cited the flawed
methodologies of calculation that were being used and new methodologies were being
worked upon.
· A reply from central government in Lok Sabha has revealed that the last official Datas
with central government for poverty estimations were of 2011.
· The last published sample survey on Household Consumer Expenditure published by
NSSO was of 68th round conducted in 2011.
· Based on this data the erstwhile Planning Commission has estimated Poverty Line and
Poverty Ratio in 2011 by following Tendulkar Committee methodology.
· This means that official poverty estimations in country are based on 12-year-old data.

Committees associated with Poverty Estimation

· Dadabhai Naoroji and National Planning Commission (1938) have estimated poverty
lines based on requirement for minimum standard of living.
· V.M. Dandekar and N.Rath committee: -
o Made first systematic assessment of poverty based on National Sample Survey
data
o Basic minimum need is not the criteria but
o Adequate calories are considered for rural and urban
· Alagh Committee (1979): -
o determined a poverty line based on a based on dietary needs in terms of calories
for an adult in Rural and Urban terms.
o Inflation adjusted prices are considered
· Lakdawala Committee (1993)
· Tendulkar Committee (2009): -
o It recommended a shift from calorie consumption-based calculation of poverty
line to consumption of a basket of items
o The basket includes both goods and services such as: - pulses, milk, nonveg,
intoxicants, entertainment, toilet goods etc.
o The committee includes private expenditure also.
o The committee calculated new poverty lines for rural and urban areas of each
state.
· Rangarajan committee report (2014): -
o The poverty line is estimated as Monthly Per Capita Expenditure of Rs. 1407 in
urban areas and Rs. 972 in rural areas.
 o It also broadly revised Expenditure based poverty estimations and ignored
multidimensional aspects of poverty

Consumption based vs. Multidimensional poverty estimation:

· Consumption level-based poverty measures do not directly measure other dimensions of
deprivation.
· In absolute terms ie. Consumption based poverty ratios calculated by Tendulkar and
Rengarajan methodologies are lower than estimated by MPI.
· Consumption based poverty estimation is linear and is mostly in terms of income while
MPI includes depth and severity of deprivation.

Criticism:
· Committees associated with poverty estimation in India have focused on expenditure or
consumption based and have not focused much on multidimensional aspects of poverty
estimation.
· Lack of consensus among states on acceptance of Tendulkar and Rangarajan
committee.
· Consumption patterns, nutritional needs, prices, food preferences etc. depend upon
geographical and cultural factors, so one size fits all approach for poverty estimation
should be avoided.
· Poverty line estimates are based on the 2011 consumer expenditure survey of NSSO
because of government withholding latest data of surveys.

Way Forward:
· After completion of the latest Consumer Expenditure Survey by 2nd half of 2023, India
will get new official poverty line, it should be act as a benchmark for new Indias poverty
elimination targets.

4)Sedition and Section 150 BNS

Why in News: - Home Minister said in Lok Sabha that new bill on Indian Penal Code, 1860 ie.
Bhartiya Nyaya Samhita is to repeal offence of sedition under 124A of IPC.
 Quote: -
· “The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is that it is robbing the
human race, those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it.”-John
Stuart Mill
· “If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in
silencing that one person that he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing
mankind.” --J.S.Mill

What is it: -
· section 124 A of IPC dealt with sedition and it defined sedition as “whosoever makes
attempts to bring hatred, contempt or excites disaffection or contempt towards
government established by law in India either through written, spoken or visible
representation or otherwise”.
· Under 124 A it was a non bailable offence punishable by 3 years to life imprisonment.
· Constitution of India does not mention sedition.
· It was introduced by Britishers in India primarily to curb dissent against exploitative
administrative and economic policies of Britishers by religious preachers and politicians.
· Section 124 A was not mentioned in the original IPC of 1860as adopted by British but
was added later in 1870 by an amendment.

Stand of Constituent Assembly: -

· The constituent assembly was apprehensive about 124A but decided to keep it because of
the circumstances in which country got independence.
· As per Jawahar Lal Nehru, it is better to repeal it as soon as possible.

Article 19(2) vs. Sedition 124 A of IPC: -

· This issue can be understood as a debate between the liberty of Freedom of Speech and
Expression and state control.
· Article 19 provides that all Indian citizens have the right to express their opinions and
views freely either by word of mouth or by expressions through writings, banners,
movies, and symbols.
· Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression (FoSE) under article 19 of constitution
comes with Reasonable Restrictions provided in article itself as-Contempt of Court,
Defamation, Hate Speech, Decency or Morality, Public Order, Relation with foreign
Countries, Sovereignty and Integrity of India, Security.
· Sedition ie. Article 124(A) of IPC was considered as a direct impingement on Freedom of
Speech and Expression (FoSE) of article 19 because it indirectly adds up a list of actions
(124A of IPC) which are termed as “Sedition” (as Bringing Hatred against Government;
Exciting Disaffection towards Government) to the list of 8 reasonable restrictions to
which FoSE/ article 19(1) is already subjected.
· Romesh Thapar vs. State of Madras (1950): supreme court held that a law curbing
speech on ground of disturbing public order was unconstitutional.
o It was a judgement regarding curbing press freedom, when a well-known
communist leader of that time Romesh Thapar published articles about Nehru's
policies in 1950, the government imposed a ban on these articles.
o Thapar approached the supreme court with contention of this being an
impingement on his fundamental right of Speech and Expression ie. Article 19(1)
o Court has to determine whether:
 Government order was a violation of article 19(1) of constitution
 Did the order of government falls under reasonable restrictions mentioned
under article 19(1)
o The court held that:
 The government's order curbing the circulation of magazines carrying the
ideas of Mr. Thapar was an impingement on his fundamental right under
19(1).
 The government's order was not considered within premise of any
reasonable restrictions mentioned for article 19(1), hence order was void.
o Governments Action: - government brought first constitutional amendment act.
It added three new grounds of restriction on article 19(1) to overturn the court's
judgement and revalidate its order.
 Public order
 Friendly relations with foreign states
 Incitement to an offence

Section 124A of IPC vs. Section 150 of Bhartiya Nyaya Samhita: -

· A new bill on IPC has repealed the offence of sedition under 124A of IPC.
· However, it has been replaced by another section targeting “speech, writing or any
other form of communication that incites separatist and subversive activities, either by
using word written by mouth or by visible representations or financial or electronic
means shall be punishable by life imprisonment or with imprisonment which may extend
to 7 years”.
· Sectio 150 also seek to penalize aiding “subversive activities or those encouraging feeling
of separatist activities through Financial Means”
· Main difference:
o between previous Sedition and new section 150 of BNS is now there is no
reference to “disaffection against the government” or bring it under hatred or
contempt”
o While imprisonment for life remains common to both in earlier section 124A and
present section 150, the new section has increased the alternative punishment
from 3 years under 124A to 7 years under section 150.
 Misgivings in Sedition Law: -
· It hampers the right to Freedom of Speech and Expression by further adding restrictions
on it.
· It curbs the scope for Dissent against the Government by criminalizing acts as “to bring
hatred or disaffection against the government,” this goes directly against democratic
principles as public debate, accountability, and democratic dissent.
· Use of open-ended and broad worded terms as “to bring disaffection towards
government” in absence of clear definition provides scope for ambiguity and misuse by
governments in targeting individuals and groups critical of government.
· It conflicts with core constitutional principles of free speech and expression as it
criminalizes disaffection towards government.
· Weakens democracy by hampering its core principles of democracy – free flow of
opinions; public discourses. It creates a chilling effect on Free Speech and may result in
dictatorial tendencies in government.
· Since its inception constitutionality of law has been in question.

Judicial Approach about Sedition: -

The Judiciary did not declare section 124 A of IPC as void, but it has issued guidelines for courts
to determine sedition in various judgements.

· Kedarnath Singh Case (1962):

o Sedition charges can be only applied
 When these speeches or actions result in incitement to offence (ie.
Actions provoking unlawful behavior or urging someone to behave
unlawfully)
 When intention is to create public disorder and disturb public peace.
o “Speech or writings to which subverting the government by violent means,
including notion of Revolution” is considered as seditious.
o It is seditious to create public disorder.
· Balwant Singh vs. State of Punjab (1962):
o Balwant Singh has shouted pro Khalistani slogans on assassination day of Indira
Gandhi.
o The supreme court held that merely raising anti-India slogans like Hindustan
Murdabad, Khalistan Zindabad will not result into sedition offence, until and
unless it actually results into somebody committing offence.
o SC said that unless there is actual PUBLIC DISORDER merely
SLOGANEEARING cannot attract punishment under Section 124A.
 Conclusion:
· “The struggle between Liberty and Authority is the most conspicuous feature in portions
of history with which we are earliest familiar, particularly in Greece and Rome”- J.S.Mill
· Striking an ideal balance between individual liberty and social control, mandates for
removal of laws as Sedition.
· Lokmanya Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi were also tried and convicted under sedition
offence by Britishers for raising dissenting voices. These facts themselves provide for the
need to remove sedition laws.
· Tilak has mentioned a difference between “Rashtradroh” and “Rajdroh.” Means there
exists a difference between crime against Nation as a whole and dissent against
Government established by law, this should be demarcated well in the trial of such cases.
One can be tried with sedition and the other with defamation.

5) Overhaul in Criminal Justice System

Why in news:
The Center has introduced three new bills in Lok Sabha targeting overhaul of Criminal Justice
system.

· Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 to be replaced by Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS),2023
· Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973 to be replaced by Bhartiya Nagarik
Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
· Indian Evidence Act,1872 to be replaced by Bhartiya Sakshya Bill,2023.

Mandate of Committee for Criminal Reforms:

· The Ministry of Home Affairs constituted a committee headed by professor Dr. Ranbir
Singh to review three codes of criminal law.
· The mandate of the committee was to “recommend reforms in criminal laws of country in
effective manner”

Section 124A of IPC vs. Section 150 of Bhartiya Nyaya Samhita: -

· The new bill on IPC has repealed the offence of sedition under 124A of IPC.
· However, it has been replaced by another section targeting “speech, writing or any
other form of communication that incites separatist and subversive activities, either by
using word written by mouth or by visible representations or financial or electronic
means shall be punishable by life imprisonment or with imprisonment which may extend
to 7 years”.
· Sectio 150 also seek to penalize aiding “subversive activities or those encouraging feeling
of separatist activities through Financial Means”
· Main difference:
o between previous Sedition and new section 150 of BNS is now there is no
reference to “disaffection against the government” or bring it under hatred or
contempt”
o While imprisonment for life remains common to both in earlier section 124A and
present section 150, the new section has increased the alternative punishment
from 3 years under 124A to 7 years under section 150.

Why Need for Reform:

· The Parliamentary Standing Committee in its 111th and 128th report has highlighted the
need for reform in the criminal justice system through enactment of comprehensive
legislation instead of piecemeal amendments in existing acts.
· To overhaul colonial era criminal laws as these laws were passed by British Parliament.
Lord Thomas Macauly is said to be chief architect of criminal law in India.
· To bring change in criminal justice system
· To remove “Mentality of Servitude”
· Cleary stated a definition of Terrorism. India will now be able to designate and conduct
trials of terrorists with clear definition of terrorist defined in law. India will be able to
gain international cooperation as there lacks a mutually agreeable definition of Terrorism
in international forums.
· Bhartiya Shakshya Bill highlights that Indian Evidence Act has been repealed because
o it fails to address technological advancement happened since its implementation
o New bill permits admissibility of digital records and will have legal validity as
documentary evidence
o The ambit of secondary evidence has also been expanded.
· BNSS states it aim to ensure “accessible and speedy justice”
· The charge sheet will have to be filed within 90days (about 3 months) and the probe
must be completed in 180 days.
· Judgement should be given in30 days after completion of trial.
· Inclusion of technologically intensive methods such as Forensic Science.
· Aim to take conviction rate to 90 percent.
· Digital records will have legal validity
 Key Highlight of Bill: -
· Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita is to replace IPC by repealing 22 of its provisions, proposing
change to 175 of its existing provisions and introduce 8 new sections.
· Rape of a minor will impose death penalty.
· Marrying after suppressing one's identity will impose a sentence maximum of 10 years.
· For the first time capital punishment provision on mob lynching is added, also to be
punished by 7year sentence or life imprisonment
· Provision for offence of adultery has been omitted in line with the supreme court's
judgement of Joseph Shine vs. UOI, 2018 where section 497 of IPC criminalizing
adultery was held unconstitutional.
· New legislation does not include any punishment for “unnatural sexual offences against
men” in line with Supreme Court reading down section 377 of IPC in Navtej Singh Johar
case 2018
· Definition of Sedition is expended
· Community service and solitary confinement are to be introduced as new forms of
punishment.
· Trial in absence of accused
· Speedy justice through e-filing of FIR, video trials etc. Facilities for an accused person to
be examined through electronic means like video conferencing.
· Summary Trials have been made mandatory for petty and less serious crimes. Magisterial
system has also been streamlined.
· Sexual exploitation of women on pretext of marriage, job, promotion is punishable with
20years of imprisonment.
· For the first time terrorism has been defined by a law in India. A terrorist has been
defined as one “who commits any act in India or a foreign country with the intention to
threaten the unity, integrity and security of India, to intimidate the public or a segment
thereof, or to disturb public order.”
· Sedition has not been named explicitly as the term is dropped off, but BNS contains
provisions that penalizes “endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India”

Why reform in criminal justice system requires:

· Delay in disposal of cases
· Very less police reforms
· Enormous number of undertrials
· Huge pendency at all levels in the hierarchy of judicial system.
 Earlier recommendations:
· Malimath Committee Report 2003made recommendations on crime investigation
· Mahadev Menon Committee 2007 on Criminal Justice Reforms
· Currently the Ministry of Home Affairs has constituted a committee for Criminal Law
reform under Ranbir Singh. This committee of Ranbir Singh has recommended these
laws.

Criticism: -
· Lack of diversity in committee both in terms of social identity and as well as professional
background and experience, along with all male members in committee became point of
contention.
· Marital rape is still not recognized as an offence, as case pertaining to non-consensual
matrimonial sex is pending before Supreme Court.
· Most of the structure of laws pertaining to criminal justice system still remains same, it is
just Rewording names of previous legislations with Hindi names.
· Laws are just one component of the criminal justice system, problems pertaining to
infrastructural and judicial lacunas, such as judicial pendency, technological gaps,
overfilled jails. still remain the same.

6)MANIPUR VOILENCE
WHY IN NEWS
· In May 2023, ethnic violence erupted in North-Eastern state of Manipur between Meitei
people and Kuki people.

Happenings
· In April 2023 Manipur High Court directed state government to start proceeding to
implement a 10-year-old recommendation to grant Schedule Tribe status to non-tribal
Meitei community. (Decision was later criticized by the Supreme Court)

CAUSES OF CONFLICT
Nontribal Meitei community and native tribal Kuki communities were main parties to violence.
1. LONG TERM CAUSE: - Discontent was simmering is in population Manipur for long
because of:
· Developmental divide that exists in state between valley dominating nontribal
Meitei community and hill dominating Kuki community, in terms of educational
divide, connectivity problems, skewed resource allocation towards valley.
 · Ethnic tensions exist between politically dominating nontribal Meites and hill
dominating tribes like Kuki's, Nagas etc.
· The Manipur government has cited Manipur Forest Rules, 2021 which
empowers the state to evict any encroachment. on forest land.
i. The eviction drive is being feared by tribals as an attempt to deprive them
of their ancestral lands.
ii. This has created a disaffection among tribal Kuki people.
· Because almost 90 percent of state land is declared tribal land, non-tribal
Meite population automatically disqualifies owning land in tribal dominated hilly
areas.
i. Including Meites in ST will allow them to own land,
ii. this instilled fear in hilly tribals Kuki's that they would face a change in
their demography, language, culture.
· Meitei community is already well-off agriculturally, educationally,
financially
i. so, apprehension that including them in ST will take away already limited
opportunities in government jobs and educational institutions form Kuki's
ii. as the government is largest employer in Manipur was a longstanding
fear.
· Huge number of Myanmar refuges have entered the state of Manipur following
the coup.
i. They are illegally associated with drugs cultivation as poppy, opium and
marijuana.
ii. These illegal migrants have settled in hills of Manipur and targeted by
government of Manipur and India.
iii. Kuki's are afraid that governments crackdown on illegal migrants and
their property would affect them also.

2. IMMEDIATE CAUSE: - Causes that lead the situations to flashpoint are

· On 27 March 2023 Manipur High Court ordered to add politically and
demographically dominant Meitei community to be included in Schedule Tribe
list, this has triggered the violence.

Who are Kuki and Meite

· Geographically Manipur state is like a football stadium with a valley region around
Imphal surrounded by mountains.
· Valley regions constitute around 10% of the geographical area of the state and have
almost 57% of Manipur's population, nontribal Meitei. While the hill area constitutes
90% of land area houses only 10% population, mainly tribals as Kuki's, Nagas etc.
 · Naga and Kuki are tribal population constitutes almost 42% of the population of state,
while Meitei are non-tribal and constitutes almost 52% of the population of state.
· Majority of tribal population is Christian while majority of Meitei population is
Vaishnavite Hindus. Almost 8% of states population is Muslim which migrated during
East Pakistan formation and Bangladesh Revolution.
· Meites has a political advantage in Manipur as political majority and majority if seats in
state assembly are Meity dominated.

HISTORY OF CONFLICT IN MANIPUR

Manipur has a long history of conflicts among tribal ethnicities and against establishment,
during British period and post-independence also.

· 1891 Britishers annexed Manipur and made it a dominion state.

· 1947 Manipur joined India. Naga community was displeased and demanded an
independent Greater Nagalim
o comprising of some parts is Manipur, Assam, and some portions of Myanmar.
o Voice of Nagas was led by NSCN-IM, headed their demand.
· Meites also demanded an independent state,
o and to resist the NSCN and Nagas, they also formed an armed group.
o This led to the emergence of insurgency between Nagas and Meites.
· In 1993 in a conflict between Kuki's and Nagas, almost 350 Kuki villages were
destroyed by Nagas,
o So, Kuki Revolutionary Army formed to resist Nagas, also has a history of
violence.
· Ethnic tensions between tribals and non-tribal Meites is also longstanding.

Steps Taken
· Assam Rifle and Indian Army were deployed along with other CAPF’s
· The Home Ministry appointed a security advisor to Manipur Chief Minister and an
overall commander for the law-and-order situation.
· A panel led by retired chief justice is to probe violence
· CBI will probe six cases related to conspiracy in violence and uncover the root cause of
violence.
· The Supreme Court called Attorney General and Advocate General and directed the
central government to act immediately.
· On 7 August 2023, the Supreme Court took Suo moto cognisance and formed a
committee consisting of retired Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal
(who will lead the committee)
· Government of India used section 69A of IT Act to direct all internet intermediaries to
take down the graphic content related to violence and assault against women and minors.
· National Commission of Women is also enquiring the incidents of assault on women
and minor.
· The Chief Minister of Manipur, N. Biren Singh, stated that the riots were instigated by
“prevailing misunderstanding between two communities” and appealed for restoration of
normality

Conclusion
· Weaponization of identities should be avoided.
o Developmental divide should be addressed. Connectivity issues should be
resolved.
o Employment opportunities should be created to keep youth away from violence
and ethnicism.
· Trust building exercises among communities should start, ensured with publicly written
assurance from both communities.