Why is there friction between the government and the judiciary (GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
Context:
- A major confrontation is on between the Union government and the Supreme Court over the former’s resentment towards the Collegium system of appointments and its push to have a dominant say in judicial appointments and transfers.
Current issues:
- The government has also started airing its grievance against the invalidation of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) by the court in 2015.
- The current round of conflict has two triggers. One is the government’s repeated public criticism of the Collegium system on the ground that it is “opaque”.
- The other concerns a battle between the Collegium and the government over the names being recommended and reiterated for appointment in constitutional courts.
How did the latest bout begin?
- In October, Law Minister shot a salvo at the Supreme Court Collegium, saying they were “preoccupied” with making judicial appointments when their primary job is delivering justice.
- This comments came at the fag end of the 49th Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana’s tenure, which saw the Collegium recommend 363 names for High Court judgeships and 11 names for the Supreme Court.
- On November 6, Law Minister complained again on the lack of accountability of the Collegium system and made references to the court striking down the NJAC law, which gave the government an equal say in appointments, in October 2015. His criticism coincided with Justice D.Y. Chandrachud taking over as top judge on November 9 for a two-year tenure.
- Meanwhile, Chief Justice Chandrachud agreed to list in due course a writ petition to reconsider the Collegium system. The SC also began its counter-offensive with the CJI advising that the Collegium and the government should work with a sense of “constitutional statesmanship” rather than find fault with each other.
- The parliamentary standing committee on Law and Personnel led by senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi in its report said both the judiciary and the government need to do some “out-of-the-box” thinking to deal with the “perennial” judicial vacancies in High Courts. It said that both institutions were not adhering to the timeline given in the Second Judges case and the MoP.
What is the MoP and what is its current status?
- The procedure for appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and the High Courts, in accordance with the Collegium system, was laid down in the MoP prepared in 1998.
- It states that the initiation of a proposal for appointment of Supreme Court judges vested with the CJI and that of High Court judges with the Chief Justice of the High Courts concerned.
- The MoP required the Chief Justices of High Courts to initiate the proposals six months prior to vacancies. The Constitution (99th Amendment) Act was passed by Parliament to provide for a National Judicial Commission, which was duly formed by the NJAC Act.
- On October 12, 2015, the court struck down the NJAC Act and the Constitution Amendment which sought to give politicians and civil society a final say in the appointment of judges to the highest courts.
- However, the court said the 21-year-old Collegium system needed a re-look. The court directed the government to finalise a revised MoP in consultation with the CJI and the Collegium. A revised MoP was sent to the CJI by the government on March 22, 2016 for the response of the Collegium.
What are the government’s grievances?
- The Centre argues that the Collegiums, both at the Supreme Court and High Court levels, are delaying judicial appointments. The NJAC was a good law thwarted by the court.
- It says that the High Courts are not making recommendations six months in advance of a vacancy. As on November 30, 2022, there are 332 judicial vacancies in the High Courts out of a total sanctioned strength of 1,108 judges.
- The High Courts have made 146 (44%) recommendations which are under consideration of the government and the Supreme Court. The High Courts are required to make recommendations for the remaining 186 vacancies (56%).
- Many High Courts have not made recommendations under the Bar and Service quotas for vacancies in the past one to five years. It said 43 High Court judges are scheduled to retire between December 1, 2022 and May 31, 2023, taking the vacancies up to 229. So far, no recommendations have been received.
Delay in appointment:
- The government has complained that the Supreme Court rejects 25% names recommended by the High Courts for judgeships.
- While making 165 appointments during 2022, 221 recommendations made by the High Courts were processed. The remaining 56 proposals were rejected by the Supreme Court Collegium. Sixty-six fresh proposals of names for judgeships are pending Intelligence Bureau inputs.
- The delay in the appointment process has affected the timely filling up of vacancies in the High Courts. The Supreme Court itself has six vacancies.
What is the SC’s response?
- The court said the Collegium system, combined with the MoP, is the law as it exists now.
- The government has either kept Collegium recommendations pending for no apparent reason or it has repeatedly sent back names reiterated by the Collegium.
- The court accused the government of not appointing persons who are not “palatable” to it.
Researchers suggest how animal herbivores hinder nitrogen fixation in tropical forests
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Why in news?
- Recently, an international team of scientists, found that trees with the ability to fix nitrogen attracted insects and other animals that would eat their leaves, a process known as herbivory.
Nitrogen fixation:
- Some trees, like those in the Fabaceae family of legumes, have a symbiotic connection with bacteria that enables them to absorb nitrogen from the atmosphere.
- Nitrogen is a nutrient that most plants obtain from the soil, but some soils–especially those in newly replanted or disturbed tropical forests can be deficient in nitrogen, which inhibits tree growth.
- Nitrogen is a key nutrient needed for photosynthesis.
- Using a process known as nitrogen fixation, some plants have adapted to take-up nitrogen from the air using the services of friendly bacteria.
- Higher levels of nitrogen can result in higher levels of photosynthesis and removal of carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere, helping to offset some of the carbon emissions from human activity.
- Nitrogen fixation also raises the nitrogen levels in the soil, encouraging non-fixing species to survive.
Findings on Herbivory:
- In a tropical forest in Panama, the nitrogen-fixing trees experienced 26 per cent more herbivory than non-fixing trees.
- They found that by being consumed, the nitrogen-fixing trees experienced lower growth and lower rates of survival when compared to non-fixing trees.
- This would have an impact on the amount of new nitrogen getting into the forest soils and would constrain the role that trees were able to play in taking carbon dioxide out of the environment.
Way Forward:
- The results of recent research into the restrictions on nitrogen fixation among plants may help reforestation initiatives to be more successful.
- These findings give new insights into the function of different types of trees in tropical forests and could help inform efforts to reforest tropical regions that have been degraded for logging and agriculture.
Himalayan Fritillary among 29 new threatened species in India IUCN
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Why in news?
- Recently, the IUCN Red List unveiled a critical indicator of the health of the state of the world's biodiversity.
- It provides information about the global extinction risk status of species and is a key tool to help define and inform conservation targets.
Details:
- Over 15,000 scientists and experts from around the world are part of the IUCN Commission.
- They found 1,355 of over 9,472 species of plants, animals, and fungi across India's land, freshwater, and seas assessed for the Red List are considered to be under threat, classed as critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable to extinction.
- According to the data shared by IUCN, 239 new species analysed in India have entered the list. Of these, 29 are threatened.
The 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD COP15):
- Delegates from 196 countries, including India, have gathered in Montreal, Canada for a two-week conference from December 7-19, to adopt the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, a landmark agreement to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030.
Dancing Frog:
- According to IUCN, the white-cheeked Dancing Frog (Micrixaluscandidus), which has entered the Red List as endangered, is only known from a small range with an extent of occurrence of 167 square kilometers (km2) in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, a biodiversity hotspot.
- It is considered to be uncommon. Its habitat is threatened by the conversion of forest to areca nut and coffee plantations, it said.
- 30 per cent of dancing frogs are found to live in the regions that are not protected by the government.
- They are endangered with extinction due to loss of their habitat, pollution, changes in temperature, diseases, pests, invasive species among others.
Andaman Smoothhound:
- The Andaman Smoothhound (Mustelusandamanensis) has been included in the Red List as Vulnerable. This recently described shark is found in the Andaman Sea in the Eastern Indian Ocean off the coast of Myanmar, Thailand, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- It is subject to fishing pressure across its spatial and depth range. It is taken as a bycatch in industrial and artisanal fisheries with multiple fishing gears including trawl, longline, and gillnet.
- A small fish, discovered in April 2021 as new to science Andaman Smoothhound is facing the risk of extinction due to overfishing.
- Growing demand for fish and fish meat is a major reason. This new species is currently only known from the Andaman Sea and endemic to India.
Yellow Himalayan Fritillary plant:
- The Yellow Himalayan Fritillary plant (Fritillaria cirrhosa), which has been included in the Red List as Vulnerable, is mostly found in the Himalayas.
- It occurs in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan.
- In the Indian Himalayas, the species is threatened due to unorganised harvest, over-extraction, unsustainable and premature harvesting of bulbs, coupled with illegal hidden markets.
- A rapid decline has been reported and raised high conservation concerns on the rapid population decline of Fritillaria cirrhosa in the Western Himalayas.
- Harvested and traded with a new trade name i.e., Janglilehsun' probably to disguise common Allium species, the species is facing tremendous decline in wild populations due to its illegal harvesting and trade in Himachal Pradesh.
Lack of Policy:
- As of now, the government does not have any policy to conserve these species.
- The recent IUCN's assessment will alarm the bells and hopefully, attention of global and national policymakers will be attracted to formulate the conservation plans, he added.
Threatened with extinction:
- The IUCN Red List now includes 150,388 species, of which 42,108 are threatened with extinction. Over 1,550 of the 17,903 marine animals and plants assessed are at risk of extinction, with climate change impacting at least 41 per cent of threatened marine species.
- For instance, globally, populations of dugongs large herbivorous marine mammals and 44 per cent of all abalone shellfish species have entered the IUCN Red List as threatened with extinction.
