7 months on, probe drags on in lawyer-policeman clash case
Paper: II
Mains: General Studies- II: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations.
Why in news:
- In November 2019, a policeman was allegedly assaulted by a lawyer at Saket Court premises, an incident that led to massive protests outside Delhi Police headquarters.
- Two separate FIRs were registered in the case under various sections of IPC, including assault and using criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty.
- There seems to be no progress made in the case.
Impact
- Lawyers and the police are critical to law enforcement, and their unfailing loyalty to the law and the legal process is an essential attribute that a society counts on.
- Far from adhering to the principles of their respective professions, when they take the law into their own hands, it is the sign of a dysfunctional society turning on itself.
- The judicial intervention in the clash between lawyers and the police must not only be impartial and fair but also be seen as such.
- To restore public confidence in policing and judicial process, strict action must be taken against those who indulged in violence. That is essential also to restore the majesty of the law and its enforcement.
Appeal to pause work on legal reform
Paper: II
Mains: General Studies- II: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations.
Why in news:
Raising concerns that Indian criminal law cannot be overhauled in six months amidst a pandemic, 123 eminent personalities including former Supreme Court judges, senior lawyers and academics have written a letter to the national committee to reform penal laws in the country, set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Details:
- Criminal Law in India is governed by the Indian Penal Code of 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure that was rewritten in 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act that dates back to 1872.
- There have been several attempts in recent decades to overhaul the body of criminal law.
- However, comprehensive legal reform is something that requires careful consideration and a good deal of deliberation.
- In 2003, the Justice V.S. Malimath Committee on reforms in the criminal justice system had come up with some far-reaching suggestions, some of which became part of changes in criminal law.
- However, it also attracted criticism over the suggestion that the standard of evidence be reduced from “beyond reasonable doubt” to “clear and convincing”.
- In 2007, Madhav Menon Committee submitted its report suggesting various recommendations on reforms in the Criminal Justice System of India.
- The Justice Verma panel came up with a comprehensive and progressive report on reforms needed in laws concerning crimes against women in 2013 in barely one month, but its speed was due to the limited mandate it had.
UN blacklists Pak. Taliban leader Noor Wali Mehsud
Paper: II
Mains: General Studies- II: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations.
Why in News?
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terror group’s leader Noor Wali Mehsud has been designated as a global terrorist by the UN.
Details:
- The UN Security Council’s 1267 ISIL and Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee added Mehsud to the ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaeda Sanctions List.
- This would subject the Pakistani national to an assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.
Who is Noor Wali Mehsud?
- In June 2018, Mehsud was named the leader of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, following the death of former TTP leader Maulana Fazlullah.
- The TTP was blacklisted by the UN on July 29, 2011, for its association with al-Qaeda.
- The group had claimed responsibility for an attempted bombing in Times Square in April and May 2010.
- It had launched a multi-pronged assault against the United States Consulate in Peshawar.
Why is Mehsud black-listed?
- He has been blacklisted for participating in the financing, planning and perpetrating acts on behalf of and in support of entities associated with al-Qaeda.
- According to the sanctions committee, under Noor Wali’s leadership, TTP has claimed responsibility for numerous deadly terrorist attacks across Pakistan, including an attack targeting Pakistani security forces in North Waziristan and a bomb attack against Pakistani soldiers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2019.
- The U.S. domestically designated Noor Wali as a terrorist in September 2019.
‘Draft EIA gives licence for violations’
Paper: III
Mains: General Studies-III: Technology, Economic Development, Bio diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management
Why in news:
Concerns are being raised about the Draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) 2020 diluting existing protections.
Environment Impact Assessment:
- Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Act is the law that governs how the threat posed by large infrastructure projects to the environment ought to be evaluated.
- It is a process of evaluating the likely environmental impacts of a proposed project or development, taking into account inter-related socio-economic, cultural and human-health impacts, both beneficial and adverse.
- EIA is basically a tool used to assess the positive and negative environmental, economic and social impacts of a project. This is used to predict the environmental impacts of a project in the pre-planning stage itself so that decisions can be taken to reduce the adverse impacts.
Environmental clearance for projects:
- Through the lockdown, ‘expert’ bodies of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) have considered, and in many cases cleared, multiple industrial, mining and infrastructure proposals in critical wildlife habitats, and life and livelihood-sustaining forests.
- Some of the major projects include:
- Etalin Hydropower Project in the biodiversity-rich Dibang valley of Arunachal Pradesh
- A coal mine in Assam’s Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve.
- Diamond mining in the Panna forested belt
- Coal mine and coal-fired power plant in Odisha’s Talabira forests
- Limestone mine in the Gir National Park
- Geo-technical investigation in the Sharavathi Lion-Tailed Macaque Sanctuary in Karnataka
- The authorities have considered these projects via video-conferencing in contravention of environmental laws, and without all necessary documents or site inspections.
Customs unravels hawala trail in Kerala gold smuggling case
Paper: III
Mains: General Studies-III: Technology, Economic Development, Bio diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management
Why in news
The Customs Department has moved to track down the network of sponsors who had purportedly financed the illegal import of gold in trade quantities via air cargo shipments addressed to the consulate of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in Kerala.
Key Details:
- Investigators believe the money raised in Kerala was sent to Dubai via an informal hawala banking system headquartered in Hyderabad.
- The role of the hawala operator and the likelihood that the secretive money transfer channel could be used to send cash to finance terrorist activities had kindled the NIA’s interest in the smuggling case.
- Hawala channels were also active conduits for laundering proceedings from illegal activities.
Hawala
- Hawala is an informal method by which money can change hands without the use of banks.
- This works through codes, contacts and trust with no paperwork at all.