07 APRIL 2023

Topic 1: Natural Justice and Proportionality

Context: The Supreme Court set aside the orders passed by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB), and the Kerala High Court refusing to renew a Malayalam news channel’s broadcast license citing principles of natural justice and proportionality.

Key details:

• The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting refused to renew the broadcast license of a Malayalam channel on the ground that the Ministry of Home Affairs had declined to grant it security clearance while considering its request for renewal of license.
• The MHA had cited alleged links between the channel’s promoters and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind for denying the security clearance.
• Following this, the channel was taken off the air.
• In 2022 Kerala High Court upheld the ban on the channel.
• The Apex Court stayed the Kerala High Court order and allowed the channel to resume operations.
• Points of contentions:
  • In the hearing before the SC, the channels’ promoters argued that they were not given a chance to defend themselves as the national security reasons cited to deny renewal of their license were submitted to the HC in a sealed cover.
  • Further, it was contended that the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression, which includes press freedom, can be restricted only on the grounds enumerated under Article 19(2)
    • And there was no allegation that the channel violated the Programme and Advertising Code prescribed under the Cable Television Networking (Regulation) Act 1995 and the 1994 Rules.

What is sealed cover jurisprudence?It is a practice used by the Supreme Court or lower courts of asking for or accepting information from government agencies in sealed envelopes that can only be accessed by judges.Any specific law does not define the doctrine of sealed cover.The Supreme Court derives its power to use it from the Supreme Court Rules and Section the Indian Evidence Act of 1872.What the rules say?The information to be kept under sealed cover is of confidential nature.No party would be allowed access to the contents of such information.Exception:If the Chief Justice himself orders that the opposite party be allowed to access it.The rules also mention that information can be kept confidential if its publication is not considered to be in the interest of the public.Official unpublished documents relating to state affairs are protected and a public officer cannot be compelled to disclose such documents.

Principles of Natural Justice:

• The basic aim of the Principles of Natural Justice’ is to prevent the contempt of justice which means arbitrary actions of the Executive or Judicial bodies in exercising their administrative as well as judicial or quasi-judicial functions in administering justice.
• These principles always become very effective to protect the fundamental, legal, or constitutional rights of common people from the misuse of powers of the administrative or judicial, or quasi-judicial authorities.
• The principles of natural justice were constitutionalized by SC’s judgment in its 1978 ruling in “Maneka Gandhi vs Union of India”.
• The Court observed that that there is an inherent value in securing compliance with the principles of natural justice independent of the outcome of the case.
• Actions which violate procedural guarantees can be struck down even if non-compliance does not prejudice the outcome of the case.
• Rules of Natural Justice:
  • Hearing Rule:
    • Before arriving at any decision or judgment, the decision-making authority must make sure that both the parties in any dispute or any legal proceeding have been given a sufficient chance of being heard.
  • Bias Rule:
    • The decision-making authority must not be unfairly inclined towards the interest of any one particular party to the dispute, and must be neutral towards both parties.
  • The Rule of Speaking Orders or Reasoned Decisions:
    • This principle of Natural Justice provides that the person or judge delivering or deliberating any decision, must give detailed reasonable and legally acceptable decisions, so that the parties subject to such decisions can understand the reasons behind such decision.
• Major Principles of the Principles of Natural Justice –
  • ‘Nemo Judex in Causa Sua’:
    • “No one should be a judge in his own case” because it leads to rule of biases.
    • Bias means an act which leads to unfair activity.
    • Therefore, the necessity of this rule is to make the judge impartial and given judgment on the basis of evidence recorded as per the case.
  • ‘Audi Alteram Partem’ :
    • No person can be condemned or punished by the court without having a fair opportunity of being heard.
  • Reasoned Decision
    • Basically, this principle has 3 grounds on which it relies:
      • The aggrieved party has the chance to demonstrate before the appellate and provisional court, the reason which makes the authority to reject it.
      • It is a satisfactory part of the party against whom the decision is made.
      • The responsibility to record reasons works as obstacles against arbitrary action by the judicial power vested in the executive authority.

• Exceptions
  • During the Emergency period
  • Public interest
  • Express statutory provision
  • Nature of the case is not of a serious kind
  • If it doesn’t affect the status of the individual
• Applicability
  • Court- except to ex-parte
  • Tribunals
  • Authority entrusted with discretion but subject to legal limitations

Doctrine of Proportionality

• Doctrine of Proportionality is a ground for judicial review.
• In India, the doctrine of proportionality was adopted by the Supreme Court of India in the case of Om Kumar v. Union of India.
• It is a principle where courts would examine priorities and processes of the administration for reaching or recalling a decision.
• Proportionality means that the administrative action should not be more drastic than it ought to be for obtaining the desired result.
• Thus this doctrine tries to balance means with ends.
• K.S. Puttaswamy vs Union of India (2017) case:
• The court held that any restriction placed on the right must conform to a doctrine of proportionality:
  • State action must have a legislative mandate
  • The state action must show that the objective of its law is founded on a legitimate governmental aim
  • The action must be proportionate, i.e., such state action must be necessary for a democratic society.
  • Such action must have no alternative and less intrusive measures available to achieve the same objective

• The principle of proportionality calls for striking down of laws that are excessively harsh or disproportionate.
• This doctrine is applied in following situations:
  • Where an administrative action invades fundamental rights, courts make strict scrutiny of the administrative action and go into the question of the correctness of the choices made by the authority.
    • The court would also balance adverse effects on the rights and objects sought to be achieved.

• Where a question of quantum of punishment imposed by the administrative authority is involved, the court would not make strict scrutiny.
  • Courts follow the principle that though the quantum of punishment is within the jurisdiction of the administrative authority, arbitrariness must be avoided.

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Topic 2: MISHTI scheme

Context: MISHTI scheme promotes development of 540 Sq. Kms Mangroves across 11 States and 2 Union Territories

About the scheme:

• Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI)) envisage to comprehensively explore the possible area for development of Mangroves
• This new initiative aims to heavily afforest coastal mangrove forests.
• Objectives:
  • sharing of best practices on plantation techniques,
  • conservation measures,
  • management practices and
  • resources mobilization through Public Private Partnership
• MISHTI will be implemented through convergence between:
  • the MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme),
  • CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) Fund and
  • other sources.

The CAMPA fundThe Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) was formed in India with the responsibility for promoting and executing compensatory afforestation.In 2004, Ministry of Environment and Forests constituted Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) to overlook and manage the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) as directed by the SC.The authority was termed as the ‘custodian’ of the fund.Further in 2009, the government ordered that State CAMPAs had to be set up to boost compensatory afforestation at state.Whenever forest land is diverted for non-forest purposes, it is mandatory under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 that an equivalent area of non-forest land has to be taken up for compensatory afforestation.In addition to this, funds for raising the forest are also to be imposed on whomsoever is undertaking the diversion.

Mangroves in India:

• What are mangroves:
  • Mangroves are salt-tolerant plant communities found in tropical and subtropical intertidal regions.
  • They are important refuges of coastal biodiversity and also act as bio-shields against extreme climatic events.
  • Mangrove forests are formed when there is intertidal flow and where adequate sediments are available for the trees to set down roots.

• Where do mangroves grow in India?
  • The ‘State of World Mangroves 2022’ report by the Global Mangrove Alliance puts the total mangrove cover of the world at 14.7 million hectares.
  • India has about 0.49 million hectares of mangroves, according to the Indian State of Forest Report (IFSR) 2021.
  • Mangroves in India are distributed across nine States and three Union Territories with West Bengal having the highest mangrove cover.
  • There has been an increase in the mangrove cover from 4,046 sq km in 1987 to 4,992 sq km in 2021.
• Threats to mangroves:
  • increasing population in coastal areas and
  • the rising demand for land, timber, fodder, fuel-wood and other non-wood forest products.
  • aquaculture or fisheries along the coast obstructing tidal flow is one of the biggest threats to the mangrove ecosystem.
• Classification:
  • True mangroves are the ones which display morphological adaptations for a high saline mangrove ecosystem such as pneumatophores, vivipary or crypto vivipary germination and salt-secreting cells.
  • True mangroves are true halophytes and mangrove associates are glycophytes with certain salt tolerance.

• Significance:
  • The ‘State of World Mangroves 2022’ points out that mangroves are estimated to hold up to four times the amount of carbon as some other ecosystems.
  • The loss of even 1% of remaining mangroves could lead to the loss of 0.23 gigatons of CO2 equivalent, equating to over 520 million barrels of oil.
  • An initiative like MISHTI is in line to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent, through additional more forest and tree cover by 2030.
  • India joined the Mangrove Alliance for Climate, at the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties in Egypt.

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Topic 3: Adjournment sine die

Context: Budget Session of Parliament Adjourned Sine Die.

About Adjournment sine die:

• Literal meaning:
  • Adjournment sine die is a latin word meaning “without day”.
• Meaning in context of the Parliament:
  • It means ending an assembly for an indefinite period without assigning a day for a further meeting or hearing.
  • It dismisses a sitting of the Parliament for an unspecified period.
• Who adjourns the house?
  • The presiding officer of the House.
• Usage in courts:
  • A court can also adjourn a matter as Sine Die.
  • It means the matter has stayed until further notice.

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Topic 4: Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA)

Context: Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approved a framework for Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA)-like facility for trading in the secondary market.

Key details:

• What is ASBA?
  • ASBA was first introduced by SEBI in 2008.
  • It is an application by an investor that contains an authorisation to a Self Certified Syndicate Bank (SCSB) to block in the bank account the application money for subscribing to an issue.
    • An SCSB is a recognised bank capable of providing ASBA services to its customers.
  • The application money of an investor applying through ASBA shall be debited from the bank account only if her application is selected for allotment after the basis of allotment has been finalised.
  • In public issues and rights issues, all investors have to mandatorily apply through ASBA.
• The recent approval by SEBI:
  • The SEBI gave its nod for an ASBA-like facility for secondary market trading.
  • The facility is based on the blocking of funds for trading in the secondary market through UPI (Unified Payments Interface).
  • At present, ASBA is available for the primary market, wherein the initial public offering (IPO) funds only are blocked on application, and are debited only on allotment.
  • The extension of ASBA to secondary markets means brokers will no longer collect margins from clients and only a block will be placed on the bank account.

• ASBA in primary market:
  • In the ASBA system, there is an explicit authorisation to block the application money in the bank account.
  • When an investor makes an application for an IPO, a similar amount of funds are blocked in the ASBA bank account.
  • Such funds cannot be used for any other purposes.
  • Once the allotment is finalised, the ASBA bank account will be debited, and the balance funds will be released for regular use.
• Benefits of ASBA facility in the secondary market
  • It will ensure that clients will continue to earn interest on the blocked funds in their savings account till the debit takes place.
  • There will be direct settlement with Clearing Corporation (CC), without passing through the pool accounts of the intermediaries.
    • Hence, it will provide client-level settlement visibility to CC, and help avoid the risk of co-mingling of clients’ funds and securities.
  • It will eliminate the custody risk of client collateral, which is currently retained by the members, and is not transferred to the CC.
  • There will be hassle-free and immediate unblocking of client’s funds and/ or return of securities in case of member default.
  • It will bring efficiency in the secondary market ecosystem by allowing usage of the same blocked amount towards margin and settlement obligations.
  • It will result in lower working capital requirements for members.
• Other steps taken by SEBI to protect small investors
  • SEBI had earlier introduced quarterly settlement of funds and transfer of funds from depository participants (DP) to bank accounts on the first Friday of the quarter (April, July, Oct, Jan).
  • A new trade-plus-one (T+1) settlement cycle was introduced, which means that trade related settlements will be done within a day, or 24 hours, of the completion of a transaction.

Points of Difference	Primary Market	Secondary Market
Meaning	A marketplace for new shares	A marketplace where formerly issued securities are traded
Another Name	New Issue Market (NIM)	After Market
Products	IPO and FPO	Shares, debentures, warrants, derivatives, etc.
Type of Purchasing	Direct	Indirect
Parties of buying and selling	Buying and selling takes place between the company and investors	Buying and selling takes place between the investors
Intermediaries involved	Underwriters	Brokers
Price Levels	Remains Fixed	Fluctuates with variations in demand and supply
Financing provided to	It provides financing to the existing companies for facilitating growth and expansion.	No Financing is provided
Purchase Process	The purchase process happens directly in the primary market.	The company issuing the shares is not involved in the purchasing process.
Beneficiary	The beneficiary is the company	The beneficiary is the investor
Government involvement	A company issues shares and the government interferes in the process	There is no involvement of the government in the process.

Securities and Exchange Board of IndiaSEBI is a statutory body and a market regulator, which controls the securities market in India.The basic functions of Sebi is to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote and regulate the securities market. Sebi is run by its board of members.The board consists of a Chairman and several other whole time and part time members.The chairman is nominated by the union government.The others include:two members from the finance ministry,one member from Reserve Bank of India andfive other members are also nominated by the Centre.The headquarters of Sebi is situated in Mumbai and the regional offices are located in Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai and Delhi.HistoryBefore Sebi came into existence, Controller of Capital Issues was the regulatory authority.It derived authority from the Capital Issues (Control) Act, 1947.In 1988, Sebi was constituted as the regulator of capital markets in India.Initially, Sebi was a non-statutory body without any statutory power.Following the passage of the Sebi Act by Parliament in 1992, it was given autonomous and statutory powers.

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Topic 5: Horseshoe kidney disorder

Context: While hearing a suo moto plea involving a four-year-old boy suffering from horseshoe kidney disorder since birth, the Delhi High Court directed All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to take urgent steps to import an injection required for treating the boy as the same is unavailable in India.

Key details:

• What is horseshoe kidney?
  • Horseshoe kidney is a condition in which the kidneys are fused together at the lower end or base.
  • By fusing, they form a “U” shape, which gives it the name “horseshoe.”
  • Horseshoe kidney occurs during fetal development, as the kidneys move into their normal position in the flank area.
  • Horseshoe kidney occurs in about one in 500 children.
  • Horseshoe kidney can occur alone or in combination with other disorders.
• The most common disorders seen with horseshoe kidney include:
  • Turner syndrome:
    • a genetic disorder seen in girls that causes them to be shorter than others and to not mature sexually as they grow into adulthood.
  • Trisomy 18:
    • a serious chromosome abnormality involving defects in nearly all organ systems, including horseshoe kidney in 20 percent of children affected
• Other conditions associated with horseshoe kidney:
  • Chromosomal conditions:
    • Down syndrome.
    • Turner syndrome.
    • Trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome) and trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome), serious conditions that cause severe birth defects (congenital disabilities).
  • Non-chromosomal conditions:
    • Ellis-van Creveld syndrome.
    • Fanconi anemia.
    • Goltz syndrome.
    • Kabuki syndrome.
    • Pallister-Hall syndrome.
    • VACTERL association.
  • Treatment:
    • There’s no cure for horseshoe kidney.
    • If there are no symptoms, one may not need any treatment.
    • If there are symptoms treatment can be provided to improve symptoms.
  • Surgery can:
    • Restore urine flow.
    • Correct vesicoureteral reflux.
    • Remove kidney stones.

Functions of kidneysThe kidneys are part of the urinary system.Kidneys filter your blood to absorb and regulate the electrolytes the body needs.They also clean the blood by removing extra water and waste.The waste travels from the kidneys to the bladder and leaves the body through the urethra as urine.

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Topic 6: Extended Range Anti-Submarine Rocket

Context: Anti-submarine rockets developed by 2 Pune labs successfully tested from INS Chennai.

Key details:

• Who designed it?
  • The Extended Range Anti Submarine Rocket (ER-ASR) is designed by two Pune-based facilities of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was successfully test-fired for the first time from Navy’s INS Chennai.
• Purpose:
  • The rocket has been designed to replace the existing Russian-origin Rocket Guided Bombs (RGBs).
    • While the RGB has a range of five kilometers, the ER-ASR can achieve a range over eight kilometers.
• Features:
  • It is designed to intercept submarines at specific depths.
  • The rocket system will be deployed in anti-submarine operations and will be fired from an indigenised rocket launcher mounted onboard various Indian naval ships.
  • ER-ASR can be fired in single or in salvo mode depending on the tactical mission requirements.

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Topic 7: What is a legal notice?

Context: Recently, a political analyst sent a legal notice to streaming giant Netflix over an episode of The Big Bang Theory allegedly used a “derogatory term” against Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit.

What is a legal notice?

• A legal notice is a formal communication to a person or an entity, informing the other party of your intention to undertake legal proceedings against them.
• A legal notice is filed as per Section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and is only filed in civil cases.
• A legal document carries the following information:
  • Precise statement and facts relating to the grievance for which the action is to be taken
  • Alternatives/relief sought by the grieving party
  • A summary of facts, and 
  • The way it can be solved.
• Purpose of legal notice:
  • To provide the government and public officers with an opportunity to reconsider the legal position and settle the claim before going to trial, preferably without resorting to litigation.
  • To avoid unnecessary litigation and waste of the litigant and the court’s time and money.
  • To provide ample opportunity to the opposing party to examine the claim made against them and to respond to it appropriately.

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Topic 8: Representation in India’s police forces

Context: On a national level, it will take another 24 years to have 33% women in police forces across States according to the India Justice Report 2022.

Key findings:

• It ranks police forces of States based on various indicators such as:
  • vacancies as against the sanctioned strength of personnel,
  • representation of women and Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe communities and so on.
• Top and bottom rank:
  • Overall, the Telangana police have bagged the top rank among States with populations over 10 million, while West Bengal has come in last.

• State of police vacancies:
  • The third edition of the India Justice Report notes that the gap between the sanctioned and actual strength in police forces, at a national level, remains large.
  • Between January 2020 (second edition) and January 2022, the overall vacancies in police rose to 22.1%.
  • West Bengal was the worst performer among large and mid-size States with vacancies amounting to 44.1% of the sanctioned strength.
  •  Kerala was at the top with constable vacancies making up 4.6% of the sanctioned strength.
  • As for police officers (in civil as well as District Armed Reserve police), Bihar has the highest percentage of vacancies at 53.8% as against the sanctioned strength.
• How many States fulfil their quotas for women and SC/ST communities?
  • Despite years of reservations, Karnataka was found to be the only State to meet its SC, ST, and Other backward classes quotas, with no other State/UT managing to meet all three of their reservation targets.
  • Among large and mid-sized States, Gujarat, at 131%, performed the best in terms of the percentage of actual SC police officers to its reservation quota.
  • Uttar Pradesh came in last, with just 43% SC officers against its quota.
  • In terms of fulfilling reservations for STs, Karnataka, at 176%, was the best performer on the police officer level, going beyond its reserved ratio.
  • For ST constables, Bihar fulfilled its quota by 278%, while Punjab came in last amid large and medium States at 0.01%.
• Women’s representation:
  • When it comes to women’s representation in the police force, most States have their own specific quotas for how many women there should be in the police force.
    • For instance, six UTs and nine States have a target of 33% reservation for women.
    • Elsewhere, targets range from Bihar’s 35% to 10% in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Tripura.
    • Five States/UTs, including Kerala and Mizoram, have no reservations.
  • As per the findings, no State which had the 33% criteria, managed to meet it.
  • Among large and medium States, Andhra Pradesh which reserves 33% of overall police posts for women, performed the best with 21.8% being its share of women in police.
  • Jharkhand was the worst performer with its share of women in police being just 6.2%.
  • In small States, Himachal Pradesh was at the top with 14% of police personnel being women, while Tripura came in last with just 5.3%.
  • Among Union Territories, Ladakh had 28.3% women in police, while Jammu and Kashmir had just 3.3%.

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Topic 9: UN Statistical Commission

Context: India has been elected to the UN Statistical Commission for a four-year term.

What is UN Statistical Commission?

• The United Nations Statistical Commission was established in 1947.
• It is the highest body of the global statistical system bringing together the Chief Statisticians from member states from around the world
• It is the highest decision making body for international statistical activities.
• It is responsible for setting of statistical standards and the development of concepts and methods, including their implementation at the national and international level.
• The Statistical Commission oversees the work of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD).
• It is a Functional Commission of the UN Economic and Social Council.
• How does the UN Statistical Commission elect its members?
  • The Commission consists of 24 member countries.
  • They are elected by the United Nations Economic and Social Council on the basis of an equitable geographical distribution:
    • Five members from African States.
    • Four members from Asia-Pacific States.
    • Four members from Eastern European States.
    • Four members from Latin American and Caribbean States.
    • Seven members from Western European and other States.
• Term:
  • The term of office of members is four years.