List of Current Affairs

This news is based on ‘Can't equate liquor addiction with unsound mind, says SC’ published in the Time of India on January 05, 2023.  

Why in News?  

Upholding the conviction and life imprisonment sentence to a man who killed his two minor sons in 2009 in the National Capital, the Supreme Court rejected his defence that he was of unsound mind being a habitual drunkard and said that addiction to alcohol cannot be equated with unsound mind to escape prosecution in a criminal case.  

Relevant Legal Provisions  

As per Section 84 of IPC nothing is an offence which is committed by a person who, at the time of the crime, by reason of unsoundness of mind, is incapable of knowing the nature of the act. 

This news piece is based on “Centre clears Rs 19,744 Cr Green Hydrogen Mission” which was published in The Hindu on January 05, 2023. 

Why in News? 

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the ₹19,744-crore National Green Hydrogen Mission. 

About the National Green Hydrogen Mission 

The Mission has been passed with an objective to make India a major exporter in the field and make India a global hub for the production, utilization, and export of Green Hydrogen and its derivatives. 

The National Green Hydrogen Mission shall help India, which is one of the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. 

The initial outlay for the mission is decided to be ₹19,744 crore. Out of which, the government has allocated ₹17,490 crore for the sight of the programme, ₹1,466 for the upcoming pilot projects, ₹400 crore for R&D, and ₹388 crore towards other mission components. 

The incentive aims to make green hydrogen affordable and bring down its cost over the next five years. 

MNRE or the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy shall formulate the scheme guidelines for the implementation of the Mission.

This news piece is based on “SC expands Article 19 ambit: Not just state, even pvt citizens can face challenge” which was published in The Hindu on January 05, 2023. 

Why in News?

The Supreme Court of India recently made a significant ruling in a case involving the fundamental right to freedom of speech and in a 4-1 majority decision, the Constitution Bench of the court stated that an individual can seek enforcement of this right not only against the government, but also against other citizens. 

Article 19 and the Right to Free Speech 

Article 19 of the Constitution of India guarantees the right to freedom of speech and expression and is typically invoked against the state. 

Some fundamental rights, such as those prohibiting untouchability, trafficking, and bonded labor, are explicitly against both the state and other individuals. 

The recent Supreme Court ruling extends the right to free speech to include protection against private citizens. 

Enforcing Rights against Private Entities 

This interpretation puts an obligation on the state to ensure that private entities also abide by Constitutional norms. 

It opens a range of possibilities in Constitutional law, potentially allowing for the enforcement of privacy rights against a private doctor or the right to free speech against a private social media entity. 

Reference to Previous Court Rulings 

The Court referred to the 2017 Puttaswamy judgement, in which a nine-judge bench unanimously upheld privacy as a fundamental right. 

The government had argued that privacy is a right enforceable against other citizens and, therefore, cannot be elevated to the status of a fundamental right against the state. 

International Perspectives on Fundamental Rights  

The Court also looked into foreign jurisdictions, contrasting the American approach with the European Courts. 

The US Supreme Court’s ruling in New York Times vs. Sullivan, which found that defamation law as applied by the state against The New York Times was inconsistent with the Constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech and expression, was cited as an example of a shift in US law from a “purely vertical approach” to a “horizontal approach.” 

This news piece is based on “SC stays order allowing UP body local polls without OBC reservation” which was published in The Hindu on January 05, 2023. 

Why in News?

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court stayed the direction of the Allahabad High Court to the Uttar Pradesh Election Commission provided on December 27 last year to proceed with the urban local body elections without reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). 

Background of the Case 

The Allahabad High Court had issued a directive last month considering that the state government had not fulfilled the triple test requirement laid down by the top court for such reservation. 

On hearing the appeal filed by the state against the High Court order, a bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha took on record the submission of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that efforts shall be made to ensure that the UP State Local Bodies Dedicated Backward Classes Commission, sets up to complete the necessary exercise to meet the triple test and completes its task within three months. 

The Supreme Court also declared that the High Court direction which mandates the holding of elections to local bodies in Uttar Pradesh without reserving seats for Backward Classes of citizens results in a violation of the constitutional and statutory requirements of reservation for the OBCs. 

Therefore, now the elections shall be conducted only after the requirements provided are adhered to by the assigned commission under the SG. 

Thus, the Supreme Court bench held that if the polls are held without OBC reservation, one segment shall remain unrepresented. 

About the Triple Test Formula 

The triple test requires the state: 

to set up a commission to conduct rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of the backwardness qua local bodies, within the state 

to specify the proportion of reservation required to be provisioned in every local body considering recommendations of the commission, so as not to fall foul of overbreadth and 

in any case such reservation shall not exceed an aggregate of 50 per cent of the total seats reserved in favor of SCs/STs/OBCs taken together.