Whatsapp 93125-11015 For Details
The Supreme Court quashed the order of en masse remission granted by the State of Gujarat in August 2022 to 11 men sentenced to life imprisonment for the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and murder of her family, including a two-month-old infant, during the 2002 riots.
Terming what befell Ms. Bano, who was pregnant at the time, and her family as a “grotesque and diabolical crime driven by communal hatred”, a Bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan delivered a scathing reprimand of the ruling BJP government in Gujarat for acting “in tandem” with the prisoners to order their early release after “usurping the power” to do so. The judgment comes as a blow to the Centre, which had approved the men’s premature release.
A woman deserves respect howsoever high or low she may be otherwise considered in society or to whatever faith she may follow or any creed she may belong to.
Can heinous crimes against women permit remission of the convicts by a reduction in their sentence and by granting them liberty.
DGCA revises duty norms for pilots; allows more rest, fewer night flights (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 3, Infrastructure)
Following concerns raised by pilots over mounting fatigue due to increased flying in a fast-growing domestic aviation market, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has revised the norms regulating their duty hours by reducing night-time flying and enhancing weekly rest.
Airlines will have to comply with the revised Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) on Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) by June 1.
In a significant relief, pilots rostered to fly planes between midnight and 6 a.m., which falls in the window of circadian low that can impact sleep cycles and alertness levels and is categorised as “night duty”, cannot carry out more than two landings, instead of the six permitted earlier.
No pilot can be rostered for more than two consecutive night duties. This enhancement of one hour during early morning will ensure adequate rest and also align the night duty period which encompasses Window of Circadian Low (WOCL) from 0200-0600 hours, i.e. the time during which the circadian body clock cycle is at its lowest in terms of alertness.
Editorial
Curb the disillusionment with the traditional rule of law (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
The essential condition for the continued trust in the rule of law is the faith in the inherent “goodness” or desirability of the “norm” that sets the boundaries between the right and wrong. We are all taught about the virtues of a “norm”-abiding life.
The ‘guru’ must be respected because he teaches us the “norms”. In the modern secular context we are told to respect the fundamental norm, the Constitution of India.
Even the father of the nation, M.K. Gandhi, considered the normative raison d’etre sacrosanct. For him, a duly enacted law needed to be respected. But he also said that it was the moral duty of a citizen to oppose an unjust law by all democratic means.
The Dandi March, a mass civil disobedience movement undertaken by Gandhi against the salt tax, set an example for the respect for “norms” when he agreed to be willingly subjected to criminal proceedings for breaking the law.
But, today, the rule of law faces a new credibility crisis and the normative raison d’etre subjected to disillusionments of, at least, two kinds.
The first is those arising out of the out-datedness or infirmities in the law/laws, and the second, those arising out of an altered perception of law itself that treats law as a “power resource”, which can be moulded as per the social requirements.
Opinion
Exploring India’s diverse cultural heritage through GI tag (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Last Thursday, 17 products from across six States/Union Territories got the Geographical Indications (GI) tag. The products ranged from handicrafts such as the Dongaria Kondh shawl from Odisha, to agricultural products such as the Sundarban Honey from West Bengal.
A GI tag is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
In India, if one thinks of Tirupati or Nagpur, often laddus and oranges come to mind, respectively. Both these products have GI tags.
While arguing for a GI tag, Tirumala Tirupati Devsthanam said in their application that the highest quality of raw material is procured for the production of the laddu prasad and a variety of skills are required for each stage of its making. The GI tag for the Nagour orange reportedly helped farmers brand their products under the tag.
Any trader’s body, association, or organisation can apply for a GI tag. The applicants need to prove the uniqueness of the item with historical records and a complete breakdown of how the product is made.
GI tags are also not meant just for popular products. There are hundreds of GI tags across States. Every GI tag recognises a particular region and product and brings it to the public eye.
Text & Context
Debating India’s new hit-and-run law (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
Transporters and commercial drivers from States like Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, and Punjab have staged protests against the recent legislation concerning hit-and-run incidents.
Section 106 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) stipulates a penalty of up to 10 years in jail and a fine for fleeing an accident spot and failing to report the incident to a police officer or a magistrate.
This law is in addition to the colonial-era provision on causing of death due to rash or negligent acts under Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Protestors are demanding the withdrawal or amendment of Section 106 (2), backed by the threat of a nationwide strike if their demands are not met. They argue that while strict action in hit-and-run cases is necessary, the new law has several flaws that need reconsideration.
The new law has sparked widespread protests among truck drivers, affecting multiple States. In Maharashtra, the protest turned intense with truck drivers staging road blocks, and where incidents of stone-pelting led to police injuries and vehicle damage. It has also sparked fears of fuel shortages.
Chhattisgarh witnessed a similar upheaval, as 12,000 private bus drivers went on strike, leaving commuters stranded across major cities and causing panic at petrol pumps.
Similar incidents were reported from West Bengal, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh where normalcy has come to a grinding halt.
News
DRDO counter-drone system ready, handed over to private firms (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
The counter-drone system developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is ready for production and was already demonstrated to armed services and other internal security agencies with some orders already placed.
The DRDO is now focusing on high endurance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) while the capability for smaller drones exists with the industry.
The DRDO is making drone-based systems and anti-drone systems based on the requirements of user agencies. The DRDO has developed a comprehensive integrated anti-drone system which comprises detection, identification and neutralisation of a drone. This was stated in its 42nd report, “A review of working of DRDO”, which was tabled in Parliament recently.
Three Services have already placed 23 orders on BEL for DRDO-developed technology. The above technology is suitable for detection, identification, and neutralisation of an intruding drone on our land borders also. The solutions can be customised for different challenges.”
Grant of remission a ‘classic case’ of using SC to violate law: verdict (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
The Supreme Court on Monday said the grant of remission to 11 men serving life sentence in the Bilkis Bano case was a “classic case” of using a Supreme Court order to violate the law.
The court was referring to its May 2022 decision, delivered by a Bench headed by Justice Ajay Rastogi (now retired), allowing Gujarat to decide the application of one of the convicts, Radheshyam Bhagwandas Shah, for premature release in terms of the State’s remission policy of July 9, 1992. Following this order from the court, the other 10 convicts had joined in with their pleas for remission.
In its judgment on Monday, a Bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said the court was defrauded into delivering its decision on May 13, 2022. The respondents had not divulged a series of facts which would have tilted the Supreme Court’s decision against them.
The judgment pointed out that Shah was told by the Gujarat High Court in 2019 to approach the Maharashtra government with his plea for remission.
Following this rebuff, he had moved the Home Department of the Maharashtra government. The department had, in turn, asked the CBI, which had prosecuted the Bilkis Bano case. The agency had replied that Shah ought to “serve his sentence fully” and did not deserve any leniency.
‘Viksit Bharat Yatra aims to help schemes reach all beneficiaries’ (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 1, Culture)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the main goal of the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra (VBSY) was to ensure that government schemes reached all deserving people.
After interacting with the VBSY beneficiaries through video conference, Mr. Modi said the drive recently completed 50 days and had connected with about 11 crore people. “Vikas Bharat Sankalp Yatra has become not only the journey of the government but also the journey of the country.
The Prime Minister said the “Modi ki Guarantee” vehicles, along with officials and people’s representatives, were reaching every nook and cranny of the country.
The poor people who spent their lives waiting to get the benefits of government schemes are seeing a meaningful change today. The government is reaching the doorsteps of the beneficiaries and proactively providing the benefits.
On the “global buzz” about “Modi ki Guarantee”, he underlined the link between the resolution of a “Viksit Bharat” and the saturation of the scheme coverage.
Business
Brace for slower economic growth in 2024-25, says Crisil (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The slowdown in economic growth in the second half of 2023-24 projected by the National Statistical Office (NSO) is expected to persist in the coming financial year.
Real GDP grew 7.7% in the first half of the year, and the NSO anticipates annual growth to hit 7.3%.
The first advance estimates bake in a slowdown in the second half relative to the first half of this fiscal. The latter half slowdown has been driven by weaker private consumption, especially rural demand, and the bite of rising interest rates. We expect the slowdown to continue next fiscal.
The key reasons cited for further softening in economic momentum include weaker global growth — expected to ease to 2.8% in 2024 from 3.3% in 2023 — and high interest rates whose transmission is still playing out, hurting domestic demand.
Science
South Korea superconductivity claim revived with new data (Page no. 18)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
A group of scientists affiliated with research institutes in China and Japan have reported finding a sign of superconductivity in a material that was at the centre of a controversy last year over similar claims.
Their study is described in a preprint paper they uploaded to the internet on January 2. (A preprint is a paper the authors have finished writing and is yet to be peer-reviewed.)
While the study has already drawn some attention in the scientific community, the researchers who conducted it and others are proceeding with caution – some rooted in the superconductivity controversies that erupted last year and some in the study itself.
The sign in question is called the Meissner effect. It is one of a few ‘effects’ certain materials exhibit when they’re able to conduct electric currents without any resistance – i.e. when they become superconductors.
The researchers have reported in their paper that they observed the Meissner effect in a compound called copper-substituted lead apatite.