List of Current Affairs

Why in News?

• A Delhi Court of Special Judge Sunena Sharma, granted bail to accused of taking bribe of INR 12 lakh.
  • The court remarked that the First Information Report in this case is under Section 7 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, which entails punishment only up to seven years and the accused is in judicial custody for more than a month.

Background

• The case was registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in June, under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
• The accused told the complainant about irregularities in the records of provident funds of employees of a private hospital.
• The accused further told that a penalty of INR 1.5 crore would be imposed because of aforementioned irregularities.
• Later, the accused proposed settling the matter without any penalty, by proposing a condition of 20% amount as bribe, which he reduced to INR 12 lakh.

Court’s Observations

• The court observed that while exercising the discretion to grant or dismiss the bail, the court has to take into account various factors such as:
  • nature of offence,
  • reasons of apprehension of witnesses being influenced or evidence being hampered,
  • position and status of accused with reference to victim or witnesses.
• The court further observed that “Bail cannot be refused in an indirect process of punishing the accused before he is convicted”.

All About Bail

• The process of judicial release of an accused person from custody, on the condition that the accused person will appear in court at a later date, is known as Bail.
• Criminal offences are classified as Bailable and Non-Bailable crimes and are regulated by the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.), 1973.
• The term ‘bail’ is not defined under Cr.P.C.
• Moreover, it is a limb of liberty enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India, 1950

Types of Bail

1. Regular Bail (in Bailable and Non-Bailable offenses) - It can be granted to a person who has already been arrested and kept in police custody. A person can file a bail application for regular bail under Sections 437 and 439 of the Cr.P.C., 1973.
2. Anticipatory Bail - Under Section 438 of Cr.P.C., any individual who discerns that he may be tried for a non-bailable offense can apply for an anticipatory or advance bail application.
3. Interim Bail – This type of bail is granted to the accused before the hearing for a regular or anticipatory Bail grant.
4. Default Bail - Default bail is granted on the default of the police or investigating agency to file its report/complaint within the prescribed period.

Legal Provision

Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988

Public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act.—Whoever, being, or expecting to be a public servant, accepts or obtains or agrees to accept or attempts to obtain from any person, for himself or for any other person, any gratification whatever, other than legal remuneration, as a motive or reward for doing or forbearing to do any official act or for showing or forbearing to show, in the exercise of his official functions, favour or disfavour to any person or for rendering or attempting to render any service or disservice to any person, with the Central Government or any State Government or Parliament or the Legislature of any State or with any local authority, corporation or Government company referred to in clause (c) of section 2, or with any public servant, whether named or otherwise, shall be punishable with imprisonment which shall be not less than six months but which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine.

(Explanations) —

(a) “Expecting to be a public servant”. If a person not expecting to be in office obtains a gratification by deceiving others into a belief that he is about to be in office, and that he will then serve them, he may be guilty of cheating, but he is not guilty of the offence defined in this section.

(b) “Gratification”. The word “gratification” is not restricted to pecuniary gratifications or to gratifications estimable in money.

(c) “Legal remuneration”. The words “legal remuneration” are not restricted to remuneration which a public servant can lawfully demand but include all remuneration which he is permitted by the Government or the organization, which he serves, to accept.

(d) “A motive or reward for doing”. A person who receives gratification as a motive or reward for doing what he does not intend or is not in a position to do, or has not done, comes within this expression.

(e) Where a public servant induces a person erroneously to believe that his influence with the Government has obtained a title for that person and thus induces that person to give the public servant, money or any other gratification as a reward for this service, the public servant has committed an offence under this section.

Why in News?

• The Madras High Court has directed the Union Defence Ministry to ensure that the Indian Air Forces must have an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) and impart gender-sensitive awareness training.

Background

• A woman officer had filed a complaint with the local police in Coimbatore after she felt that the Indian Airforce Force (IAF) authorities further victimized her while investigating the accused on her complaint.
• Police said that the woman had approached them as she was not satisfied with the way the action was taken internally by the Air Force.
• The flight lieutenant was arrested following the rape survivor’s complaint to Coimbatore Police.
• The woman had also made a serious allegation that the IAF medical doctors subjected her to a two-finger test to examine rape which has been banned by the Supreme Court in 2013.
• However, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari denied the allegation.
• The counsel for the Air Force Administrative College submitted that the accused was tried before the Court Martial and was convicted for the offence.

Court’s Observations

• Justice RN Manjula of the Madras High Court observed that “In this era of awareness and sensitivity, it is difficult to comprehend that a victim of a sexual offence in the armed forces was not comfortable enough to take up her grievance and she was looked down on and pressured for having got the courage to report”.
• The court also stated that “Even if the accused is convicted at the end of the trial that cannot be called as a complete justice and such victimization can continue even after the conviction of the accused.”
• The Justice RN Manjula further directed the Centre to ensure the proper existence of Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) as per the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2013.

Two Finger Test

• The two-finger test, carried out by a medical practitioner, involves the examination of vagina of a woman to check if she is habitual to sexual intercourse.
• A woman who has been sexually assaulted undergoes this medical examination for ascertaining her health and medical needs, collection of evidence, etc.
• The Supreme Court has declared the two-finger test (also known as the ‘virginity test’ or ‘per vaginum’ test) unconstitutional in Lillu @ Rajesh & Anr. vs State of Haryana (2013). It was stated that the test “violates the right of rape survivors to privacy, physical and mental integrity and dignity.”

Prevention of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace Act, 2013

• The landmark case that led to the enactment of this legislature is Vishakha and others v. State of Rajasthan (1997).
• The guidelines passed in this case are as follows:
  • It is the duty of every employer to deliver a sense of security to every women employee.
  • Government should make strict laws and regulations to prohibit sexual harassment.
  • Any act of such nature should result in disciplinary actions and criminal proceedings should also be brought against the wrong doer.
  • The organization should have a well-set-up complaint mechanism for the redressal of the complaints made by the victim and should be subjected to a reasonable time.
  • This complaint mechanism should be in the form of complaint committee which need to be headed by a women member and at least 50% of the committee members should be women so that victims do not feel ashamed while communicating their problems.
  • This complaint committee should also have a third-party involvement in the form of an NGO or other body which is familiar with this issue.
  • There is a need for transparency in the functioning of this committee and for that there is a requirement for the submission of an annual report to the government.
  • Issues relating to sexual harassment should not be a taboo in the workers meeting and should be discussed positively.
  • It is the duty of the organization to aware the female employees about their rights by regularly informing them about the new guidelines issued and legislation passed.
  • The employer or the person in charge is duty biased to take the necessary and reasonable steps to provide support to the victim of sexual harassment takes place due to the act or omission of the third party.
  • These guidelines are not limited only to government employers and should also be followed by employers in the private sectors.
• The case of Medha Kotwal Lele & ors. v. Union of India & Ors (2012) helped in the implementation of the guidelines formulated in Vishakha’s case as mentioned above, by issuing notices to all states and the union territories to impart the necessary steps.
• Sexual Harassment is defined by Section 2(n) of the said act and S.3 (2) mentions some circumstances which lead to sexual harassment.

Section 2(n) - "Sexual Harassment" includes any one or more of the following unwelcome acts or behaviour (whether directly or by implication) namely: -

i. physical contact and advances; or

ii. a demand or request for sexual favours; or

iii. making sexually coloured remarks; or

iv. showing pornography; or

v. any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature;

Section 3 – (2) The following circumstances, among other circumstances, if it occurs or is present in relation to or connected with any act or behaviour of sexual harassment may amount to sexual harassment -

i. implied or explicit promise of preferential treatment in her employment; or

ii. implied or explicit threat of detrimental treatment in her employment; or

iii. implied or explicit threat about her present or future employment status; or

iv. interference with her work or creating an intimidating or offensive or hostile work environment for her; or

v. humiliating treatment likely to affect her health or safety.

Sections 4 of the said legislation provide for the constitution of Internal Complaints Committee.