VISION

 Why in news?

Recently, Supreme Court asked the Centre to respond to a plea challenging the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.

What is the law about?

• The law seeks to maintain the religious character of places of worship as it existed on the 15th day of August, 1947 except in the case of Ram Janma bhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute.
• Sections 4 of the Act declare that no person shall convert any place of worship of any religious denomination into one of a different denomination or section.
• Section 4(2) says that all suits, appeals or other proceedings regarding converting the character of a place of worship, that were pending on August 15, 1947, will stand abated.
• The above provision is applicable from the date on which this act commences and fresh proceedings cannot be initiated from then.
• However, legal proceedings can be initiated with respect to the conversion of the religious character of any place of worship after the commencement of the act i.e. after August 15, 1947.

What does the law say about Ayodhya?

• Section 5 mentions that the act is not applicable to Ram Janma Bhumi Babri Masjid and to any suit, appeal or other proceeding relating to the said place or place of worship.
• Besides the Ayodhya dispute, the act also exempts:
  • Any place of worship that is an ancient and historical monument or an archaeological site or is covered by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958;
  • A suit that has been finally settled or disposed of;
  • Any dispute that has been settled by the parties or conversion of any place that took place by acquiescence before the Act commenced.

What has the Supreme Court said about the Act?

• In the 2019 Ayodhya verdict, Supreme Court said the law manifests the secular values of the Constitution.
• It says that the act provides confidence to every religious community that their places of worship will be preserved and their character will not be altered.
• It says that the norms bind those who govern the affairs of the nation at every level.
• And these norms seek to implement the Fundamental Duties under Article 51A and it gives a positive mandates to every citizen.

• The court also mentioned that State has enforced its constitutional commitment and operationalised its constitutional obligations of upholding the equality of all religions and secularism ideology.

Why was the law challenged?

• It was challenged on the ground that it violates the principle of secularism.
• The petition said that the cut-off date of August 15, 1947 is arbitrary, irrational and retrospective.
• It prohibits Hindus, Jains, Buddhist, and Sikhs from approaching courts to re-claim their places of worship which were encroached by invaders.
• Moreover it indicates that Centre has no power to legislate provisions of State list- pilgrimages or burial grounds.
• But the centre replied that it could make use of its residuary power under Entry 97 of the Union List to enact this law.
• Entry 97 confers residuary powers to the Centre to legislate on subjects that are not enumerated in any of the three lists.
• The petition highlights the fact that since the cut-off date for the law is the date of Independence, the status quo determined by the colonial power will be considered as final.
• This another major criticism against the law.

Source: The Indian Express

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1)  World Consumer Rights Day 2021

•It is celebrated on 15 March across the world annually to spread awareness about the rights of consumers and their needs.

•A special message was sent by President John F Kennedy to the US Congress on 15 March, 1962 and so the day was inspired by him. In the message he formally addressed the issue of consumer rights.  To do so, he was the first leader.

•The history behind the World Consumer Rights Day is that the first consumer movement was observed in 1983 and since then every year it is observed to mobilize an action on important issues and campaigns.

•The theme of World Consumer Rights Day 2021 is ‘Tackling Plastic Pollution’. It will raise awareness and engage consumers globally to adopt and promote more sustainable practices. The last year theme was ‘The Sustainable Consumer’. This year the campaign will also focus on the central role that consumer advocates governments and businesses can play in tackling the global plastic pollution crisis.

Who is a consumer and types?

•Consumer is one who purchase the product for his or her own need and consumes it. He or she can not resell the product or service but consumer it to earn his or her livelihood and self-employment.

Types of consumer:

•Commercial Consumer, Discretionary Spending Consumers, Extroverted Consumer and Inferior Goods Consumer

2)  Supreme Court seeks govt.’s response on plea against Places of Worship Act

•The Supreme Court has asked the government to respond to a plea challenging the Places of Worship Act enacted in 1991.

•A notice is issued by a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde to the Union Ministries of Home, Law and Culture on a plea filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay against various provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act of 1991.

•The petition said Sections of the Act that dealt with the bar on legal claims were against the principles of secularism.

3)  First project Genome Mapping in Indian Ocean will be launched

•In the Indian Ocean, the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) will launch the first-of-its-kind project of Genome Mapping.

•Indian Ocean covers about 20% of the Earths’s water surface and so is the third largest water bocy in the world.

•Its objective is to bather samples of genome mapping of microorganisms in the Indian Ocean.

•It is also necessary to understand the biochemistry and the response of the Ocean to climate change, nutrient stress and increasing pollution.

•The cost of the project and duration is Rs 25 crore and will take around three years to complete.

4)  Odisha Farmer’s Solar Car Gets Thumbs-Up Online

•An Odisha farmer gained attention of people on social media by generating electric four-wheeler that runs on a solar powered battery.

•Sushil Aggarwal from Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district had built a four-wheeler powered by an 850 Watts motor and 100 Ah/54 Volts of battery.

•After fully charged the vehicle can travel up to 300 km. He told that he had built this car inside a workshop at his home during the COVID-19 lockdown.

•He told that the solar-powered battery took around 8 and a half hours to be fully charged. He further stated that “It is a slow charging battery. Such batteries have a long life, it will last 10 years.”

•All the work on his vehicle including motor winding, electrical fitting and chassis work were done in my workshop with the help of two other mechanics and a friend who advised me on electric works,” he added.

5)  Ultimate Battle Founder- An Online eSports Platform

•Founder of Ultimate Battle is Tarun Gupta. It is an online eSports platform where gamers can test their mettle against others without paying a fee. India is still small in this segment, gamers need platforms that can give them competitive exposure to improve their skills.

•Therefore, Ultimate Battle invites and encourages players to try popular eSports titles of all kinds against other players. It is a complete product of India and it does not charge players money to participate in competitive gaming through the platform.

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