Petition To Enforce The Fundamental Duties: The Supreme Court asked the Union and the State governments to respond to a petition to enforce the fundamental duties of citizens, including patriotism and unity of the nation, through “comprehensive, well-defined laws”. The Fundamental Duties were incorporated in Part IV-A of the Constitution by the Constitution 42nd […]
Category: Polity Current Affairs
How is Election Symbols Allotted?
Election Symbols: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during an election speech in Uttar Pradesh, appeared to suggest a connection between the 2008 Ahmedabad blasts and the Samajwadi Party due to its election symbol, the bicycle. Bicycles were first used as carriers of bombs in the 2006 Malegaon blasts. The perpetrators of the blast strapped two […]
The Delimitation Commission
Delimitation Commission: Jammu and Kashmir: The Delimitation Commission, set up to redraw the Assembly constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir, has been given two more months to complete the exercise, a notification from the Union Law Ministry said. The extension will further delay an announcement to hold elections in J&K that is now a Union […]
Guidelines On Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) On Plastic Packaging
Guidelines On Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) On Plastic Packaging: The government has notified the Guidelines on Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) on plastic packaging under Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016. The guidelines will come into effect from 1st July 2022. Overview of the new guidelines: Four categories of plastic packaging specified: Category one will include rigid […]
Legislation For Refugees in India
Legislation For Refugees: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recently held a discussion on “protection of the basic human rights of refugees and asylum seekers in India”. Many participants raised the issue of India not having a specific law for refugees and asylum-seekers. The discussion noted that, though India has not signed the United […]
Positive Discrimination Based on Caste
Caste Census: Last month, the Supreme Court upheld the 27% quota for Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the All-India Quota seats for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test and reiterated that reservations for backward classes were not an exception but an extension of the principle of equality under Article 15(1) of the Constitution. This is seen […]
Issue of Vacancies In Tribunals
Vacancies In Tribunals: The Supreme Court assured lawyers that it will take up the issue of vacancies in key tribunals soon, while indicating that it is a problem that cannot be simplistically resolved by sending those responsible for the appointments to jail for contempt. In September last year, a Special Bench of the Supreme […]
Model Laws on Asylum and Refugees
Refugee: Model laws on asylum and refugees that were drafted by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) decades ago but not implemented by the government could be revised by an expert committee, according to Commission member Justice M.M. Kumar’s suggestion at a recent meeting. Though India has not signed the United Nations Refugee Convention, […]
Declining Conviction Rate of Human Trafficking
Human Trafficking: The conviction rate in cases of human trafficking has been on the decline, government data show. Details of cases shared in Parliament earlier this month showed that the conviction rate has been declining over the past four years although the number of anti-human-trafficking units (AHTU) in the country has increased to 696. […]
What is Public Order?
Public Order: The Karnataka High Court is hearing a challenge to the constitutionality of the state government’s ban on students wearing a hijab in educational institutions. The judges heard an argument on whether the state can justify the ban on the ground that it violates ‘public order’. Public order is one of the three […]
