Selection of ECs must be transparent: SC
- Apex court advocates enactment of legislation to ill gap in Constitution
- Though so far the election commissioners (ECs) appointed have been “outstanding people, very fair and politically neutral,” there is still a legitimate expectation that they should be selected through the “most transparent and just process” formalised in a law enacted by Parliament, the Supreme Court advised the Centre on Wednesday
- The Bench pointed out that there is a “gap” caused by the lack of a parliamentary law which transparently spells out the process of appointment of an election commissioner.
“Who should
be shortlisted?
Who shortlists
these names?
What is the
eligibility?
- There is nothing to show the procedure followed in selecting them,”
- He said that even the selection procedure of the CBI Director is formalised by a written law, but not that of Election Commissioners
- Past Demands for giving the Parliamnet more say in EC Selection :
1.In the Constituent Assembly debates,Prof. Shibba Lal Saksena demanded that EC's should be appointed by two-third majority in both the Houses of the Parliament
2.Due to this demand,the CA inserted Article 324(2),which says that EC's appointment be "subject to the provisions of law made by the Parliament"
3.In 1974,Tarkunde Panel suggested that Ec's appointment shall be made by the President on the advice of the panel consisting of :
The prime minister
The leader of opposition in Lok sabha
The CJI of India
India, Israel to set up $40 mn research fund
- India and Israel announced :
[i]a
strategic partnership after a
meeting between Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and his
Israeli counterpart Benjamin
Netanyahu
[ii]signed seven
agreements in the fields of
water, agriculture, and
space
[iii]a $40 million
joint fund for research
and development in innovation
- Commonalities between two countries:
[i]“India and Israel live in
complex geographies.
[ii]We
are aware of the strategic
threats to regional peace and
stability
[iii] Both Government agreed to
do much more together to
protect our strategic interests
and also cooperate to
combat the growing radicalisation
and terrorism, including
in cyberspace.”
- While none of the agreements signed on Wednesday were on security issues, officials said they had been prominent in the talks,
- and officials had discussed the possibility of “joint development of defence products, including the transfer of technology from Israel.”
- The fund of research and development, called the "I4F" or India Israel Industrial Innovation Fund, will see both governments contribute $20 million to help research scholars manufacture their inventions easily.
- Mr. Modi also coined the term "I4I" or "India for Israel", as a response to Mr. Netanyahu's formula of "Indian talent and Israeli technology equals India-Israel ties for tomorrow."
- On Terrorism:Without mentioning the specifics of the counter-terrorism cooperation envisaged, they agreed that “strong measures should be taken against terrorists, terror organisations, their networks and all those who encourage, support and finance terrorism, or provide sanctuary to terrorists and terror groups.”
- also to ensure that terrorist organisations do not get access to any WMD [weapon of mass destruction] or technologies. The indirect references to Pakistan and Iran, both of which are nuclear-capable powers, reflected the concerns India and Israel have on the issue of terror
- On Palestine:In view of Israel’s position on not welcoming “third party” interventions on the Israel-Palestine peace process, the joint statement only recorded “their support for an early negotiated solution between the sides based on mutual recognition and security arrangements,” without any reference to a “two-state solution” that India supports.
Of plant species few and far between
- Scientists have recorded a major section of Rare Endemic and Threatened plants and trees in the Western Ghats, some of which have not been assessed by international conservation bodies for nearly two decades
- The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) project on endemic tree resources in the southern Western Ghats, including Kerala and Tamil Nadu, has now documented about 250 ‘RET’ species.
- The assessment of some of these conducted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature for the IUCN Red List puts them under vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered categories based on literature from 1998
Tribal input
- A lot of the existing knowledge on these plants comes from tribal communities. By contrast, the common man is unaware or has not even heard of many RET plants.
Western Ghats has been recognised as one of the 34 Ecosystems hotspots in the world in term of Biodiversity.
Re-examine collegium system: SC judge
- The embarrassment caused by Justice C.S. Karnan, who is serving six months' imprisonment for scandalising the Indian judiciary with his antics while serving as a High Court judge, has triggered a strong pitch within the Supreme Court itself to reconsider the efficacy of the age-old and recently revived collegium system of judicial appointments.
- A seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday published a detailed and unanimous judgment explaining their reasons for taking the “unpleasant” and unprecedented step of sending the controversial High Court judge to jail for six months on May 9, 2017.
- Classic Example
- In a separate judgment, Justice J. Chelameswar, the sole judge who had dissented on quashing of the National Judicial Appointments Commission laws proposed by the Union Government
- Justice Chelameswar has historically refused to participate in the hush-hush meetings of the Supreme Court collegium and spoke up for transparency and recording of the minutes of the collegium meetingss, is joined in the separate judgment by another collegium member, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who is in line to be the Chief Justice of India.
- Justice Chelameswar said the case of Justice Karnan, highlighted the need to revisit the process of selection and appointment of judges to the constitutional courts, for that matter any member of the judiciary at all levels .
- Noting that Justice Karnan was appointed judge in the Madras High Court on March 30, 2009, Justice Chelameswar wrote how “the conduct of the contemnor [Justice Karnan] ever since his elevation to the Bench has been controversial”.
- The judgment said that impeachment alone is not the answer to correct deviant behaviour of judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts.
Recall Kiran Bedi and Tripathi, demands Cong.
Congress spokesperson
Sushmita Dev accused the
BJP of “denigrating, decimating
and abusing” the institution
of the Governor ever
since the Modi government
had assumed office, stressing
that the conduct of Governors
appointed by it had
been questionable
Sarkaria Comission's Recommenations
‘Israel is far ahead in water recycling’
Sushma to visit Nepal in August
- External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will travel to Nepal in August 2017 for BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) summit.
- But given the close ties between Nepal and India, her visit will certainly deal with bilateral issues.
BIMSTEC: An Overview
No comments:
Post a Comment