Here is the digest of important newspaper articles and quiz!
Criminal defamation law upheld by SC
The Supreme Court upheld the validity of the 156 year old penal law on defamation while rejecting a number of pleas to decriminalise the provisions. Section 499 and Section 500 of Indian Penal Code prescribe a punishment of upto two years for an individual found guilty of defamation.
The 268-page verdict dismissed apprehensions, raised by personalities across the political spectrum and media organisations championing the fundamental right under Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution, that criminal defamation may have a chilling effect on the freedom to circulate one’s independent view.
The court refused exhortations that penalisation of defamation is past its time, and the nation now risks the danger of being reduced to a “frozen democracy.â€
The court struck a balance between Art 19 and Article 21. The court held that criminalisation of defamation to protect individual dignity of life and reputation is a “reasonable restriction†on the fundamental right of free speech and expression. The right to reputation is a constituent of Article 21 of the Constitution. It is an individual’s fundamental right.
Analysis
What is the rationale behind SC judgement? – The Supreme Court held that deliberate injury to the reputation of an individual is not a mere private wrong, worth only a civil case for damages.
Instead, it is a “crime†committed against society at large and the State has a duty to redress the hurt caused to its citizen’s dignity. It held that criminal defamation law protected the feeling of fraternity – or solidarity – between members of a society.
What could be the negative externalities of the decision? – Â In the Indian context, criminal defamation is not generally a dispute between two individuals. It is invariably a shield for public servants, political leaders, corporations and institutions against critical scrutiny as well as questions from the media and citizens.
The pleas against removal of criminal defamation is one of the biggest issue for free speech in recent times.
Which other countries have banned criminal defamation? – In 2009, the United Kingdom abolished criminal defamation altogether. More recently, the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe struck it down as an unconstitutional restriction upon the freedom of speech. The apex courts of the United States, Canada and South Africa have transformed criminal defamation out of all recognition, adding defences that make it far more protective of the freedom of speech and expression.
Even Sri Lanka has abolished criminal defamation.
Source: TheHindu
Protection to public servants upheld
The Supreme Court upheld the validity of the provision in CrPC allowing them to file a complaint in a sessions court through a public prosecutor for alleged defamatory comments on their official acts. It rejected demands to strike down Section 199(2) to (4) of the Cr.PC. The court rejected the argument that this section creates a separate class. It also dismissed the contention that the classification enumerated in this provision has no rationale and does not bear constitutional scrutiny.
Analysis
What is the rationale behind SC judgment? – The Supreme court held that a studied scrutiny of the provision makes it clear that a public servant is entitled to file a complaint through the public prosecutor in respect of his conduct in discharge of public functions. Public functions stand on a different footing. The provision gives them protection for their official acts. There cannot be defamatory attacks on them because of discharge of their due functions. In that sense, they constitute a different class.
Source: TheHindu
New IPR Policy unveiled
A new Intellectual Property Rights Policy has been unveiled by the Finance Minister. The policy is TRIPS compliant and in harmony with the latest initiatives like ‘Make in India’.
Highlights of the Policy
1) The Policy aims to push IPRs as a marketable financial asset, promote innovation and entrepreneurship, while protecting public interest.
2) The plan will be reviewed every five years in consultation with stakeholders.
3) In order to have strong and effective IPR laws, steps would be taken – including review of existing IP laws – to update and improve them or to remove anomalies and inconsistencies.
4) It suggests making the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) the nodal agency for all IPR issues. Copyrights related issues will also come under DIPP’s ambit from that of the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry.
5) Trademark offices have been modernised, and the aim is to reduce the time taken for examination and registration to just 1 month by 2017.
6) Films, music, industrial drawings will be all covered by copyright.
7) The Policy also seeks to facilitate domestic IPR filings, for the entire value chain from IPR generation to commercialisation. It aims to promote research and development through tax benefits.
8) Proposal to create an effective loan guarantee scheme to encourage start-ups.
9) India will continue to utilise the legislative space and flexibilities available in international treaties and the TRIPS Agreement. These flexibilities include the sovereign right of countries to use provisions such as Section 3(d) and CLs for ensuring the availability of essential and life-saving drugs at affordable prices.
10) The IPR policy favoured the government considering financial support for a limited period on sale and export of products based on IPRs generated from public-funded research.
Analysis
Clarity regarding some provisions? – Some IP experts have pointed out that there is little clarity regarding usage of compulsory licensing and Section 3d regarding evergreening of patents. The provisions regarding promotion of innovation and startups needs to be applauded.
Source: Economic Times, TheHindu
Indian Railways sets up new Directorates
Indian Railways has set up two new directorates to deal with mobility and non fare revenue issues.
The mobility directorate will be tasked with identifying train corridors where speed can be increased on a priority basis and monitoring capacity enhancement measures, among other things.
The non-fare revenue directorate will focus on mopping up non-fare revenues through advertising, monetising land along rail tracks and manufacturing to generate non-fare revenues.
The Indian Railways has set an aim to increase the average speed for freight trains by five kilometres per hour this year. At present, the average speed of freight trains is 25 km per hour, passenger trains 35 km per hour, mail express 50 km per hour and super fast express trains 70-80 km per hour.
Source: TheHindu
China opens deep sea research institute
China  has opened its first deep-sea research institute, Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering (IDSSE) located in Sanya, Hainan province.
It is the first scientific research base for study of the deep seas and is also China’s first public platform for deep-sea research. It will be useful to identify marine resources and to improve naval technology.
Analysis
Who controls the activity in sea-bed? – The International Seabed Authority is an autonomous international organization established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The Authority, which has its headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica, came into existence on 16 November 1994
The Authority is the organization through which States Parties to the Convention shall, in accordance with the regime for the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof beyond the limits of national jurisdiction (the Area), organize and control activities in the Area, particularly with a view to administering the resources of the Area.
Source: TheHindu
Delhi no longer the most polluted city: WHO
The ‘Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database (update 2016)’ released by WHO showed Delhi at the ninth position. It now stands 11th among 3,000 cities in 103 countries in terms of fine particulate matter or PM 2.5 and 25th place based on bigger particulate or PM 10 levels.
Delhi’s place as the most polluted is taken by Zabol, in Iran. Gwalior and Allahabad, meanwhile, come a close second and third in terms of PM 2.5, while Patna and Raipur are ranked 6th and 7th.
Analysis
What is the significance of the ranking? – Although Delhi improved its ranking, four Indian cities are among the world’s 10 most polluted. Ten out of the top 20 are also in the country. The data are for 2013, but the Delhi government was quick to put out a statement exulting in a “definitive positive trend†in the city.
The general trend shows high particulate matter pollution in Indian cities.
What is PM 2.5? – PM 2.5 refers to atmospheric particulates with a diameter less than 2.5 micrometres. Exposure to fine particulates is linked to premature death from heart and lung disease. They trigger or worsen asthma, heart attack, bronchitis and other respiratory problems.
More than 7 million premature deaths due to air pollution occur every year, and 3 million of these are due to outdoor air quality.
Source: TheHindu
Private airlines accountable to the disabled
The Supreme court has held that it is the duty of private airlines, especially their flight crew, to take care of every need of a disabled person. The judgement comes four year after the incidence where a noted disabled rights activist Jeeja Ghosh  was pulled out of the plane by an airline at the Kolkata airport merely because the captain felt she was a threat to the flight.
The SC held that such acts are doing violence to the human dignity  of disabled and infringes, to the hilt, their fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. The Court held that private airlines, like their public counterpart, are equally liable under the numerous international covenants and instruments guaranteeing rights to persons with disabilities.
Analysis
What are the safeguards in place in the law? – The humiliations suffered by disabled persons like being de-planed, threatened with physical violence, neglected by crew or asked to sign indemnity bonds before allowed to board a flight are in gross violation of existing laws like the Civil Aviation Requirements of 2008 with regard to ‘Carriage by Air of Persons with Disability and/or Persons with Reduced Mobility’ issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Source: TheHindu
Foreign owned firms can fund political parties
The amendment to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010 brought in through the Finance Bill  and cleared by Lok Sabha in budget session will not only help foreign-origin companies fund NGOs here but has also cleared the way for them to give “donations to political partiesâ€.
Under the amendment a donation by a company which has majority foreign ownership will no longer be treated as “foreign source†as long as it conforms to the sectoral foreign investment cap and conditionality.
The Representation of the People Act bars parties from receiving foreign funds.
Both the BJP and the Congress have supported the amendment. They have been accused by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) of illegally receiving foreign funds for political activities from the U.K.-based Vedanta Group from 2004 to 2012, thereby violating FCRA provisions and the case is being heard in the Supreme Court. The government has brought the changes with retrospective effect.
Analysis
What was the issue regarding foreign firms definition? – As per the existing provisions any Indian company will fall in the category of foreign source if at any time more than 50 percent of its shareholding is acquired by foreign entity and would require to seek approval under the FCRA to implement its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities as mandated under Section 135 of the Companies Act. Moreover the problem multiplies for listed companies as the shareholding pattern fluctuates on a daily basis. As such, such entities can transfer funds only to associations registered or granted prior permission under the FCRA.
This provision has led to numerous litigation against political parties taking funds from corporates.
What will be impact of the amendment? – There are apprehensions that funding from foreign donors will bypass government scrutiny.  There is also concern regarding the constitutional validity of the law as foreign funding is not allowed under Representation of People’s Act.
Source: TheHindu
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