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The Centre, in an affidavit in the Supreme Court, has frowned upon same-sex marriage while invoking the “accepted view” that a marriage between a biological man and woman is a “holy union, a sacrament and a sanskar” in India.
The institution of marriage has a sanctity attached to it and in major parts of the country, it is regarded as a sacrament, a holy union, and a sanskar.
In our country, despite statutory recognition of the relationship of marriage between a biological man and a biological woman, marriage necessarily depends upon age-old customs, rituals, practices, cultural ethos and societal values.
Any “deviation” from this “statutorily, religiously and socially” accepted norm in “human relationship” can only happen through the legislature and not the Supreme Court.
The affidavit came in response to the court’s decision to examine petitions to allow solemnisation of same-sex marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, which provides a civil form of marriage for couples who cannot marry under their personal law.
Parliament has designed and framed the marriage laws in the country, which are governed by the personal laws and codified laws relatable to customs of various religious communities, to recognise only the union of a man and a woman to be capable of legal sanction, and thereby claim legal and statutory rights and consequences.
Any interference with the same would cause a complete havoc with the delicate balance of personal laws in the country and in accepted societal values.
The government said the court had only decriminalised sexual intercourse between same-sex persons in its 2018 judgment in Navtej Singh Johar, and not legitimised this “conduct”.
Editorial
Safe harbour at risk (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
In formally outlining the crux of the proposed Digital India Act, 2023, the Minister of State, IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, made a case for a robust replacement of the IT Act, 2000, which is somewhat obsolete now.
He ominously added a question that the government sought to revisit: “should there be a ‘safe harbour’ at all for all intermediaries?”
This acquires significance as the government has been working towards increasing the compliance burden on Internet intermediaries, in particular in the IT Rules 2021 and its later amendments.
These Rules themselves had put the onus on social media intermediaries to arbitrate on content on their platforms with regulations that were weighted in favour of the government of the day, and had invited legal appeals as digital news media platforms among others questioned the constitutionality of the Rules.
Meanwhile, an amendment in October 2022 provided for government-appointed committees that will adjudicate on an individual user’s appeals against moderation decisions of these intermediaries.
In January 2023, the IT Ministry proposed an amendment on the take down of social media/news content that has been marked as “fake” or “false” by the Press Information Bureau or any other government agency. These, in sum, had already put the safe harbour protections for intermediaries at much risk.
Using Ukraine as a bellwether is a path to tragedy (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
There is much sound and fury around Ukraine these days, but it is becoming difficult to decipher the truth. What is not disputed is that Ukraine is indeed engaged in a ‘struggle for existence’.
Notwithstanding its heroic struggle, there is a slow realisation that the Ukraine war is approaching a stalemate. In current reckoning, it would seem that matters can only go downhill from here as Russia appears intent on employing enhanced aerial attacks, which includes the latest hypersonic missiles to subdue Ukraine.
Consequently, and while applauding the heroism of the Ukraine people, serious attempts are being made across Europe, — this includes France, Germany and the United Kingdom — on how to bring about an end to the war.
Neither side is likely to be able to claim a decisive victory, and any expectations that Russia can be compelled to withdraw from areas where it made initial gains are considered extremely remote.
The initial euphoria seems to have been replaced by ‘battle fatigue’, and with the Ukraine imbroglio beginning to be viewed as a ‘US backed NATO proxy war’ against Russia, European leaders are at present engaged in finding ways and means to bring about a ceasefire, than in perpetuating the conflict.
Several other reasons can also be adduced for Europe’s current mind-set. First, notwithstanding the generous supply of state-of-the-art weapons from the United States, Europe is painfully aware that it remains entirely at the mercy of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the U.S. today.
Europe’s defence industry continues to remain extremely fragile, and prospects that this would change appear remote, thus perpetuating Europe’s dependence on the U.S. and NATO. Second, in the realm of economics, Europe is hurting, and the prospect of a prolonged stalemate and a war without end appears highly daunting.
European leaders, including Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz, are now engaging in quiet diplomacy to end the war, without making it appear that Europe has had to make major compromises.
New reality (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
The Saudi-Iran reconciliation in a China-brokered agreement reflects the new reality in West Asia where old rivals are warming up to each other and Beijing is increasingly willing to play a bigger role at a time when the U.S., the region’s traditional great power, is preoccupied with challenges elsewhere.
The enmity between Iran, a Shia-majority theocracy, and Saudi Arabia, a Sunni-majority absolute monarchy, has been one of the dominant drivers of conflicts in the region.
While the details are yet to be unveiled, officials say Iran has agreed to prevent attacks against Saudi Arabia, including those from the Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen, and both countries would restore full diplomatic relations, which were severed in 2016.
In recent years, West Asia has seen similar realignments. In 2020, the UAE was among the first Arab countries to normalise ties with Israel in a quarter century.
The following years saw the Arab world and Israel, faced with the common Iran challenge, deepening their cooperation, despite Israel’s brutal occupation of Palestine territory.
As the U.S. has deprioritised West Asia — it is now heavily focused on Ukraine and countering China’s Indo-Pacific influence — its allies in West Asia have started looking out for solutions for what they see as America’s diminishing security guarantees.
Adultery as misconduct and judicial musings (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
Aggrieved by the order concerning its implementation in the armed forces, the Union of India sought clarification from the Court saying that any promiscuous or adulterous acts should be allowed to be governed by the relevant sections of the Army Act, the Air Force Act and the Navy Act being special legislations by the virtue of Article 33 of the Constitution.
Under Article 33, Parliament has powers to restrict or abrogate the fundamental rights of certain categories of persons, including members of the armed forces to ensure the proper discharge of their duties and the maintenance of discipline among them.
The Court, recently, without going into the nuances of relevant sections of the special legislations (i.e., the Army Act and similar special Acts) said that in Joseph Shine it ‘was not at all concerned with the effect and operation of the relevant provisions’ and ‘it is not as if this Court approved of adultery’.
The Court further added that it found adultery as a moral (and civil) wrong and a ground for securing dissolution of marriage. With these observations, the case was disposed of.
The moot question is whether these observations by the Court give an impression that the armed forces may go ahead with disciplinary action for the misconduct of adulterous acts (as understood in common parlance without reference to Section 497 of the IPC) under their special legislations?
Consequent to the Joseph Shine case, the Rajasthan High Court, in Mahesh Chand Sharma versus State of Rajasthan and Others (2019), set aside the departmental proceedings against the petitioner who was serving as an inspector in the Rajasthan Police (after having served for 18 years in the Indian Air Force) and allegedly had illicit relations with one woman constable and had also ‘begotten a child from illicit relations’.
The High Court held that no employer can be allowed to do moral policing on its employees which go beyond the domain of his public life and personal choices and selections (to have sexual intercourse) cannot be a subject matter of departmental proceedings under the Service Conduct Rules.
Opinion
Reimagining the urban rural dichotomy (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The traditional dichotomy of rural and urban, and the accordingly mandated governance structure, seems inadequate to understand and act upon poverty, undernourishment, education, health, environmental management or even development. For, between the two extremes lies an intermediate settlement formation where rural and urban functions coexist without distinguishable boundaries. Such formations evolve due to interactions of a complex set of geographical, cultural, economic and historical processes. The rural-urban continuum or urban-rural continuum has drawn wide attention in recent years. Under this axiom, it is acknowledged that the transition from rural to urban follows a graded curve of development, and opportunities for social and economic development depend on one’s location along this curve.
Nuanced perspectives
A 2021 World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, ‘Economic and social development along the urban-rural continuum-New opportunities to inform policy,’ advocated adopting the notion of urban catchment areas delienated along an urban-rural continuum.
Identification of such areas would help understand urban-rural interconnections, which is important for making policy decisions across development sectors and for addressing issues related to environment and natural resources management.
This would support geographically nuanced perspectives in development, required to address increasing spatial inequality.
A 2008 report of the Desakota Study Team, ‘Re-imagining the Rural Urban Continuum,’ was based on studies in eight countries around the world including India.
It emphasised understanding the changing relationship between ecosystems and livelihoods under diversified economic systems across the rural-urban continuum as this has important policy implications at all levels.
Survey debunks Swachh Bharat’s 100% ODF claim (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
Yet another released recently government survey has called into question the Central government’s claim in 2019 that all Indian villages are open defecation-free (ODF).
However, four government surveys/reports released just before or after the announcement, including the latest Multiple Indicator Survey (MIS), have not only disputed the ODF status of most States but also shown persisting levels of poor sanitation in many of them.
The three older surveys which disputed the ODF status were the National Statistical Office (NSO) survey from October 2018, the National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey (NARSS) of 2019-20, and the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) 2019-21.
For instance, according to data from the Swachh Bharat Mission, Gramin (SBMG) portal, villages in Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were declared 100% ODF by October 2018.
However, according to NSO data, only 71% and 62.8% of rural households in Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, respectively, had access to some form of latrine (own, shared, public) in the same month.
The SBMG data claimed that in 24 States/UTs, over 99% of rural households had individual household latrine as of March 2019, whereas the NARSS data recorded six months later showed that in 24 States/UTs, less than 90% of the rural households had access to their own toilets.
According to the SBMG data, 99.4% of rural households in Gujarat had individual latrines as of March 2019. However, according to NFHS data, in the second half of 2019, only 63.3% of the population in rural households in Gujarat used individual toilets.
Explainer
The rise of the ESG regulations (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Over the last decade, regulators and corporations around the world have embraced the idea that businesses should be measured not just on traditional economic metrics such as shareholder return, but also by their environmental impact, commitment to social issues and the soundness of their corporate governance and protection of shareholder rights.
While this development is partially due to the belief that companies have a distinct responsibility as corporate citizens, the main driver is the realisation that environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) considerations need to be included by investors in a company’s risk profile in order to accurately assess the enterprise.
The evolution of ESG laws and regulations is, however, still at a nascent stage in India, where the focus is often on providing protections regarding the environment or workplace conditions without also incorporating the controls and disclosure that are a hallmark of contemporary ESG regulation.
India has a robust corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy that mandates that corporations engage in initiatives that contribute to the welfare of society. This mandate was codified into law with the passage of the 2014 and 2021 amendments to the Companies Act of 2013.
The amendments require companies with a net worth of ₹500 crore (approximately $60 million) or a minimum turnover of ₹1,000 crore (approximately $120 million) or a net profit of ₹5 crore (approximately $6,05,800) in any given financial year spend at least 2% of their net profit over the preceding three years on CSR activities.
What is Rajasthan’s Right to Health Bill? (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
The recently concluded Budget session of the Rajasthan Assembly revived the debate around the Right to Health Bill. The legislation, if passed, will provide mandatory free and affordable medical services in hospitals, clinics and laboratories — both public and privately owned.
Private hospital doctors object to the Bill citing it is hastily drafted, ignores ground realities and may tighten norms in an already over-regulated field.
The Congress-led government tabled the Right to Healthcare Bill, 2022 in the Rajasthan State Assembly in September 2022.
The Bill provides rights to patients and healthcare providers, places the obligation on the government to protect these legal rights and mandates the setting up of grievance redressal mechanisms.
Rajasthan residents will be entitled to free check-ups, drugs, diagnostics, emergency transport and care at all public health institutes, along with affordable surgeries.
The Bill frames medical services as a public service rather than a vehicle for making money. If enacted, the Act will have a recurring annual expenditure of ₹14.5 crore.
Clause 3 of the Bill lays down 20 rights a State resident will be entitled to — including the right to informed consent, to seek information (in the form of medical records and documents) regarding diagnosis and treatment, and to receive treatment without discrimination based on caste, class, age, gender, etc.
Clause 4 of the Bill shifts the burden of responsibility in providing adequate medical services to the government. The government is “obligated” to provide funds, set up institutions and constitute grievance redressal systems.
News
India, Australia for early conclusion of pact on market access (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and his Australian counterpart Don Farrell convened the India-Australia Joint Ministerial Commission on Saturday and discussed negotiations for a full-scale free trade pact and steps to spur investment flows into both countries.
In a joint communique issued on Sunday, Mr. Goyal and Mr. Farrell, Australia’s Trade and Tourism Minister, said they were pleased with the progress in resolving various bilateral technical market access issues and “look forward to concluding” the India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) soon.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese look forward to an early conclusion of an ambitious CECA, which will build on the foundation laid by the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement [signed last year], including new areas of trade, investment and cooperation. CECA will create new employment opportunities, raise living standards and improve the general welfare in both countries.
The Ministers also discussed engagements in the G-20, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
On the IPEF, the Ministers said the two countries would continue to work together on areas of mutual interest, including the clean economy and resilient supply chains.
India’s silence on Beijing’s role in Saudi Arabia Iran deal is disquieting (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
The Saudi Arabia-Iran agreement signed in Beijing on Friday, if successful, will have a far-reaching impact worldwide. The result of negotiations that were kept secret till they reached agreement could signal an easing of tensions between Riyadh and Tehran after many years; peace in Yemen, where the two countries have carried out proxy battles; and a boost for China’s efforts to project itself as a peacemaker.
While the agreement has been welcomed by the United Nations, France, Jordan and West Asian countries, it is also seen as a counter to the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords, and will be greeted with some concern in the U.S., Israel and the UAE.
Though New Delhi has not formally reacted to the announcement so far, the fact that two close partners such as Saudi Arabia and Iran have reached a deal with Beijing’s influence is disquieting, given India’s current tensions with China, experts say. Previous attempts brokered by Iraq and Oman had not succeeded in any breakthrough.
While Saudi-Iranian normalisation is good news, China being the midwife is bad news for South Block,” said P.R. Kumaraswamy, Professor of Contemporary Middle Eastern Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
However, it is an opportunity for India to rework its priorities and pay serious attention to regional developments” rather than be “surprised” by the development.
Other analysts have pointed to India’s focus on the I2U2 quadrilateral along with Israel, the U.S. and UAE, which may have taken the spotlight away from its ties with Iran and Saudi Arabia.
In November, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad Bin Salman cancelled a visit to India, which is expected to be rescheduled this year.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian cancelled his participation in this year’s Raisina Dialogue, run by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Observer Research Foundation, reportedly after protesting a promotional video for the event that appeared critical of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.