List of Current Affairs

Source: Himachal Pradesh High Court

Why in News?

Recently a bench of Justice Vivek Singh Thakur of Himachal Pradesh High Court observed that “To conceive, to give birth and take care of a child is not only the fundamental right of the woman but also a pious role to be performed by her for the existence of Society”.

• The HC gave this observation in the case of The Secretary, Managing Committee of Loreto Convent Tara Hall School v. Sharu Gupta and others.

What is the Background of The Secretary, Managing Committee of Loreto Convent Tara Hall School v. Sharu Gupta and others Case?

• The respondent woman was appointed in the school of one of the petitioners as an Assistant Teacher on contract basis.
• She was working on extended probation period and later her services were terminated when she was on leave.
• Petitioners contended that as per Service Rules, an employee, on an application, is entitled for maternity leave but in present case, complainant never informed the petitioners about her pregnancy and she never applied for any maternity benefits and filing of complaint by her is an afterthought in order to receive benefits from the petitioners for which she was not entitled at all.
• Respondent said that the fact that she was pregnant was in the knowledge of Management as well as Principal.
• Labour Commissioner-cum-Chief Inspector of Factories-cum Appellate Authority gave order in favor of the respondent, the petitioners approached HC to set aside the order.

What were the Court’s Observations?

• HC observed that “The right to become a mother is also one of the most important human rights and this right must be protected at all costs and therefore, provisions of Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 must be enforced strictly wherever applicable”.
• The court held that in case petitioners do not intend to accept joining of the respondent, as directed by the Authorities below, then they shall, in addition to the maternity benefits already granted by the Authorities below, shall pay compensation to the respondent amounting to Rs.15.00 lakhs (fifteen lakhs) in lieu of her reinstatement because any intent to thwart the grant of maternity benefits should be dealt with seriously in order to ensure implementation of the Act in letter and spirit.

What is Article 42 of the Constitution of India, 1950?

• Article 42 as Directive Principles of State Policy:
  • Article 42 of the Constitution of India is related to the DPSP.
  • The DPSPs are a set of guidelines and principles given to the state to be followed in the governance of the country.
  • They are not enforceable by any court, but the government is expected to keep them in mind while formulating policies and making laws
• Constitutional Provision:
  • Article 42 specifically deals with the provision of just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief. It states -
    • "The State shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief.”
• Purpose:
  • This directive emphasizes the responsibility of the state to ensure that working conditions are fair and humane.
  • It also calls for provisions for maternity relief, indicating concern for the well-being of women workers during pregnancy and childbirth.
• Landmark Judgment:
  • Municipal Corporation of Delhi v. Female Workers (Muster Roll) (2003):
    • The Supreme Court observed that to become a mother is a most natural phenomena in the life of a woman and for it, the beneficial piece of legislation i.e. Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 has been enacted with object to provide security to the working woman with respect to her service as well as extension of benefits.

Source: The Hindu

Why in News?

• In 2023, the Supreme Court of India undertook a groundbreaking initiative to translate its extensive collection of 36,000 judgments into Scheduled Languages.
• This ambitious project saw remarkable progress, propelled by the collaboration of retired High Court judges and law clerks alongside artificial intelligence.
• However, lingering concerns revolve around the utilisation of these translated judgments and the absence of a standardised legal vocabulary across all regional languages.

What is the Background of News?

• To encourage regional languages in legal processes, the Supreme Court developed the Supreme Court Vidhik Anuvaad Software (SUVAS), an AI-powered translation tool.
  • SUVAS can translate judicial documents between English and regional languages.
• The E-SCR portal commenced in 2023 with a modest 2,238 translated judgments in January but concluded with a substantial achievement of over 31,000 rulings translated by the end of the year.

What is the Current Scenario?

• As per the recent statistics the highest number of translated judgments are in Hindi at 22,396, followed by Punjabi (3,572), Kannada (1,899), Tamil (1,172), and Gujarati (1,112).
• In 2023, though translation speed improved significantly, concerns arose among legal experts about the utility of translated judgments when High Courts cannot conduct proceedings in regional languages, except in Hindi-speaking States.
• Translated rulings carry a disclaimer relieving the Supreme Court Registry of responsibility for inaccuracies.
• Beyond Hindi, the absence of a standardized legal glossary in regional languages results in inconsistent translations, particularly in Tamil, as noted by retired Justice K. Chandru.
• The Bar Council of India, led by former CJI Justice Bobde, is working on a "Common Core Vocabulary" for all Indian languages.
• The SC initiated a systematic approach, categorizing judgments by year and page count, with focus on common orders to enhance translation software training.

What is Supreme Court Vidhik Anuvaad Software (SUVAS)?

• About:
  • The then CJI S.A. Bobde launched SUVAS in November 2019.
  • SC has developed SUVAS to promote and ensure the participation of regional language in judicial proceedings.
  • It is a machine assisted translation tool trained by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
• Position under Constitution:
  • Article 348(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution says that all proceedings in the Supreme Court and every High Court should be in English.
  • But Article 348(2) allows a State Governor, with the President's consent, to permit the use of Hindi or another state language in the High Court of that State.
  • Hence, SUVAS conferred power under Article 348 of the Constitution.

What are the Scheduled Languages?

The Eight Schedule of Constitution provides 22 official languages. These languages are recognized for the purpose of communication in various levels of government and for the conduct of official business. Eight Schedule includes following languages:

• Assamese
• Bengali
• Bodo
• Dogri
• Gujarati
• Hindi
• Kannada
• Kashmiri
• Konkani
• Maithili
• Malayalam
• Manipuri
• Marathi
• Nepali
• Odia
• Punjabi
• Sanskrit
• Santali
• Sindhi
• Tamil
• Telugu
• Urdu