GS Analyst
Daily Current Affairs

The recent case involving a Class 12 student accused of raping his 17-year-old acquaintance, leading to his interim bail for board examinations, highlights concerns regarding consent and sexual relationships among minors, despite legal experts asserting that consent is irrelevant in such cases.

• Awareness about consequences: While the idea of consent, along with “good touch” and “bad touch”, has made children and adolescents aware, most children are unaware that sexual intimacy of any degree is punishable according to the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
  • In India, consensual sex between minors is a criminal offence or consent in immaterial.
• Amendment in POCSO: The POCSO Act needs certain amendments to handle cases where there is “tacit approval” since such cases do not “merit to be dealt with the same severity as the cases that were ideally imagined to fall under the POCSO Act”.

• Society’s intervention: Due to adolescents' limited understanding of the legal ramifications of sexual intimacy, there arises a crucial need for society to step up efforts in building awareness and establishing support systems.
• Education: There is need for a more comprehensive life skill education on issues related to sex and sexuality.

Issues with the Current Age of Consent

In India, the age of sexual consent is set at 18, which means that sexual activity involving anyone under this age is considered a criminal offense, even if both parties are willing participants. 

• It criminalizes consensual relationships between teenagers aged 16 or 17
• India's age of consent is significantly higher than the global average.

Heavy cross-voting by Opposition lawmakers turned the biennial Rajya Sabha elections into a thrilling contest.

Challenges to the Sanctity of Rajya Sabha Elections: A Bigger picture

Despite constitutional provisions and legal safeguards in place, such incidents underscore the need for greater vigilance and accountability in ensuring free and fair elections.

• Sanctity of the Electoral Process: The fundamental principle of democracy relies on the sanctity of electoral processes. However, instances of cross-voting challenge this principle, raising doubts about the fairness and transparency of the elections. The need to uphold the integrity of the electoral system becomes imperative to maintain public trust in democratic institutions.
• Implementation of Anti-Defection Laws: The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, commonly known as the anti-defection law, aims to curb unethical practices such as defection and voting against party lines. However, the applicability of these laws to Rajya Sabha elections has been a subject of debate. While the law prohibits defection, its enforcement during Rajya Sabha polls remains ambiguous, leading to loopholes that can be exploited.
• Role of the Judiciary: The judiciary plays a crucial role in upholding the principles of democracy and ensuring adherence to constitutional norms. While the Supreme Court has upheld the use of open ballot for Rajya Sabha elections to promote transparency, recent incidents of cross-voting highlight the need for judicial intervention to address electoral malpractices effectively. The court's proactive stance in safeguarding democratic values is essential to maintain the sanctity of the electoral process.
• Upholding Democratic Values: At the core of the issue lies the imperative to uphold democratic values and principles. Cross-voting not only undermines the democratic mandate but also erodes public confidence in the electoral system. Addressing this challenge requires a multi-faceted approach, encompassing legal reforms, judicial oversight, and institutional accountability, to ensure that the electoral process remains free, fair, and transparent.

What reforms are required?

• The incidents of cross-voting in Rajya Sabha elections underscore the pressing need for comprehensive reforms to safeguard the sanctity of the electoral process.
• Upholding democratic values and principles should be a collective endeavor involving all stakeholders, including the legislature, judiciary, and civil society.
• Only through concerted efforts can India's democratic institutions uphold the integrity of elections and preserve the essence of democracy.

The recent verdict by the Supreme Court on the automatic vacation of stay orders in civil and criminal cases has sparked considerable debate within legal circles. The ruling, delivered by a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, diverged from the precedent set by a 2018 judgement, highlighting the nuanced complexities surrounding judicial discretion and case management.

Balance between judicial discretion and procedural rigidity

• Judicial Discretion and Stay Orders: The crux of the issue lies in the balance between judicial discretion and procedural rigidity.
  • While the 2018 judgement advocated for the automatic expiration of stay orders after six months, the recent ruling emphasizes the importance of judicial discretion in evaluating the merits of each case individually.
• This approach acknowledges the diverse nature of legal proceedings and the need for flexibility in adjudicating complex matters.
• Implications for Case Management: The Supreme Court's decision to refrain from fixing a timeline for the disposal of cases underscores the inherent challenges in setting rigid deadlines for judicial proceedings.
  • By recognizing that grassroots issues are best understood by the concerned courts, the judgement acknowledges the inherent complexities involved in case management and underscores the importance of context-specific decision-making.
• Balancing Expediency and Justice: The ruling prompts a critical examination of the tension between expediency and justice within the legal framework.

The Supreme Court's verdict on the automatic vacation of stay orders in civil and criminal cases underscores the complexities inherent in judicial decision-making. The judgement serves as a catalyst for ongoing dialogue on the intersection of judicial expediency and procedural integrity in the Indian legal system.

The Centre has asked states and Union Territories not to segregate prisoners on the basis of their caste and religion and to stop assigning duties like managing prison kitchens according to the discriminatory approach.

How caste is an “endless battle” in Indian society?

• Discrimination and violence against Dalits are common with the caste hierarchy condemning them to the bottom of the social ladder.
• Despite laws to protect the Scheduled Castes (SC), abuse is frequently reported from across the country.
  • In Andhra Pradesh alone, 2,014 crimes against SCs were recorded in 2021, of which 33 were murders and 49 were cases of rape of minor girls.
• Shunned by many in society who call them ‘untouchable’, Dalits, particularly in villages, are discriminated against, denied access to land, forced to work in degrading conditions like in scavenging, and routinely abused, even killed, sometimes at the hands of the police and at times by people of upper castes.
• This entrenched form of societal segregation, often described as hidden apartheid, has led to the complete isolation of many villages along caste lines.
• The prevalence of caste-based violence in Indian society is a complex issue rooted in historical, social, and economic factors.

The in-discriminatory approach and required measures

• The jail manuals of some states provide for segregation of prisoners based on their caste and religion and they are being assigned duties in the prisons accordingly.
  • Composition: Two-third of prisoners in Indian jails are Dalits, tribals and from Other Backward Classes (OBCs), 19% are Muslims and 66% of 4.66 lakh inmates are either illiterate or have not studied beyond Class X
  • Worse for women: Unlike the male prisoners, women are fewer in number and so are the provisions made available to them.
• Upholding Constitutional Principles: There is constitutional imperative to ensure equality and non-discrimination within prison facilities.
• Compliance with Model Prison Manual: The Model Prison Manual, 2016 serves as a guiding framework for prison administration, explicitly prohibiting any form of caste or religion-based discrimination. States and Union Territories are urged to act as per these guidelines.

When the rules themselves are casteist?

• Caste-based labour, in fact, is sanctioned in the prison manuals of many states.
• The colonial texts of the late 19th century have barely seen any amendments, and caste-based labour remains an untouched part of these manuals.
• While every state has its own unique prison manual, they are mostly based on The Prisons Act, 1894.
• These jail manuals mention every activity in detail – from the measurement of food and space per prisoner to punishments for the “disorderly ones”.

The Union Cabinet approved a rooftop solar scheme as 'PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana' to install rooftop solar panels across 10 million households with a total outlay of Rs 75,021 crore.

Key-details of the Scheme

• PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana is a government scheme that aims to provide free electricity to households in India.
• Financial assistance: The scheme provides a Central Financial Assistance of 60 percent of system cost for 2 kW systems and 40 percent of additional system cost for systems between 2 to 3 kW capacity.
• Beneficiaries of scheme will get free electricity of up to 300 units per month. Itcould result in savings of Rs 15,000-18,000 annually for households that install rooftop solar systems.
• National Portal: Households will apply for subsidy through the National Portal and will be able to select a suitable vendor for installing rooftop solar.
• Model village: Under the scheme, 'A Model Solar Village' will be developed in each district of the country to act as a role model for adoption of rooftop solar in rural areas.

India and Mauritius inaugurated a strategic airstrip and jetty in the country's outer Agaléga Island.

Details

• The new airstrip and St. James Jetty in the country's outer Agaléga Island, located 650 km away from the main Mauritius island.
• The airstrip was extended from 1,300 metres to 3,000 metres to accommodate larger aircraft, while St James Jetty was expanded from 80 metres to 255 metres.

Significance of the move

• Effective regulations: It will enhance the country’s ability to monitor its large exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and to counter piracy, terrorism and other illegal activities such as unregulated fishing.
• Better monitoring for India: These facilities in Mauritius, along with the coastal surveillance radar system in the Seychelles, will enable India to enhance the monitoring of crucial sea lanes in the Indian Ocean.

India's leopard population has reached 13,874, with 1.08 percent per year growth between 2018 and 2022, as per a report released by the Environment Ministry.

Key-highlights of the Report

• The report is based on the fifth cycle of the leopard population estimation, conducted in 2022. 
• Madhya Pradesh houses the largest population of leopards in the country: 3907 (2018: 3421), followed by Maharashtra (1985), Karnataka (1,879) and Tamil Nadu (1,070).
• Tiger Reserves or sites with the highest leopard population are, Nagarajunasagar Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh), followed by Panna (Madhya Pradesh), and Satpura (Madhya Pradesh).
• Central India shows a stable or slightly growing population of leopards (2018: 8071, 2022: 8820), Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Plains experienced a decline (2018: 1253, 2022: 1109).
  • Growth: The largest growth rate was in Central India and the Eastern Ghats at 1.5 percent.
  • Decline: However, there is a 3.4 percent decline per year in the population growth of leopards in the Shivalik Hills and the Gangetic Plains.