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Weekly Round-Up of Major Decisions of the Courts in India as also Legal Policy Developments

In an unprecedent move, the opposition parties, led by the Congress, are planning to introduce a resolution calling for impeachment of the Chief Justice of India, Dipak Mishra (‘CJI’). A draft resolution was circulated last week, which requires a minimum signatures of 50 Rajya Sabha MPs or 100 Lok Sabha MPs, as per the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968. It is said that the move was necessitated, owing to the CJI’s inability to handle the judicial crisis within, as evident from the press conference of the four senior most judges on 12th January, 2018.

No one should be surprised at the newspaper and primetime TV headlines that the current session of Parliament is heading towards a washout. This is the 12th straight session wasted so far. In fact we see almost the same headlines at the close of every Parliament session in the past two decades with the result people are getting disenchanted with the MPs for not doing their duties. What are the functions and duties of an elected Member of Parliament? There are four important functions: budget scrutiny, protecting the interests of the constituents, function as a watchdog over the government and above all making laws. Are they performing their duties for which they have been elected?

Union Government in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has amended the Central Press Accreditation Rules to curb the growing menace of fake news by holding accreditation card as a Sword of Damocles over the accredited journalists and those seeking fresh or renewal of their accreditation should they indulge in fake news reporting or those seeking accreditation depending upon clearance after scrutiny by the Press Council of India (PCI) in the case of print media journalists and National Broadcasters Association (NBA) in the case of electronic (broadcast) media journalists.

Next election to the Lok Sabha is on every mind and yet no one can predict its timings. Indications are the Prime Minister Narendra Modi may not risk potential of defeat in anyone of three states under the BJP rule going to polls by the year end. But he also cannot assume that he will be automatic choice of the Sangh Parivar for a second term despite the indications to all that there is no alternative to Narendra Modi despite downward slide to his image in four years. In fact the very fact that without him, the Bharatiya Janata Party cannot win power again would weigh against him so the political law suggests. The selecting authority would naturally tend to weigh all aspects including risks involved in its decision.

Army officer Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz’s killing has been avenged for the nth-time. Two of his killers are said to be among the 12 militants killed in south Kashmir on the April Fool’s Day. Three army soldiers and four civilians also died in the exchange of fire at three encounter sites in south Kashmir. J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti promptly asked for resumption of talks with Pakistan even as that exporter of terror railed against the “brutal crackdown” on terrorists and civilians in our once-green Valley.

While laying down procedural safeguards and trying to strike a balance between protecting individual liberties and preserving the spirit of a law in favour of oppressed sections, the Supreme Court has virtually conceded to the argument that the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 were being misused by the Dalits to harass the upper caste and feudal gentry. There is no denying that till today the Dalits are the most exploited lot in the country. They are also the worst victims of the denial of the justice.

This summer – April-May-June – will sizzle. Not as much as last year or the year before. But average temperatures in most parts of the country will be ‘above normal’, says the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). There is a silver lining, though: temperatures in east, east-central and southern India are likely to be “lower than the usual” – indication that the otherwise notoriously wayward Monsoon will be punctual this year. To that, let’s keep in mind that the weatherman is no less unreliable. He wears a mean watch; and, like the politician, promises too much.

March 19 was a big day for the Indian Air Force as its heaviest transport aircraft, C-17 Globemaster, landed at Tuting Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) in Arunachal Pradesh, very close to the Chinese border. India has been upgrading the old and disused landing strips in Arunachal to ALGs for handling big aircraft as part of its larger programme of strengthening defences against China. Last year’s confrontation at Doklam ended after 72 days when China, for reasons of its own, decided not to further escalate the tension. It chose for the time being to dismount from the high horse it was riding.

It may look unusual that global investment bankers, led by Goldman Sachs and Nomura, are suddenly changing their perception about India as a rewarding investment and growth destination. Last month, Nomura’s research report on India went to the extent of saying that political uncertainty in India is on the rise and the ‘ruling BJP is on the back foot’, a development that could hurt reforms. The Nomura report concludes that the political risk is ‘certainly underpriced.’ The investment bank report bluntly concludes that an early Lok Sabha election in the fourth quarter (September-December) of 2018, instead of the normal April-May of 2019, can’t be ruled out. Nomura’s report came almost simultaneously with Goldman Sachs’ report downgrading its India forecasts in the wake of a $2 billion-plus PNB fraud. The global investment banker warns that the growing bank frauds could spark tighter regulation of the banking sector constraining credit growth. In a note to clients, Goldman Sachs lowered its real gross domestic product (GDP) forecast on India for the year to March 2019 to 7.6 per cent from 8 per cent earlier.