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 purposes of Article 13.
- It is the paramount source of Islamic law and Muslim jurists extract laws from it through interpretation and also taking into account other sources of law such as Hadees (Prophet’s sayings), Ijma (juristic consensus), Qiyas (analogical deductions), Urf ( customs), Istihsan (juristic preference) and Istisilah (public interest).
POLLING AGENTS
The Election Commission’s recent decision to change the rules for appointing polling agents has sparked off a debate in West Bengal.
Who is a polling agent?
- A polling agent is a person appointed as a representative of a political party as it is not possible for a candidate to be physically present at every polling booth on the day of the elections.
- Therefore, the Election Commission allows a candidate to appoint a polling agent who keeps an eye on the voting process.
What is the role of a polling agent?
- As per the Election Commission’s rules, a polling agent should be familiar with the rules and procedures to conduct elections using EVMs and VVPATs, and with the working of these machines.
- Towards this end, a polling agent attends the demonstrations arranged by the Returning Officer, where the functioning and operation of these machines are explained.
UNIFORM CIVIL CODE (UCC)
Chief Justice of India (CJI) S A Bobde lauded Goa’s Uniform Civil Code, and encouraged “intellectuals” indulging in “academic talk” to visit the state to learn more about it. Earlier in September 2019, the Supreme Court had described Goa as a “shining example” with a Uniform Civil Code.
About:
- A Uniform Civil Code is one that would provide for one law for the entire country, applicable to all religious communities in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption etc.
- Article 44 of the Constitution lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for the citizens throughout the territory of India.
Directive Principles of State Policy
- Article 44 is one of the Directive Principles of State Policy.
- These, as defined in Article 37, are not justiciable (not enforceable by any court) but the principles laid down therein are fundamental in governance.
- While Article 44 uses the words “state shall endeavour”, other Articles in the ‘Directive Principles’ chapter use words such as “in particular strive”; “shall in particular direct its policy”; “shall be obligation of the state” etc.
HEART OF ASIA – ISTANBUL PROCESS (HoA-IP)
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar reached Dushanbe on a three-day visit to Tajikistan. He will attend the 9th Ministerial Conference of Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process on Afghanistan.
About:
- The Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process (HoA-IP) is an initiative of Afghanistan and Turkey, which was officially launched at a conference hosted by Turkey in Istanbul on 2 November 2011.
- Since then, Afghanistan supported by fourteen Participating Countries of the Heart of Asia Region and 16 Supporting Countries beyond the region as well as 12 Regional and International Organizations is leading and coordinating this Process.
- It is a platform for promoting regional security, economic and political cooperation centred on Afghanistan through dialogue and a set of Confidence Building Measures (CBMs).
- The Directorate General for Regional Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan is acting as the de facto Secretariat of the Process.
- The Heart of Asia Region: The geographical area covering the 15 Participating Countries of the HoA-IP is defined as the Heart of Asia Region. It is one of the biggest regions in the world with a collective geographical area of more than 40 million km2 covering around 27% of the land area of the Earth.
ROLE OF MICRO FORESTS IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has underlined the role of micro forests in minimising the havoc caused by cyclones in coastal areas.
About:
- Through his Mann ki Baat program, the Prime Minister, commended two odia activists- one, Mr. Vijay Kumar Kabi of Kendrapara and the other Mr. Amaresh Samanta of Paradeep, for their individual efforts in raising micro forests to fend coastal villages from the wrath of high tides.
- Prime Minister's emphasis on creating micro forests in coastal villages assumes greater significance for a state like Odisha, which has been witnessing cyclones almost on a regular basis, be it Phailin in 2013, Hudhud in 2014 down to Titli 2018, Fani 2019 or for that matter, Amphan only last year.
INTERNATIONAL RANGER AWARD
Union Minister for Environment has congratulated Mahinder Giri, range officer of Rajaji Tiger Reserve for being the only ranger from Asia to win the prestigious International Ranger Award for his contribution towards conservation.
About:
- The award has been announced for 10 professionals across the world by the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN and World Commission on Protected Areas WCPA.
- Developed through a collaboration between the IUCN WCPA, the International Ranger Federation, Global Wildlife Conservation, and Conservation Allies, these awards, created in 2020, aim to highlight and felicitate the extraordinary work that rangers do in protected and conserved areas worldwide
PROROGATION
President Ram Nath Kovind has prorogued the fifth session of 17th Lok Sabha. The session had commenced on 29th January. President also prorogued the Rajya Sabha. The House was adjourned sine die on 25th of this month.
About:
- Termination of a session of the House by an order made by the President under article 85(2) is called ‘prorogation’.
- The President in exercising the power to prorogue the House acts on the advice of the Prime Minister.
- Usually, prorogation follows the adjournment of the sitting of the House sine die.
- The time-lag between the adjournment of a House sine die and its prorogation is generally two to four days, although there are instances when a House was prorogued on the same day on which it was adjourned sine die.
- It is not necessary that both the Houses should be prorogued simultaneously
EXAM WARRIORS
PM Modi unveils new version of 'Exam Warriors' to make them stress free before examinations.
About:
- The new version of Exam Warriors written by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now available with many new mantras for students as well as parents.
- It is available at retail stores as well as online. The Exam Warriors module is also available on the NaMo App.
- The new edition of the book has been enriched with valuable inputs from students, parents and teachers. Substantive new parts have been added that would especially interest the parents and teachers.
SABARMATI RIVER FRONT DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, in its draft budget for 2021-22, has set aside Rs 1,050 crore for the Sabarmati River Front Development phase 2, work on which is to begin soon.
About:
- Sabarmati Riverfront is a waterfront being developed along the banks of Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad.
- Proposed in the 1960s, the construction began in 2005.
- The major objectives of project are environment improvement, social infrastructure and sustainable development.
- By channelling the river to a constant width of 263 m along the part that passes Ahmedabad city, 204 hectares have been reclaimed along the 11-km stretch of the Sabarmati Riverfront in the first phase of the project, on both the banks.
UNIQUE LAND PARCEL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (ULPIN) SCHEME
The Centre plans to issue a 14-digit identification number to every plot of land in the country within a year.
About:
- It will subsequently integrate its land records database with revenue court records and bank records, as well as Aadhaar numbers on a voluntary basis, according to a parliamentary standing committee report submitted to the Lok Sabha last week.
- The Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) scheme has been launched in 10 States this year and will be rolled out across the country by March 2022, the Department of Land Resources told the Standing Committee on Rural Development.
- An official, who did not wish to be named, described it as “the Aadhaar for land” — a number that would uniquely identify every surveyed parcel of land and prevent land fraud, especially in rural India, where land records are outdated and disputed.
- The identification will be based on the longitude and latitude of the land parcel, and is dependent on detailed surveys and geo-referenced cadastral maps.
- This is the next step in the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP), which began in 2008 and has been extended several times as its scope grew.
- The Department has taken new initiatives under the programme like NGDRS [or the National Generic Document Registration System], ULPIN, linking of court to land records, integration of consent based Aadhaar number with land records etc. which necessitated its further extension beyond 2020-21 till 2023-24.
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