📰 Women Army officers eligible for permanent commission: SC
Chandrachud dismisses govt.’s view that women are physiologically weaker
•The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the Union government’s submissions that women are physiologically weaker than men as a “sex stereotype” and declared that Short Service Commission (SSC) women officers are eligible for permanent commission and command posts in the Army irrespective of their years of service.
•“Women officers of the Indian Army have brought laurels to the force… Their track record of service to the nation is beyond reproach. To cast aspersion on their abilities on the ground of gender is an affront not only to their dignity as women but to the dignity of the members of the Indian Army — men and women — who serve as equal citizens in a common mission. The time has come for a realisation that women officers in the Army are not adjuncts to a male dominated establishment, whose presence must be ‘tolerated’ within narrow confines,” a Bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Hemant Gupta observed in a 54-page judgment.
•The verdict came on a nearly 10-year-old appeal filed by the government against a March 12, 2010 decision of the Delhi High Court to grant SSC women officers permanent commission. The Supreme Court ordered the government to implement its judgment in three months.
•The order castigated the government for submitting a note containing written submissions portraying women as physiologically unfit for answering the “call beyond duty” of the Army. The note had shown women officers in a poor light, saying isolation and hardships would eat into their resolve and that they would have to heed to the call of pregnancy, childbirth and family. The note had mentioned that women ran the risk of capture by enemy and being taken prisoner of war.
•Justice Chandrachud, who wrote the judgment, countered that 30% of women officers were deputed in conflict zones. He said the note screamed of the age-old patriarchal notion that domestic obligations rested only with women. The court found the remarks in the note not only constitutionally invalid but also discriminatory, affecting the dignity of women officers.
‘Law can regulate offerings at religious places if used for terrorism, casinos’
•A nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court on Monday observed that making offerings at places of worship may be a religious practice, but the law can regulate the money donated at such places if it is used for “terrorism” or “running casinos.”
•The top court said the old practices of “human sacrifices” and ‘sati’ amounted to murder under law and could not be saved on ground of “essential religious practice.” The Constitution Bench, headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde, made these observations as it commenced hearing to deliberate upon the issues pertaining to the scope of freedom of religion as also of judicial scrutiny into “essential religious practices” of separate “religious denominations.”
•The Bench is also examining the issue whether a person, who does not belong to a particular faith, can file a PIL petition questioning the religious practice of another religion.
•The questions have arisen out of a judgment in the Sabarimala case.
•“The IPC can be read as the guard against the practice of human sacrifices, because it is murder under the IPC. Likewise ‘sati’ also amounted to murder ... Even a religious aspect can be the subject matter of reform,” said the Bench, which also included Justices R. Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan, L. Nageswara Rao, M.M. Shantanagoudar, S.A. Nazeer, R. Subhash Reddy, B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant.
•Examining the scope of judicial power in religious matters, it gave illustration of practice of giving offerings or money in temples and said they were part of religious practices.
•“But if money is being used for terrorism or for running a casino etc. then this is secular part of the religion and can be regulated by the law,” it said. It also said financial activities of a religious trust pertaining to “donations, hygiene and health” can be regulated by laws.
📰 Southern Bench of SC not favoured: Prasad
In a letter to MDMK chief Vaiko, Ravi Shankar Prasad says various such representations are received
•Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, in a letter to Rajya Sabha member and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Vaiko, said that though the matter of setting up a Southern Bench of the Supreme Court of India is pending in the top court, the issue has so far not found favour.
•The letter, dated February 12, responded to a query raised by Mr. Vaiko in Parliament, in which he asked if a Bench of the Supreme Court can be set up in south India. “According to Article 130 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court shall sit in Delhi or in any other place or places as the Chief Justice of India may, with the approval of the President of India, from time to time, appoint. Representations have been received at various times from various quarters for the establishment of Benches of the Supreme Court in various parts of the country,” Mr. Prasad said in his letter.
•“I would like to state that the idea of a separate Bench of the Supreme Court outside Delhi has not found favour with the Supreme Court of India. The Attorney General of India, from time to time, was also consulted and had also posed the idea of Regional Benches of the Supreme Court,” Mr. Prasad said in his reply.
📰 Why delay appointments, asks SC
Attorney General blames collegium for taking a long time to forward files to govt.
•The Supreme Court on Monday asked the government why it was “holding back” recommendations for appointments to various High Courts even after reiteration by the Collegium.
•“Once the Supreme Court Collegium reiterates the name of a candidate for appointment, then you [government] cannot hold back... Why are you keeping these recommendations pending? Why don’t you accept them? It is the law,” Justice K.M. Joseph told Attorney General K.K. Venugopal, for the Centre.
•The Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Joseph was conveying its alarm at the rising number of vacancies in various High Courts. Some of these courts are functioning only with half their sanctioned judicial strength. On an average, they suffer at least 40% vacancies.
•Mr. Venugopal defended saying the collegium delays the appointment process quite as the government. The government’s delay is largely because it thoroughly combs the antecedents of the candidate, leaving no room for error. The process, on an average, takes at least 127 days.
•On the other hand, the judiciary takes 119 days on an average merely to forward the file to the government. Mr. Venugopal challenged the Bench to issue formal notice to the various High Courts to explain the delay. He said some courts like Allahabad and Andhra take over 45 and 50 months to even report a vacancy. The appointment of Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan of the Kerala High Court took two years to come through.
•Mr. Venugopal referred to how the Collegium system was put to an end through the National Judicial Appointments Commission to make the appointments process transparent and participatory, only to be thrust out by the Supreme Court.
•“We had brought a perfectly fine Constitutional Amendment [NJAC]... We can perhaps bring another amendment,” Mr. Venugopal told the court.
•Justice Joseph replied that “You or I cannot re-open that [NJAC] issue.”
•Noting that there are a 199 vacancies in the High Courts, Justice Kaul said the efforts should be made to kick-start the appointments process to the courts early.
📰 India’s bird population suffers long-term decline
Joint study by 10 bodies blames growing threat from loss of habitat, widespread presence of toxins, hunting and trapping
•Over a fifth of India’s bird diversity, ranging from the Short-toed Snake Eagle to the Sirkeer Malkoha, has suffered strong long-term declines over a 25-year period, while more recent annual trends point to a drastic 80% loss among several common birds, a new scientific report jointly released by 10 organisations said on Monday.
•The State of India’s Birds 2020 (SoIB) assessment raises the alarm that several spectacular birds, many of them endemic to the sub-continent, face a growing threat from loss of habitat due to human activity, widespread presence of toxins, including pesticides; hunting and trapping for the pet trade. Diminishing population sizes of many birds because of one factor brings them closer to extinction because of the accelerated effects of others, the report warned. For every bird species that was found to be increasing in numbers over the long term, 11 have suffered losses, some catastrophically.
Rare urban sparrows
•Of 101 species categorised as being of High Conservation Concern — 59 based on range and abundance and the rest included from high-risk birds on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List — endemics such as the Rufous-fronted Prinia, Nilgiri Thrush, Nilgiri Pipit and Indian vulture were confirmed as suffering current decline, and all except 13 had a restricted or highly restricted range, indicating greater vulnerability to man-made threats.
•Among widely known species, the common sparrow, long seen as declining in urban spaces, has a stable population overall, although the data from major cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai confirm the view that they have become rare in cities and urban areas. Among the possible reasons for this is a decrease in insect populations as well as nesting places, but there is no conclusive evidence in the scientific literature on radiation from mobile phone towers playing a part.
•The SoIB was produced using a base of 867 species, and analysed with the help of data uploaded by birdwatchers to the online platform, eBird. Adequate data on how birds fared over a period of over 25 years (long-term trend) are available only for 261 species. Current annual trends are calculated over a five-year period.
•Looking at the health of avifauna based on scientific groupings such as raptors (birds of prey), habitat, diet, migratory status and endemicity (exclusively found in an area), the analysis concludes that raptors overall are in decline, with ‘open country’ species such as the Pallid and Montagu Harriers, White-bellied Sea Eagle and Red-necked Falcon suffering the most.
•The severe long-term decline of vultures, recorded and analysed for years now, is underscored by the report.
•Migratory shorebirds, along with gulls and terns, seem to have declined the most among waterbirds, the report states, consistent with population trends among Arctic-breeding shorebirds based on independent assessments.
Habitats need help
•Forward-looking actions suggested by the report include an update to the Red List of endangered species published by IUCN using the SoIB, collaborative research by scientists and citizens and urgent emphasis on habitats of species of high concern, notably grasslands, scrublands, wetlands and the Western Ghats.
•Suhel Quader, a member of the SoIB team, noted that the report was a first step and an assessment of trends rather than causes. “Habitat loss and fragmentation are known causes of species declines, but targeted research is needed to pinpoint causes of decline”, he said.
📰 Response to long-term repo encouraging: RBI
Bids far exceed notified amount
•The response to the first long-term repo auction, which was conducted on Monday, was highly encouraging, the Reserve Bank of India said. The central bank has received total bids of Rs. 1.94 lakh crore, for the three year repo, compared with the notified amount of Rs. 25,000 crore.
•“The response to the long term repo operation (LTRO) has been highly encouraging. The total bids that were received amounted to Rs. 1,94,414 crore, implying a bid-to-cover ratio (i.e., the quantum of bids received relative to the amount announced) of 7.8,” RBI said in a statement after the first auction on Monday.
•“The total amount of bids has, in fact, exceeded the aggregate amount of Rs. 1 lakh crore proposed to be offered under the LTRO scheme.” RBI will conduct the second issue for Rs. 25,000 crore on February 24 which will have a 1-year tenor.
•In the sixth bimonthly monetary policy review earlier this month, the central bank, while keeping the key interest rate unchanged, had announced that it would conduct term repos of one-year and three-year tenors up to a total amount of Rs. 1 lakh crore at the policy repo rate, which is 5.15%.
•These will allow banks to garner funds cheaper than the prevailing market and in turn, help them to reduce interest rate costs. “This should encourage banks to undertake maturity transformation smoothly and seamlessly so as to augment credit flows to productive sectors,” RBI had said while making the announcement.
📰 Fiscal deficit target realistic: FM
A lot of consultation preceded ‘pragmatic’ Budget, she says
•The fiscal deficit mentioned in the budget proposal 2020-21 was ‘absolutely realistic’ in terms of the scope of revenue generation, scope of investments and projection for economic growth and consumption, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
•Addressing a media conference here on Friday, the Minister said, “We have been absolutely realistic with all the figures, that we can spend or borrow, presented in the budget. A fiscal deficit target of 3.5% for next fiscal is the real picture.”
•On inflation, she said the government was hopeful. She cited the case of seasonal, perishable commodities which make up a significant size in the basket; except for seasonal fluctuation, prices of most goods, particularly food products, have been kept well within acceptable norms, she said.
•Responding to a query on relief for telecom companies, Ms Sitharaman said the Telecom Ministry would decide on the payment of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) arrears by defaulting telecom firms, as recently directed by the Supreme Court. “The concerned Ministry has been engaging with telecom players since the court's ruling. I will wait to hear the Telecom Ministry’s decision.”
•It may be recalled that Justice Arun Mishra-led bench on February 14 ordered Airtel and Vodafone Idea to pay their AGR dues immediately to avoid contempt of court.
‘Congenial environment’
•Speaking at the fifth post-Budget interactive session, she said a lot of preparation and consultation had gone into drafting a pragmatic, forward-looking Budget, which was also designed to ensure a congenial environment for taxpayers.
