THE POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. RAPE PUNISHABLE BUT MARITAL RELATIONSHIP IS DIFFERENT: HC

THE CONTEXT: According to Delhi high court, “there is no compromise with a woman’s right to sexual and bodily integrity. A husband has no business to compel. (But) the court can’t ignore what happens with we knock it (marital rape exception) off.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Delhi High said that while there can be no compromise with women’s right to sexual autonomy and any act of rape has to be punished, there is a “qualitative difference” between a marital and a non-marital relationship as the former entailed a legal right to expect reasonable sexual relation from the spouse and it played a part in the marital rape exemption in criminal law.
• The criminalisation of marital rape orally observed that a non-marital relation, no matter how close, and a marital relationship cannot be “parallelised”.
• The court questioned as to why the exception from the offence of rape granted to a married couple had remained in the legislature for several years in spite of developments suggesting the contrary and remarked that “one of the possible reasons” was the wide scope of Section 375 of Indian Penal Code which included even a single act of “unwilling sex” as rape.
• “When a party gets married, there is a right – it can lead to divorce — a legal right to expect a normal, reasonable sexual relationship with your partner. That qualitative difference has a part to play in the exception,” clarifying that he was neither expressing his final opinion on the petitions nor examining “whether marital rape should be punished” at this stage.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

2. THE PROTESTS IN KAZAKHSTAN

THE CONTEXT: The 2022 new year saw protests in yet another unexpected place: Kazakhstan in Central Asia. Although ruled by autocratic regimes since the USSR’s disintegration, it is unexpected because Kazakhstan is the richest Central Asian Republic and is thought to be one of the more stable of these republics.

REASONS FOR UNREST:

The protests began when the ruling government of Kazakhstan lifted the price controls of Liquified Petroleum Gas. The prices quickly doubled after the lift. Earlier, because of its low price, the citizens had converted their vehicles to run on the fuel. Their plans shattered due to sudden price hike after the price control was lifted. This angered them and they started protesting.

The situation in Kazakhstan is a classic case of the dilemma of transfer of power in strongman regimes, something which resonates in Russia as well. The protests have not ended despite the resignation of the Government and the removal of the unpopular Nursultan Nazarbayev as chairman of the country’s Security Council. He was also the former President who ruled the country for 28 years.

What is in the protest for Russia?

Around 20% of the Kazakhs are ethnic Russians. Baikonur Cosmodrome of Kazakhstan is used as launch base for all Russian manned space missions.

How Kazakhstan control the protest?

After the Prime Minister of the country resigned, the president has taken over responsibility. He has created a security council to control the protest. Kazakhstan has sought help from its military allies, especially Russia. It has also sought the help of CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization). CSTO comprises of Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Bealrus.

Demands for democracy:

• There has been a growing discontent among Kazakhs over risingincome inequality and the lack of democracy.
• The authoritarian government has been widely criticised over the years for violating fundamental freedoms.
• For instance, during the presidential elections of 2019, there were widespread reports of irregularities.

What is the CSTO?

The CSTO is a Russia-dominated security alliance (Russia contributes 50% of its budget) which was established after the USSR’s fall when some members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) signed a mutual defence treaty named the Collective Security Treaty. Meant as a replacement for the Warsaw Pact, the Treaty came into force in 1994. In 2002, it became the CSTO. The CSTO has six members today: Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.

The organisation is based, as the name indicates, on the principle of collective security or the idea of “one for all and all for one”. Essentially, this means that an aggressor against any one state in the organisationis considered to be an aggressor against all other states. So, all the members would act together to repel the aggressor.

BACKGROUND:

Kazakhstan is an oil rich country. It has huge foreign investments mainly because of its oil. It had a strong economy since its independence (after disintegration of Soviet Union). However, its autocratic form of governance has raised international concerns. The political rifts between the ruling and opposition creates the unrest. And the authorities often crack down due to the internal protests. Such conditions are always around oil issues. Oil is used as weapon to capture power.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

3. GHAZIABAD MOST POLLUTED CITY: NCAP REPORT

THE CONTEXT:According to the three-year comparative analysis, Ghaziabad, with annual PM 2.5 level above 100, remained at the top of the table in the most polluted cities, except in 2020, when Lucknow ranked first with an annual PM 2.5 level of 116.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The analysis by NCAP Tracker, a joint project by news portal ‘Carbon Copy’ and a Maharashtra-based start-up ‘Respirer Living Sciences’, designed to track India’s progress in achieving the clean air targets set under the NCAP, ranked Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh as the most polluted city out of the 132 non-attainment cities listed under the NCAP with highest levels of PM 2.5 and PM 10.
• Delhi was the second most polluted city in the list of cities with the highest PM 2.5 level and fourth in cities with the highest PM 10 level. Despite the constant focus on the air pollution woes of the Capital city, Delhi reduced its PM levels only marginally.
• A non-attainment city is one whose air did not meet the national ambient air quality standards of 2011 to 2015. The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) was launched for such cities, seeking to bring a 20-30 per cent reduction in pollution levels from PM2.5 and PM10 particles by 2024, using 2017 pollution levels as a base. The goal is non-binding.

Other Cities:

• Varanasi was able to achieve the largest reduction in air quality levels (52 per cent in PM2.5 levels and 54 per cent in PM10 levels). The only other cities to achieve an at least 20 per cent reduction were Hubli, West Bengal (42 per cent in PM2.5 levels and 40 per cent in PM10 levels), and Talcher, Odisha (20 and 53 per cent respectively).
• Ahmedabad recorded a reduction of 26 per cent in PM10 levels. However, Navi Mumbai’s PM2.5 levels increased to 53 micrograms per cubic metre from 39, and PM 10 levels increased to 122 from 96 compared to 2019.
• None of the 132 cities, however, attained the national annual safe limits for particulate matter. Currently, the annual safe limit is 40 micrograms per cubic metre for PM2.5 and 60 micrograms per cubic meter for PM10.
• Additionally, of the 132 cities, only 36 cities had data from 2019 and 2021 with an “uptime” of 50 per cent, meaning the systems were running 50 per cent of the time.

About the National Clean Air Programme:

Launched by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change in 2019. It was not notified under the Environment Protection Act or any other Act.

Goal

Goal of NCAP is to meet the prescribed annual average ambient air quality standards at all locations in the country in a stipulated timeframe. The tentative national level target of 20%–30% reduction of PM2.5 and PM10 concentration by 2024 is proposed under the NCAP taking 2017 as the base year for the comparison of concentration.

Objectives

• To augment and evolve effective and proficient ambient air quality monitoring network across the country for ensuring comprehensive and reliable database
• To have efficient data dissemination and public outreach mechanism for timely measures for prevention and mitigation of air pollution and for inclusive public participation in both planning and implementation of the programmes and policies of government on air pollution
• To have feasible management plan for prevention, control and abatement of air pollution.

Approach

• Collaborative, Multi-scale and Cross-Sectoral Coordination between relevant Central Ministries, State Government and local bodies.
• Focus on no Regret Measures, Participatory and Disciplined approach

Who will all participate?

Apart from experts from the industry and academia, the programme will be a collaboration between the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Ministry of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health, NITI Aayog, and Central Pollution Control Board.

4. RED SANDERS FALLS BACK IN IUCN’S ‘ENDANGERED’ CATEGORY

THE CONTEXT:Red Sanders (Red Sandalwood) has fallen back into the ‘endangered’ category in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List. The species, Pterocarpus santalinus, is an Indian endemic tree species, with a restricted geographical range in the Eastern Ghats.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The species is endemic to a distinct tract of forests in Andhra Pradesh. It was classified as ‘near threatened’ in 2018 and has now joined the ‘endangered’ list once again in 2021.
• It was a moment of celebration when the species was lifted off from the endangered category for the first time since 1997.
• The latest IUCN assessment stated: “Over the last three generations, the species has experienced a population decline of 50-80 per cent. It is assessed as Endangered”.
• The IUCN maintains a list — called the Red List — of flora and fauna species and categorises them based on their conservation status.

Value Addition:

• Pterocarpus santalinus known for their rich hue and therapeutic properties, are high in demand across Asia, particularly in China and Japan, for use in cosmetics and medicinal products as well as for making furniture, woodcraft and musical instruments.
• Its popularity can be gauged from the fact that a tonne of Red Sanders costs anything between Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore in the international market.
• The slow growth of the species and continued harvesting leaves no time for the species to recover naturally. Cattle grazing and invasive species also threaten the species.
• It is listed under Appendix II of CITES and is banned from international trade. The harvest of the tree is also restricted at the state level, but despite this illegal trade continues.
• “The over-harvest of the species has left the population structure skewed, with trees of harvestable size and maturity being scarce and making up less than 5 per cent of the trees remaining in the wild”.

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

5. CHANG’E 5 LUNAR PROBE FINDS FIRST ON-SITE EVIDENCE OF WATER ON MOON

THE CONTEXT: China’s Chang’e 5 lunar lander has found the first-ever on-site evidence of water on the surface of the moon, lending new evidence to the dryness of the satellite.

KEY FINDINGS:

• A study published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances revealed that the lunar soil at the landing site contains less than 120 parts-per-million (ppm) water, or 120 grams water per tonne, and a light vesicular rock carries 180 ppm – much drier than rocks on Earth.
• The presence of water had been confirmed by remote observation but the lander has now detected signs of water in rocks and soil.
• A device on-board the lunar lander measured the spectral reflectance of the regolith and the rock and detected water on the spot for the first time.
• According to the Xinhua news agency reported, the water content can be estimated since the water molecule or hydroxyl absorbs at a frequency of about three micrometers, citing researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
• According to the researchers, it was the solar wind that contributed to the most humidity of lunar soil as it brought hydrogen that makes up the water.The additional 60 ppm water in the rock may originate from the lunar interior.
• Therefore, the rock is estimated to hail from an older, more humid basaltic unit before being ejected onto the landing site to be picked up by the lunar lander. The study revealed that the moon had turned drier within a certain period, owing probably to the degassing of its mantle reservoir.

ABOUT CHANG’E-5 PROBE

The objective of the mission was to bring back lunar rocks, the first attempt by any nation to retrieve samples from the moon in four decades.

It is an unmanned spacecraft by China. The probe is named after the mythical Chinese moon goddess.

·         The rocket comprises four parts: an orbiter, a returner, an ascender and a lander. ·         The Chang’e-5 mission is expected to realize four “firsts” in China’s space history: ·         The first time for a probe to take off from the surface of the Moon. ·         The first time to automatically sample the lunar surface. ·         The first time to conduct unmanned rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit.

• Chang’e-5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 in 1976. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.
• The findings provide more clues to China’s Chang’e-6 and Chang’e-7 missions. The investigations of lunar water reserves come into the limelight as the building of manned lunar stations are in the pipeline in the next decades.

THE INTERNAL SECURITY

6. DISTURBED AREA’ STATUS EXTENDED FOR ONE YEAR IN MANIPUR

THE CONTEXT:Amid the growing public demand for repealing AFSPA following the December 4,2021 incident in Nagaland’s Mon district, the government of Manipur has extended the disturbed area status in the state for one year.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to the Government, the entire state of Manipur is in such a disturbed condition that the use of armed forces in aid of civil power is necessary and is of the opinion that the areas within the state be declared as a “Disturbed Area” under the provisions of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958.
• “In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (Act No.28 of 1958) as amended from time to time, the Governor of Manipur hereby accords ex-post facto approval to declare the entire state of Manipur excluding the Imphal Municipal Area as “Disturbed Area” for a period of 1 (one) year with retrospective effect from December 1, 2021.
• In Nagaland also, the Centre extended the disturbed area status for six months on December 30 in 2021 in-spite of the Nagaland state cabinet resolving against continuation of AFSPA in the wake of the Mon district incident.

What is a “disturbed area” and who has the power to declare it?

• A disturbed area is one which is declared by notification under Section 3 of the AFSPA. An area can be disturbed due to differences or disputes between members of different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities.
• The Central Government, or the Governor of the State or administrator of the Union Territory can declare the whole or part of the State or Union Territory as a disturbed area.
• A suitable notification would have to be made in the Official Gazette. As per Section 3 , it can be invoked in places where “the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary”.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs would usually enforce this Act where necessary, but there have been exceptions where the Centre decided to forego its power and leave the decision to the State governments.

THE MISCELLANEOUS

7. TURKMENISTAN PLAN TO CLOSE ITS ‘GATEWAY TO HELL’

THE CONTEXT:Turkmenistan President has ordered experts to find a way to extinguish a fire in a huge natural gas crater, the Darvaza gas crater also known as the ‘Gateway to Hell’.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is the ‘Gateway to Hell’?

The crater is 69 metres wide and 30 metres deep. While the details of the origin of the crater are contested but it has been said that the crater was created in 1971 during a Soviet drilling operation.

Located in the Karakum desert, 260 kilometres away from Turkmenistan’s capital, Ashgabat, the crater has been burning for the last 50 years.

Background:

In 1971, Soviet geologists were drilling for oil in the Karakum desert when they hit a pocket of natural gas by mistake, which caused the earth to collapse and ended up forming three huge sinkholes. This pocket of natural gas contained methane, hence to stop that methane from leaking into the atmosphere, the scientists lit it with fire, assuming the gas present in the pit would burn out within a few weeks.

Although, the scientists seemed to have misjudged the amount of gas present in the pit, because the crater has been on fire for five decades now. As reported by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Turkmenistan is one of the five Caspian Sea littoral countries, an area with large volumes of oil and natural gas reserves.”

Why did Turkmenistan’s President order to extinguish it?

• According to the President, it is a human-made crater, “it negatively affects both the environment and the health of the people living nearby”.
• As reported by Reuters, he had also asked the authorities to ensure that it does not hinder the development in the gas field near the crater. “The Existing anomalies have hindered the accelerated industrial development of the subsoil riches of central Karakum”.

According to the International Trade Administration, Turkmenistan produced 63.2 billion cubic meters of gas in 2019. Reuters, in 2010, had reported that the country wanted to triple the output over the next few decades to expand sales beyond Russia, China and Iran and into Western Europe, India and Pakistan.

Reason behind the Fire:

• The soil samples from within the crater to find a sign of “microbial life-forms that are thriving in the hot, methane-rich environment”.
• The scientists were able to find bacteria living amidst the burning crater. “The most important thing was that they were not found in any of the surrounding soil outside of the crater”.

How harmful are methane leaks?

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, “Methane is the primary contributor to the formation of ground-level ozone, a hazardous air pollutant and greenhouse gas, exposure to which causes 1 million premature deaths every year. Methane is also a powerful greenhouse gas. Over a 20-year period, it is 80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide.”

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY 11^TH JANUARY 2022

1. Consider the following statements about NCAP:
2. It was launched in 2019 to reduce levels of PM 2.5 and PM 10 in certain cities which fail tomeet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
3. It aims to reduce particulate matter levels in those cities by 20-30% in 2022.

Which of the statements is/are correct?

1. a) 1 only
2. b) 2 only
3. c) Both 1 and 2
4. d) Neither 1 nor 2

ANSWER FOR 10^TH JANUARY 2022.

Answer: d)

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct:Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank headquartered in Beijing.

1. Faith in God, the self & in the world around READ MORE
2. Australia visa row: For now, Novak Djokovic is a free man but it may be a hollow victory READ MORE
3. Safeguarding integrity in public institutions READ MORE

1. How the past informs the present READ MORE  
2. Economic development, the nutrition trap, and metabolic disease READ MORE

1. In Great Nicobar, an EIA Points the Way for a Megaproject READ MORE
2. Pollution bouncing back in middle and lower Indo-Gangetic Plain: CSE READ MORE

1. The rise of collaboratives for social impact: The emphasis on inclusion, equity and justice, and formal collaborations could make a mark in India’s social sector READ MORE
2. How India has approached customary international law READ MORE
3. Risks of three Cs: CVC curtailing CBI’s scope for bank probes is excellent. But PSBs still face perverse incentives READ MORE
4. Challenges for ECI: Ensuring free, fair and safe elections an onerous task READ MORE
5. Government needs effective communications strategy READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Ghaziabad most polluted city, says NCAP report READ MORE
2. Supreme Court panel to probe PM Modi security breach READ MORE
3. Explained: Why does Turkmenistan plan to close its ‘Gateway to Hell’? READ MORE
4. China’s Chang’e 5 Lunar Probe Finds First On-Site Evidence of Water on Moon READ MORE
5. Red Sanders falls back in IUCN’s ‘endangered’ category READ MORE
6. PM Narendra Modi greets Indian diaspora on Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas READ MORE
7. Ex-RBI Governor Urjit Patel appointed Vice President of AIIB READ MORE

Main Exam   

GS Paper- 1

1. How the past informs the present READ MORE  

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. The rise of collaboratives for social impact: The emphasis on inclusion, equity and justice, and formal collaborations could make a mark in India’s social sector READ MORE
2. How India has approached customary international law READ MORE
3. Risks of three Cs: CVC curtailing CBI’s scope for bank probes is excellent. But PSBs still face perverse incentives READ MORE
4. Challenges for ECI: Ensuring free, fair and safe elections an onerous task READ MORE
5. Government needs effective communications strategy READ MORE

SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. Economic development, the nutrition trap, and metabolic disease READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. The sail that Indian diplomacy, statecraft need: Striking the right balance between continental and maritime security will enable India’s long-term security interests READ MORE
2. Disparity, escalation key issues for NPT review READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. FDI in retail: The conundrum persists READ MORE
2. Industrialisation of Space READ MORE
3. Time for a shift in balancing under IBC READ MORE
4. With RCEP now in force, India must strengthen trade & engage with other blocs, say experts READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. In Great Nicobar, an EIA Points the Way for a Megaproject READ MORE
2. Pollution bouncing back in middle and lower Indo-Gangetic Plain: CSE READ MORE

INTERNAL SECURITY

1. AFSPA debate: What could be a possible solution? READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Faith in God, the self & in the world around READ MORE
2. Australia visa row: For now, Novak Djokovic is a free man but it may be a hollow victory READ MORE
3. Safeguarding integrity in public institutions READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘Striking the right balance between continental and maritime security would be the best guarantor of our long-term security interests.’ Discuss.
2. ‘True social advancement arises from the ideals and shared beliefs that weld society together’. Comment.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Lessons in life will be repeated until they are learned.
• The emphasis on inclusion, equity and justice, and formal collaborations could make a mark in India’s social sector.
• Current crises in Belarus, Ukraine, the Caucasus, and Kazakhstan are reshaping the geopolitics of the region, with Russia at the very centre of that restructuring.
• Strengthening the livestock sector will not only help meet the growing demand for livestock products, but will also enhance farmers’ income, generate employment, empower women and give a fillip to livestock-based processing sectors.
• Indian support for the statement and a decision to offer similar commitment will not really demand any immediate steps that could adversely impact its nuclear deterrence.
• The way forward is tolegitimize FDI in Indian online retail. Modi should also allow 100 per cent FDI in offline retail without any riders.
• We need to restore confidence on both sides and ensure an atmosphere of reasonable operational freedom without harming people, whom the military also treats as its centre of gravity.
• True social advancement arises from the ideals and shared beliefs that weld society together.
• Maturity isn’t just taking responsibility for our actions but critically assessing the history that placed us there. The ultimate freedom is having the power to change it.

50-WORD TALK

• There’s not much to celebrate over Djokovic being allowed to play. Tennis Australia’s arbitrary rules granting Djokovic an exception shows what you can get away with if powerful. Anti-vaxxer Djokovic isn’t a hero sports needs. He has neither the grace of Nadal or Federer, nor any regard for people’s lives.
• India has welcomed the P-5 statement. In fact, New Delhi could go a step further and echo the same at an individual level. It could also call upon the P-5 to start realising their promises by joining India on the two resolutions that it annually presents at the UNGA. One of this precisely matches the P-5 promise to address nuclear dangers. India’s resolution calls for steps to reduce the risk of unintentional or accidental use of nuclear weapons.

Things to Remember:

• For prelims-related news try to understand the context of the news and relate with its concepts so that it will be easier for you to answer (or eliminate) from given options.
• Whenever any international place will be in news, you should do map work (marking those areas in maps and also exploring other geographical locations nearby including mountains, rivers, etc. same applies to the national places.)
• For economy-related news (banking, agriculture, etc.) you should focus on terms and how these are related to various economic aspects, for example, if inflation has been mentioned, try to relate with prevailing price rises, shortage of essential supplies, banking rates, etc.
• For main exam-related topics, you should focus on the various dimensions of the given topic, the most important topics which occur frequently and are important from the mains point of view will be covered in ED.
• Try to use the given content in your answer. Regular use of this content will bring more enrichment to your writing.

[WpProQuiz 133]

THE CONTEXT: In November 2021, the Centre has brought in two ordinances to facilitate the continuance of the chiefs of the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation in their posts for a maximum period of five years. In this article, we will analyze the consequences of this move.

THE DEVELOPMENT

1. TENURE EXTENSION FOR INVESTIGATING AGENCIES CHIEF

• The Centre moved an ordinance that allowed the tenure of the Central Bureau of Investigation director to be extended by up to five years. A similar ordinance has extended the tenure of the director of the Enforcement Directorate.
• The Directors of CBI and ED enjoy a fixed tenure of two years from the date of their appointment in the wake of the directives of the Supreme Court in the famous Vineet Narain case.
• For the CBI director, the central government amended the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946 and for the ED director, the government amended the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Act.
• Both the Acts allow the chiefs of ED and CBI the nation’s nodal organisations entrusted with fighting corruption, money laundering and other serious crimes to get three one-year extensions after the completion of their two-year tenures.
• The CBI is currently headed by 1985-batch IPS officer Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, who was appointed in May 2021 for a two-year period.
• The ED is headed by IRS officer Sanjay Kumar Mishra, who was appointed to the post in November 2018. In November 2020, his tenure was extended by another year by the Centre.

2. AMENDMENT IN FUNDAMENTAL RULES

• The Centre amended Fundamental Rules (FR), 1922 also to facilitate extended tenure and in-service benefits to CBI and ED directors.
• The FR is a set of guiding principles applicable to all government servants and covers the entire gamut of their in-service and post-retirement working scenarios.
• It bars extension in service to any government servants beyond the age of retirement of sixty years except a few including Cabinet Secretary, those dealing with budget-related work, eminent scientists, Cabinet Secretary, IB and RAW chiefs besides the CBI director among others with certain conditions.
• The rules now allow the central government to give extension in the public interest to the Defence Secretary, Home Secretary, Director of Intelligence Bureau (IB), Secretary of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and directors of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) on a case-to-case basis.

HOW DO THESE AGENCIES CHIEFS APPOINT?

CBI CHIEF

• The procedure for the appointment of the CBI chief is laid down in the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act of 1946.
• Section 4A of the Act says that any director of a special police force or establishment, including the CBI chief, is to be appointed by the central government, which has to go by the recommendation in that regard of a committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha along with the Chief Justice of India or any judge of the Supreme Court nominated by him.
• For filling the post of CBI chief, the committee is mandated to recommend a panel of officers “on the basis of seniority, integrity and experience in the investigation of anti-corruption cases” who are to be chosen from amongst officers belonging to the Indian Police Service (IPS).
• Section 4B of the DSPE Act provides that persons appointed as directors under it shall “continue to hold office for a period of not less than two years from the date on which he assumes office”.

ED CHIEF

• The appointment of the ED chief is governed by the Central Vigilance Commission Act of 2003. Article 25 of the Act lays down that the Centre shall appoint the ED Director on the recommendation of a panel that will have the Central Vigilance Commissioner as its chairperson and include vigilance commissioners as its members along with the Union home secretary, the secretary of the central Ministry of Personnel, and the revenue secretary.

WHY DID THE GOVERNMENT BRING TWO ORDINANCES?

Both CBI and ED are the two most important investigating agencies. The ED has the sole jurisdiction to investigate money-laundering cases, while the CBI has the primary responsibility to investigate cases of corruption.

• A fixed upper limit to the tenure of such appointments to “maintain independence”.
• India faces certain sensitive investigative and legal processes in important cases, requiring extradition of fugitive offenders, which need a “continuum”.
• The ED and CBI chiefs are a “relevant and significant part of the global movement against corruption and money laundering”, and hence “any possibility of restricting the tenure may defeat the object under certain circumstances”.
• The world is facing “global contingencies” such as fugitives running away, the laundering of funds using shell companies, and extradition cases and there is every possibility of such global contingencies occurring in the future and therefore, amendments in the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, are necessitated to meet such contingencies whenever arises with certain in-built safeguards.
• It is mandatory for senior personnel to hold their positions for sufficiently long tenures.
• Enhancing capacity and resources for continuing oversight by the senior officers, especially the heads of the two agencies, is “fundamental to the proposed re-strengthening”.
• It is strongly felt that assured long tenures of the heads of ED and CBI on similar lines would be highly desirable.
• A longer-term could give the ED and CBI chiefs greater leeway, helping them pursue sensitive cases to their logical conclusion — the US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) does give its head a 10-year tenure.

A case study of ED working under present director Sanjay Mishra

Sanjay Kumar Mishra brought about fundamental changes in the work culture of the Enforcement Directorate.

• He maintained a low public profile and did not give any interviews to the media. He also ensured that the zonal directors, who were earlier working essentially as regional satraps, also did the same. He ensured that no motivated leaks or rumours attributed to sources within ED were floated.
• He avoided indiscriminate arrest of the accused, giving them ample opportunity, by way of summons, to join the investigation. Anil Deshmukh case and P. Chidambaram case.
• The Enforcement Directorate is handling a number of many sensitive cases that are at a crucial stage, it would have been neither in the national interest nor in the interest of the administration of justice to change the head of the organisation, merely because of a legal provision.

WHAT ARE THE ISSUES?

Autonomy of the agencies: One-year extensions would harm the independent functioning of these agencies and would also take away the stability required to protect them from political interference.

Tinkering with tenure: While there have been attempts to bring independence and stability to the appointment and functioning of CBI directors, their appointments and tenures have frequently been mired in controversy. The new ordinance would give the Central government even more power to decide the tenure of the director, one year at a time, undermining the idea of a fixed and minimum tenure for the person in the post.

Appointments in question: Despite several measures to bring impartiality to appointing CBI directors, the process has frequently been questioned. In 2013, the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act prescribed that the CBI director would be selected by a panel comprising of the prime minister, the leader of the opposition and the CGI. While this process seems to ensure fairness, the director is usually chosen from a pool of candidates elected by a Central government department. The current selection criteria are based on “seniority, integrity and experience in the investigation of anti-corruption cases”. But they have been criticised for being vague since relatively junior officers have been appointed as directors. Apart from this, there have been numerous instances of the government trying to tinker with the appointment of CBI directors. In 2018, there was a long drawn fight between Alok Verma, who was then CBI director, and Rakesh Asthana, special director of the CBI. Asthana is believed to be close to the government and was appointed as special director despite being accused of corruption by Verma. Asthana in turn also alleged corruption by Verma. In a context that is already politicised, giving the government more control over the appointment of the CBI director could undermine the independence of the institution.

Timing of the ordinance: The timing of the ordinances has also raised questions, coming just before the tenure of the current Enforcement Directorate chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra was about to expire. His tenure was retrospectively extended last year so that he could continue till 2021. His term has already been extended by a year using the ordinance. The ordinance was brought in two weeks before the winter session of Parliament.

The working of the agencies is already under doubt: The CBI is frequently misused by the Central government for political goals. In 2013, the Supreme Court described the CBI as a “caged parrot speaking in its master’s voice”. At present, eight states ruled by governments led by opposition parties, have withdrawn the “general consent” to the CBI. This means that the CBI, being a central agency, will have to obtain the state government’s consent to proceed in a case.

Against the SC judgement: The move has sidelined the 2020 judgment by the Supreme Court bench that had pointedly said in the case linked to the extension of Mishra’s tenure that such an extension can only be “in rare and exceptional cases”. The ordinances have not been a rare incident. The Centre has been outreaching and making such changes earlier too. When Ed chief tenure was extended in Nov. 2020, it was a challenge in SC. Then Supreme court ruled that the ED director can be appointed for a period of more than two years by following the relevant procedure. But for Mishra’s case, the court said no further extension shall be granted and also said the extension of tenure granted to officers who have attained the age of superannuation should be done only in rare and exceptional cases.

The proper procedure is not followed: Unlike the CBI director, the head of the ED is not selected by the committee consisting of the prime minister, leader of the opposition and chief justice of India. However, the recommendation of extension of the term of ED director comes from a committee comprising the chief vigilance commissioner, vigilance commissioner, home secretary and the secretaries of the Department of Personnel and Training and Revenue. By extending the ED director’s tenure through an ordinance, the Union government has bypassed this committee.

PATRONAGE OVER PROBITY?

• Ordinances are meant to deal with emergencies and brought when circumstances demand swift action. But previous 2 years viz: 2019 & 2020 have seen ordinances surpassing Parliament scrutiny and 16 & 15 ordinances were promulgated in 2019 & 2020.
• Parliamentary proceedings offer a wonderful platform to debate, discuss & devise any new legislation. Any new legislation should be debated at length, as has been the tradition. At a time when the Parliament Session was just days ahead, taking the ordinance route could have been avoided.
• Promulgating an ordinance in such circumstances is nothing but a means to undermine the institution. Parliament is an appropriate body for law-making and decisions that weaken its role should be avoided.

THE WAY FORWARD

• At a time, when the working of investigating agencies is under doubt, the government should give more autonomy to these agencies in their work to show their neutrality.
• As in present, parliament session is going on, so there should be a proper discussion about the ordinances.
• The selection procedure for the appointment of heads of these agencies should be more transparent, and government should try to appoint neutral officers.
• As the supreme court ruled that, the extension should be in rare conditions, this guideline should be followed.
• There should be a proper selection panel for the selection of ED chief also.
• In future, such a decision should be taken after the proper debate and discussion in parliament.

THE CONCLUSION: Although, the tenure extensions of such bodies are needed, and they should be, but these decisions should be taken after proper discussion in parliament and government. In an era where one of the most progressive legislation has been passed, transparency and accountability to the people are called for on the part of all democratic institutions.