CIVILS WEEKLY

  JUDICIAL REVIEW A public interest litigation has been filed in the Supreme Court by Wasim Rizvi seeking declaration of 26 verses of the Quran as unconstitutional, non-effective and non- functional on the ground that these promote extremism and terrorism. Power of judicial review: Under Indian law, only a “law” can be challenged as unconstitutional. Article 13(3) defines law, which includes any ordinance, order, by-law, rule, regulations, notification, custom or usage having in the territory the force of law. “Laws in force” on the commencement of the Constitution include laws enacted by a legislature or other competent authority. This definition certain does not cover any religious scripture including the Quran. Similarly, neither the Vedas nor the Gita, nor the Bible, nor the Guru Granth Sahib can be said to be “law” under Article 13 and thus challenged in a court of law. The divine books can be sources of law but not law in themselves. Thus, Quran in itself is not “law” for the pur

  UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPING India delivered on its promise of 2,00,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines for the United Nations Peacekeeping Force (UNPKF) worldwide, sending a shipment bound for Copenhagen. UN Peacekeeping: UN peacekeepers provide security and the political and peacebuilding support to help countries make the difficult, early transition from conflict to peace. Principles: UN Peacekeeping is guided by three basic principles: Consent of the parties; Impartiality; Non-use of force except in self-defence and defence of the mandate. Role of Security Council:  The United Nations Charter gives the United Nations Security Council the responsibility to maintain international peace. For this reason, the international community usually looks to the Security Council to authorize peacekeeping operations through Chapter VII authorizations. Present status:  There are currently 12 UN peacekeeping operations deployed. For its services, UN Peacekeeping has also received the  Nobel Peace Priz

  NATIONAL CLEAN AIR PROGRAMME (NCAP) In the presence of Union Minister of Environment the MoU was signed by representatives of State Pollution Control Boards, Urban Local Bodies and Institutes of Repute for 132 identified cities for implementation of city specific action plans under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). About: The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) is a long-term, time-bound, national level strategy to tackle air pollution problem across the country in a comprehensive manner. It targets to achieve 20% to 30% reduction in Particulate Matter concentrations by 2024 (with 2017 as base year). A National Knowledge Network comprising leading air quality specialists has also been constituted as a technical advisory group to support activities under NCAP and guide local Institutes of Repute (IoRs) in conducting air quality researches. INDO-KOREAN FRIENDSHIP PARK India’s First Indo-Korean Friendship Park was jointly inaugurated by Mr Suh Wook, Minister of National Defence, Repu

  CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA (CJI) Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde has recommended Justice N.V. Ramana, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, as the next top judge. About: Justice Ramana is now set to take over as the 48th Chief Justice of India from April 24. The Centre had recently asked Chief Justice Bobde, who is retiring on April 23, to initiate the transition process to the top judicial office. Justice Ramana will be the CJI till August 26, 2022. Appointment of CJI: Article 124 of the Constitution of India provides for the manner of appointing judges to the Supreme Court (SC). But there is no specific provision in the Constitution for appointing the Chief Justice. CJI should be the senior most judge of the Supreme Court (SC). Law Minister has to seek recommendation of the outgoing CJI for appointment of new CJI at an appropriate time. In