Health Ministry says all registered medical practitioners can now recommend testing for COVID-19

Union Health Ministry has said that all registered medical practitioners can now recommend testing for COVID-19. The Ministry in a statement said that as per the Test, Trace, Treat strategy, the Central Government is driving enhanced testing initiatives in States and Union Territories. It said, as a result, there has been a steady rise in the number of testing labs across the country. The increased testing for COVID-19 is in accordance with the guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and has helped in early detection of cases. The Ministry said, during the last 24 hours, three lakh 26 thousand and 826 samples have been tested. The cumulative number of samples tested, as of now is over one crore 27 lakh. The Ministry said, the testing per million in the country is consistently rising and today it has crossed the figure of 9231.

It said, the testing lab network is further strengthened with 1234 labs in the country. Out of the total labs, 874 labs are in the government sector and 360 are private labs.

International flights to US to resume operations from today on interim basis under Bilateral Air Bubble mechanism

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said that Bilateral Air Bubbles will be the way to resume international travel amid the Covid-19 pandemic with certain conditions.

Briefing the media in New Delhi yesterday, Mr Puri said that the government’s negotiations with three countries are at an advanced stage for the purpose under the Bilateral Air Bubble mechanism. He said, in case of the United States, there is an agreement with United Airlines to operate 18 flights between India and US from today till 31st of July but this is an interim one. He informed that Air France will operate 28 flights from tomorrow till 1st of August between Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Paris. He said they have also received a request from Germany and an agreement with Lufthansa is almost done.

On the biggest evacuation exercise, Vande Bharat Mission, the Minister said, the fourth phase is going on. He said, under the first phase of the mission from 7th May to 13th May, 12 thousand 700 Indians stranded abroad due to COVID-19 pandemic were repatriated. He said, now double of this number of passengers are being brought back per day. He said, till 15th of this month over 6 lakh 87 thousand passengers have been brought under the mission.

Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Kharola said, taking the sheer number of passengers and the number of countries covered, Vande Bharat Mission is the biggest evacuation exercise by any civil airline in the world. He said this will pave the way for operation of Air Bubbles between different countries.

Air India Chairman and Managing Director Rajiv Bansal said that till 13th of this month as part of the Mission for Repatriation Flights for Stranded Indians, Air India group operated 1,103 flights and brought back over two lakh Indians and also helped repatriate over 85 thousand individuals.

On resumption of domestic flight operations, the Minister said, the operation began on 25th May and on the first day, 30 thousand passengers flew. He said, the number is increasing.

Besides, a presentation on Drone operations was also made during the briefing. The Civil Aviation Ministry official said that Drones will play a key role under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan and the government is working on the challenges.

India says consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav given by Pakistan was neither meaningful nor credible

The External Affairs Ministry has said the Consular Officers were not given unimpeded, unhindered and unconditional access to Kulbhushan Jadhav by Pakistan. In a statement, Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said on the contrary, Pakistani officials with an intimidating demeanour were present in close proximity of Mr Jadhav and Consular Officers despite the protests of the Indian side. He said, it was also evident from a camera that was visible that the conversation was being recorded. The Spokesperson said, Mr Jadhav himself was visibly under stress and indicated that clearly to the Consular Officers. The arrangements did not permit a free conversation between them and the Consular Officers could not engage Mr Jadhav on his legal rights and were prevented from obtaining his written consent for arranging his legal representation.

In the light of these circumstances, the Indian Consular Officers came to the conclusion that the consular access being offered by Pakistan was neither meaningful nor credible. After lodging a protest, they left the venue.

Mr Srivastava said it is clear that Pakistan’s approach to this matter continues to be obstructive and insincere. He said Pakistan has not only violated its assurance to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to fully implement the 2019 judgement, but also failed to act in accordance with its own Ordinance. He said, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has apprised the family of Mr Jadhav of these developments.

The Spokesperson also reiterated India’s commitment to ensure the safe return of Mr Jadhav to India. He said the future course of action will be decided in the light of yesterday’s events. The Spokesperson said, over the past year, India has requested Pakistan more than twelve times to provide unimpeded, unhindered and unconditional consular access to Mr Jadhav, who remains incarcerated in Pakistani custody since 2016. He said this consular access is of utmost importance, as it is the basis for a process of effective review and reconsideration ordered by the International Court of Justice in July last year of the conviction and sentence of Mr Jadhav by a Pakistani military tribunal.

The spokesperson said in May this year, Pakistan passed an Ordinance, ostensibly to comply with the order of the International Court of Justice. It inter-alia envisaged the Consular Officer of the High Commission of India filing a petition before a High Court for the relevant review and reconsideration. He said that in that context, the contacts and conversations between the Consular Officer and Jadhav assume great importance. He added that any conversation between them must necessarily take place in privacy and without the presence of any Pakistani official or recording by Pakistan. He said, it is only then that Mr Jadhav can speak freely without any concerns of reprisal as he remains in Pakistani custody after the meeting. The spokesperson said that it is already evident that Jadhav has been intimidated repeatedly in the past, including in being made to express his alleged disinclination to seek a review.

India recently requested the Pakistani side for an unimpeded, unhindered and unconditional consular access to be provided on 13th July. Pakistan was asked to ensure that the meeting is held in an atmosphere free from fear of retribution and without the presence of any Pakistani official in the vicinity of Mr Jadhav and the Indian consular officials. Pakistan was also requested to not record the meeting.

After extensive discussions, the Pakistan side conveyed that they were ready to organize consular access. Mr Srivastava said they were assured that this consular access would be unimpeded, unhindered and unconditional. On the basis of this assurance by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry, two Consular Officers of the High Commission proceeded to the meeting with Mr Jadhav. He said however, neither the environment nor the arrangements of the meeting were in accordance with the assurances of Pakistan.

Mr Srivastava also said, India strongly protested against construction of Diamer Basha Dam to the Pakistan government. He said, it will lead to submergence of large parts of land of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. He said, India condemns attempts by Pakistan to bring about material changes in Indian territories under its illegal occupation.

The Spokesperson said, India has also consistently conveyed its protest and shared concerns with both China and Pakistan on all such projects in Indian territories under Pakistan’s illegal occupation where it has no locus standi.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visiting forward areas of J&K and Ladakh to review overall situation

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be on a two-day visit to forward areas of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh starting today. Army Chief General M M Naravane will accompany the Defence Minister. During the visit, they will review the security situation in Eastern Ladakh.

AIR correspondent quoting official sources reports that senior Defence officials including the Northern Army Commander will also accompany Mr Singh. This will be the Defence Minister’s first visit to Ladakh since the faceoff with China commenced.

Mr Singh is likely to visit Atal Tunnel, previously known as Rohtang Tunnel, named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. This is a highway tunnel being built under the Rohtang Pass in the eastern Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas on the Leh-Manali Highway. At 8.8 km length, the tunnel will be one of the longest road tunnels in the country and is expected to reduce the distance between Manali and Keylong by about 46 kilometres. Strategically important Manali-Leh highway is used by the Army to transport essential material to the soldiers deployed in the border areas of Ladakh.

PM Modi to deliver a keynote virtual address at United Nations Economic and Social Council session today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today deliver a keynote address virtually at this year’s High-Level Segment of the United Nations Economic and Social Council session to be held at the UN headquarters in New York.

The Prime Minister will be speaking at the valedictory session along with his Norwegian counterpart and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. The annual High-level Segment convenes a diverse group of representatives from the Government, the private sector, civil society and academia. The theme of this year’s High-level Segment is Multilateralism after COVID19: What kind of UN do we need at the 75th anniversary.

Our correspondent reports, this session will focus on critical forces shaping the course of multilateralism and explore ways to bolster the global agenda through strong leadership, effective international institutions, a broadening of participation and enhanced significance of global public goods.

This will be the first opportunity for Mr Modi to address the broader UN membership since India’s overwhelming election as a non-permanent member of the Security Council on 17th of last month, for the term 2021-22.

US Supreme Court Rules Against Absolute Immunity For President

In a most recently decided high profile case titled Donald J Trump v. Cyrus R Vance, District Attorney Of The County Of New York, Et Al. 591 US _ (2020) on Writ Of Certiorari To The United States Court Of Appeal For The Second Circuit that was decided on July 9, 2020, the US Supreme Court has laid down the high moral principle that a sitting President cannot evade criminal investigation. The instant case involves the first state criminal subpoena directed to a President which the President claims to be unenforceable. With a majority of 7-2, the US Supreme Court has ruled against complete Presidential immunity by allowing a New York prosecutor access to the President’s financial records. However, the Congress has been prevented from similar access to the documents, for the time being.

Be it noted, this latest, landmark and extremely laudable judgment was authored by Chief Justice John Roberts and was also joined by Associate Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil M Gorsuch and Brett M Kavanuagh. As opposed to this, we saw how the other Associate Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito both dissented! It was held explicitly that the subpoena issued for retrieving President’s financial records for turning over to a grand jury can be enforced.

To start with, the ball is set rolling in the opening para of this judgment wherein it is observed that, “In our judicial system, “the public has a right to every man’s evidence”. [This maxim traces at least as far back as Lord Chancellor Hardwicke in a 1742 parliamentary debate. See 12 Parliamentary History of England 693 (1812)]. Presidents have uniformly testified or produced documents in criminal proceedings when called upon by federal courts. This case involves – so far as we and the parties can tell – the first state criminal subpoena directed to a President. The President contends that the subpoena is unenforceable. We granted certiorari to decide whether Article II and the Supremacy Clause categorically preclude, or require a heightened standard for, the issuance of a state criminal subpoena to a sitting President.’’

Truth be told, it is then pointed out that, “In the summer of 2018, the New York County District Attorney’s Office opened an investigation into what it opaquely describes as “business transactions involving multiple individuals whose conduct may have violated state law.’’ Brief for Respondent Vance 2. A year later, the office – acting on behalf of a grand jury – served a subpoena duces tecum (essentially a request to produce evidence) on Mazars USA, LLP, the personal accounting firm of President Donald J Trump. The subpoena directed Mazars to produce financial records relating to the President and business organizations affiliated with him, including “[t]ax returns and related schedules,’’ from “2011 to the present’’. App. To Pet. For Cert. 119a. (The grand jury subpoena essentially copied a subpoena issued to Mazars in April 2019 by the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the U.S. House of Representatives, which is at issue in Trump v. Mazars USA, LLP, post, p._. The principal difference is that the instant subpoena expressly requests tax returns.’’

To be sure, it is then stated that, “The President, acting in his personal capacity, sued Mazars in Federal District Court to enjoin enforcement of the subpoena. He argued that, under Article II and the Supremacy Clause, a sitting President enjoys absolute immunity from state criminal process. He asked the court to issue a “declaratory judgment that the subpoena is invalid and unenforceable while the President is in office’’ and to permanently enjoin the district attorney from “taking any action to enforce the subpoena.’’ Amended complaint in No. 1:19-cv-8694 (SDNY, Sept. 25, 2019), p. 19. Mazars, concluding that the dispute was between the President and the district attorney, took no position on the legal issues raised by the President.’’

As it turned out, it is then brought out that, “The District Court abstained from exercising jurisdiction and dismissed the case based on Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 (1971) which generally precludes federal courts from intervening in ongoing state criminal prosecutions. 395F. Supp. 3d 283, 290 (SDNY, 2019). In an alternative holding, the court ruled that the President was not entitled to injunctive relief. Ibid.’’

Needless to say, it is then noted that, “Here we are confronted for the first time with a subpoena issued to the President by a local grand jury operating under the supervision of a state court. While the subpoena was directed to the President’s accounting firm, the parties agree that the papers at issue belong to the President and that Mazars is merely the custodian. Thus, for purposes of immunity, it is functionally a subpoena issued to the President.’’

To put things in perspective, it is then observed that, “In the President’s view, that distinction makes all the difference. He argues that the Supremacy Clause gives a sitting President absolute immunity from state criminal subpoenas because compliance with those subpoenas would categorically impair a President’s performance of his Article II functions. The Solicitor General, arguing on behalf of the United States, agree with much of the President’s reasoning but does not commit to his bottom line. Instead, the Solicitor General urges us to resolve this case by holding that a state grand jury subpoena for a sitting President’s personal records must, at the very least, “satisfy a heightened standard of need,’’ which the Solicitor General contends was not met here.’’

Most significantly, this noteworthy judgment minces no words to point out that, “Two hundred years ago, a great jurist of our Court established that no citizen, not even the President is categorically above the common duty to produce evidence when called upon in a criminal proceeding. We reaffirm that principle today and hold that the President is neither absolutely immune from state criminal subpoenas seeking his private papers nor entitled to a heightened standard of need. The “guard [] furnished to this high officer” lies where it always has – in “the conduct of a court” applying established legal and constitutional principles to individual subpoenas in a manner that preserves both the independence of the Executive and the integrity of the criminal justice system.” It also made clear that, “In our judicial system, the public has a right to every man’s evidence. Since the earliest days of the Republic, every man has included the President of the United States.”

Going ahead, it is then observed that, “The arguments presented here and in the Court of Appeals were limited to absolute immunity and heightened need. The Courts of Appeals, however, has directed that the case be returned to the District Court, where the President may raise further arguments as appropriate. 941 F.3d. at 646, n. 19. The daylight between our opinion and JUSTICE THOMAS’s “dissent” is not as great as that label might suggest. Post, at 12. We agree that Presidents are neither absolutely immune from state criminal subpoenas nor insulated by a heightened need standard.”

Finally, it is then held that, “We affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”

In conclusion, the bottom-line of this commendable, convincing and courageous judgment is: Even the President is not above the Law! Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance too was of the view that, “This is a tremendous victory for our nation’s system of justice and its founding principle that no one – not even a President – is above the law.”

On a similar note, Claire Finkelstein who is Director of the Center for Ethics and Rule of Law at the University of Pennsylvania too said that, “The court found that the President is not above the law. He is not immune to ordinary criminal process.” The Chief Justice John Roberts who wrote this noteworthy judgment for the court rightly minced no words to make it absolutely clear that, “The President is neither absolutely immune from state criminal subpoenas seeking his private papers nor entitled to a heightened standard of need.” ACLU national legal director David Cole too said that, “The Supreme Court today confirmed that the President is not above the law. The court ruled that President Trump must follow the law, like the rest of us. And that includes responding to subpoenas for his tax records.”

Having said this, it must be clarified here that there is no immediate danger for President Donald Trump since the Prosecutor Cyrus Vance will have to return to the lower courts to follow up the subpoena to Deutsche Bank and Mazars, Trump’s bank and accountant respectively. But certainly it is a major setback to President Trump which is an undeniable fact. Vance is seeking 10 years of tax returns for Trump and his businesses as part of the probe into possible state tax fraud.

No doubt, the President’s Attorneys said that they were “pleased”. But Donald Trump himself appeared quite indignant and said bluntly that, “The Supreme Court sends case back to Lower Court, arguments to continue. This is all a political prosecution. I won the Mueller Witch Hunt and others, and now I have to keep fighting in a politically corrupt New York. Not fair to this Presidency or Administration!” But he has no choice but to comply with what the top court of US has held so elegantly, effectively and eloquently! Before parting, it must be mentioned that US President Donald Trump is the only modern American President to have not publicly released tax returns or divest from major business interests while in office!

Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,

s/o Col BPS Sirohi,

A 82, Defence Enclave,

Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh

No Blank Cheque For Custodial Torture Or Custodial Death

Let me begin by first and foremost penning that the most unfortunate death of a father Jayaraj and son Benicks allegedly due to severe custodial torture in a police station near Thoothukudi at Kovilpatti sub jail in Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu has raised serious questions on the conduct of the police and has shocked the entire nation! They were arrested for a seemingly trivial reason of violating lockdown norms in Sattankulam town in Tamil Nadu. It must be mentioned here that at the Kovilpatti sub jail when a medical check-up was done on the father and son, it came to light that there were serious injuries.

What is most shameful and most hurting to note is that when the check up of the son and the father revealed serious injuries and the duo were in an extremely bad condition, they were sent to jail instead of hospital! How can this be justified under any circumstances? As a corollary what followed next ostensibly was that their condition further deteriorated and it was then that they were sent very late to Kovilpatti general hospital where son Bennicks died on June 22 and his father Jayaraj died on June 23! There can be no blank cheque ever for custodial torture and custodial deaths

To be sure, it is most heartening to see that in the backdrop of the most horrifying custodial torture and death of a father and son as mentioned above, a writ petition has been filed as PIL just recently in the Supreme Court titled People’s Charioteer Organization & Another Vs Union Of India & Others seeking elaborate guidelines from the top court to ensure prevention of custodial torture. This petition has been filed by People’s Charioteer Organization (PCO) through its Secretary, Legal Cell, Mr Devesh Saxena, Advocate who lamented that, “We failed to eliminate the colonial attitude of our police”. This is mainly because they are rarely ever held accountable and rarely punished most strictly! This petition has been drawn by another advocate – Shashwat Anand.

To start with, it has been very rightly pointed out at the very outset in this petition that, “The murderous police assault, unending beatings and brutal torture which caused the death of two innocent traders, a father and a son, Jayaraj, aged 62 years and Bennix, aged 32 years, at Sathankulam Police Station, near Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, has brought the issue of custodial deaths to the limelight and it is an acute demonstration of a broken criminal justice system and failure to effectively uphold legal protection against police abuse. Accusations have been made against the police officers involved in two F.I.Rs filed on 24.06.2020, and thereafter news coverage regarding the incident gained traction. Due to huge outcry, 4 policemen, two sub inspectors and two constables working at the Sathankulam Police Station were suspended, and the Inspector In-charge was transferred.”

Furthermore, it has been also rightly pointed out that, “This incident, inter alia, has traumatized all those who respect the rule of law and personal liberty in the country and it underlines afresh the urgent need for institutional correctives within the policing system in this country and the acute need for India to enact a strong law to prohibit and prosecute cases of torture and custodial deaths, in fulfillment of its legal obligations, both national and international, to guarantee protection to right to life.”

It is quite baffling to see that till now there is no strong law that strongly prohibits custodial torture and custodial deaths and prescribes strongest punishment for those men in uniform who dare to indulge in custodial torture and custodial deaths under any circumstances! But certainly this does not mean that no law can ever be made now also just because in the past no attempt has been made in this direction! All that is needed is strong will to act in this direction and nothing else!

Bluntly put: Let me now ask few troubling questions which keep tormenting my mind. Why should custodial torture and custodial death not be prohibited, prosecuted and punished most severely? Why is there no zero tolerance for custodial torture and custodial deaths? Why instead do we see that there is zero conviction rate for custodial deaths and considerable delay in proceedings as we see in the annual report of 2017-18 of NHRC which received 148 intimations of death in police custody and 1636 intimations concerning deaths in judicial custody? Why should men in uniform not be held strictly accountable and strictly punished?

Also, it must be asked: When no law can ever under any circumstances sanction custodial torture then why are police given a blank cheque for custodial torture? Why are they not promptly arrested, held accountable and punished most severely so that no one can ever take law for granted? Why a criminal act perpetrated by a men in uniform not be sent behind bars and why those in uniform perpetrating custodial deaths be not sent to the gallows? Why men in uniform forget that uniform does not give them the unfettered right to indulge in mercilessly beating someone, then further torturing them and then not allowing them to be sent to hospital in time which ultimately ensures that they die while in custody?

It would be instructive for the police themselves to read some landmark judgments delivered by Supreme Court pertaining to this key issue. To start with, while explaining about the reason behind the poor rate of conviction, it is pointed out in State of M.P. v. Shyamsunder Trivedi 1995 4 SCC 262 that, “…rarely in cases of police torture or custodial death, direct ocular evidence of the complicity of the police personnel would be available. Generally speaking, it would be police officials alone who can only explain the circumstance in which a person in their custody had died. Bound as they are by the ties of brotherhood, it is not unknown that police personnel prefer to remain silent and more often than not pervert the truth to save their colleagues.”

Going ahead, why can’t the detailed guidelines that were laid down by the Supreme Court in Joginder Singh v. State of U.P. (1994) 4 SCC 260 and also in D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (1997) 1 SCC 416 be implemented in totality? We cannot be oblivious to what Justice AS Anand had famously stated in DK Basu’s case that, “Custodial torture is a naked violation of human dignity and degradation which destroys, to a large extent, the individual personality. It is a calculated assault on human dignity and whenever human dignity is wounded, civilization takes a step backward – flag of humanity must on each such occasion fly half-mast.”

Interestingly enough, it is quite laudable that it is further very rightly and very commendably stated in this very DK Basu’s case that, “Custodial death is one of the worst crimes in a civilized society governed by Rule of Law. Does a citizen shed off his fundamental right to life, the moment a policeman arrests him? Can the right to life of a citizen be put in abeyance on his arrest? The answer, indeed, has to be an emphatic “No”.”

It is quite unfortunate to see that till 2005 when amendments were carried out there were no provisions to deal with death, disappearance and rape in police custody. What is more unfortunate is that even after Section 176(1A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure which was inserted after the amendment of 2005, we see that the compliance with this mandatory provision which stipulates that “in such cases, the Judicial Magistrate or the Metropolitan Magistrate, within whose local jurisdiction the offence has been committed shall hold an inquiry in addition to the inquiry or investigation held by the police”, is rare and a long standing issue which is yet to be addressed, as a result of which this provision has become redundant in nature. All these loopholes must be plugged right now!

Also, it is a no-brainer that the landmark directions issued by the Supreme Court on police reforms in Prakash Singh v. Union of India 2006 8 SCC 1 must be implemented in totality. The governments should implement the police reforms by separating the investigating wing from the law and order branch. It also directed to establish a complaints authority to look into the human rights violations including custodial deaths and abuse of authority by the police.

Furthermore, in Prakash Kadam v. Ramprasad Vishwanath Gupta 2011 6 SCC 189, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has observed that, “Policemen are persons who are supposed to uphold the law. In our opinion, if crimes are committed by ordinary people, ordinary punishment should be given, but if the offence is committed by policemen, much harsher punishment should be given to them because they do an act totally contrary to their duties.”

What’s more, the Apex Court then laments in Re Inhuman Conditions in 1382 Prisons v. State of Assam AIR 2016 SC 993 that, “There are several such cases – documented and undocumented – all over the country but in spite of repeated decisions delivered by this Court and perhaps every High Court there seems to be no let-up in custodial deaths. This is not a sad but a tragic state of affairs indicating the apparent disdain of the State to the life and liberty of individuals, particularly those in custody. The time to remedy the situation is long past, and yet, there seems to be no will and therefore no solution in sight.”

Why can’t police be freed from political interference and political control? Why can’t police recruitment be made more strict and why can’t their service conditions be made further more strict? Why can’t the Supreme Court directives on police reforms in Prakash Singh case of 2006 be strictly implemented?

Why can’t police be made to follow the instructions given in the landmark DK Basu’s case while arresting a person? Like, for instance: All officials must carry name tags and full identification, arrest memo must be prepared, containing all details regarding time and place of arrest, attested by one family member or respectable member of the locality. The location of arrest must be intimated to one family or next friend, details notified to the nearest legal aid organization and arrestee must be made known of each DK Basu right, all such compliances must be recorded in the police register, he must get periodical medical examination, inspection memo must be signed by arrestee also and all such information must be centralized in a central police control room. Why can’t the archaic and colonial “The Police Act, 1861” be amended to meet the present circumstances? Why can’t the landmark recommendations of the Law Commission of India in its 152^nd and 273^rd report be implemented?

No doubt, the 152^nd report submitted in 1994 had rightly recommended insertion of a new provision – Section 154A in Cr PC to enable any person to approach a judicial authority on the failure of police to register FIR! Similarly, the 273^rd report of Law Commission of India on implementation of UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or punishment through legislation strongly recommended that those policemen who indulge in torture can be punished with imprisonment which may extend to life. Here I personally feel that custodial killing must be punished with death as they cannot be justified under any circumstances! Or at least, death penalty also must be included for custodial killings apart from life term so that a strong and stern message goes out that custodial killings won’t be tolerated by a civilized society like India any longer!

On a more serious note: Why can’t the police training be overhauled completely so that they are taught to be more humane, more responsive and more compassionate while dealing with people and human rights? Why can’t the landmark recommendations of the Malimath Committee on Reforms in Criminal Justice System be implemented? Why can’t the governments both at the Centre and in the States show more drive and determination to push through the necessary reforms as recommended by so many Committees and even Law Commission of India which have been just gathering dust till now?

In conclusion, only a strong political will is needed to do the same! There is nothing that cannot be done provided there is adequate political will! Custodial torture undermines the rule of law and erodes the people’s faith in the system.

In addition, it many times makes a common man pick up guns to avenge with what he/she feels has been done wrongly! To restore people’s faith many remedial steps have to be taken! They cannot be left in abeyance any longer now! The earlier the police reforms are carried into effect, the better it shall be for not just people but also for the police themselves!

Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,

s/o Col BPS Sirohi,

A 82, Defence Enclave,

Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

Juvenile Justice Act, 2015: Unconstitutionality of the Amendment

The unconstitutional amendment of Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 begins its contradictions from the initial provisions itself. The section 2(12) of the main Act states that a juvenile means a person who has not completed the age of 18 years and on the other side this amended version contradicts its own law as it states that children from 16-18 years of age can be tried as adult criminals. It also reflects how arbitrary it is on testified along with the tests under Art. 14.

The test of Intelligible differentia, another test under Art. 14, is found unreasonable too due to the logic and the reasons behind the Act. Firstly, it replaces the word juvenile with child in conflict with law which was supposedly more humane. But this very child in conflict with law is meant to be tried for adult offences and this inhumane idea is conceived by the Government. Furthermore, the terms child alleged to be in conflict with law and child found to be in conflict with the law are not defined clearly and are used interchangeably in the Act. It stands as a great flaw due to the general understanding of the evident difference between alleged to be and found to be.

In the second test, the nexus between the classification and the object is absent as the authorities have acted without following the procedure to unequal treatment. The object or the purpose of the Juvenile Justice Act is to provide care, protection and child friendly approach but the approach suddenly disappears towards the child between the ages of 16-18 years. The objective of Juvenile Justice Act is not being fulfilled as Juveniles are being treated as adult criminals and sent to the prison where they would be influenced to be more hardened criminals since the purpose of the Act is to protect the juvenile from committing further crimes and evidently not fulfilled with the amendment. Instead the government through this specific provision is giving a hand in converting the juveniles into hardened criminals unlikely of the main idea which stands to reform the juveniles so that they could be accepted into the society.

There is also a violation of fundamental right under Art. 21 as the rights of opportunity to be heard and right of fair trial are infringed. The right of the juvenile to be tried infront of the Children’s Court gets him infront of the Session court with the other hardened criminals and consequently, the degree of punishment is harsher.

Section 15 of the Act seeks to repeal and replace the existing Juvenile Justice Act, 2002 with a draconian and unconstitutional amendment which instead of providing care and protection to the children deems them as an adult in cases where the alleged commission of crime by them is heinous in nature. It seeks to punish the child in conflict with the law for the failure of the society at large in providing the child with adequate care and protection. Juveniles in conflict with the law are more capable of change given the fact that their brains are still learning. Honest efforts made towards rehabilitation — including visits by a mental health professional three-four times a month — will have a significant positive impact on them. Unfortunately, there is no psychiatric screening in Indian prisons. No mental health professional would meet the juvenile convicted in any case and would lead to its worser development, totally against the objective of the Act. Every child develops in different background factors and considering to bring most of them into a similar set would be unethical since their mental faculty would not be equal.

The provision does not necessarily decide on the child in respect to his psychological or social factors but only governs on his mental faculty while committing the crime. It is totally undermined by the government that the mental faculty actually develops through these factors. More often than not the children who are put into rehabilitation centres come through as a changed human being. Under the existing law of a child in conflict with law between the age of 16-18 years who were found to have committed an offence by Juvenile Justice Board, there was an arrangement of rehabilitation supposition that could be passed by the Board. This rehabilitation disposition includes admonition community service, imposition of fine, probation group counselling and an extreme measure of deprivation of liberty by way of placement of the child in the special home for three years. The same facilities however could take a drastic turn in for cases when they are handed over the sessions court.

There are many further circumstances under the Indian law a person under the age is not allowed to vote, is considered minor for entering into a contract, a girl of age less than eighteen years cannot give consent for sexual relationships, a child of age less than eighteen years cannot marry. Yet by the amended Act that child can be tried as an adult after a preliminary assessment, the child shall be presumed to have the knowledge and understanding of the alleged crime that he has committed. Such a scenario would be travesty of justice. The idea behind treating a certain age group as children is to protect the most vulnerable section of the society where the government would have analysed in such matters that they are not mature enough to deal with these things. It is unjust and against the well-established principle lex iniusta non est lex that states that unjust law is not a law.

Section 15 of Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 is hence against natural conscience, unjustified and unconstitutional to which we hope, no child falls as prey.

My first earning

Do you remember the first time you earn money in your life? Well, you might be earning for so many years now, but the very first of your earning is always really something. That is exactly when your dreams start to have their wings to fly high and you feel what your worth is! May it be a small earning but it always makes you happy and satisfied. Now why the first earnings are so special to us? Is it special to everyone in general? It could be…

When I earned my first reward of my hard work, I was so overwhelmed and satisfied. It fostered a new feeling in me that I am not that bad to make myself an independent person. I realized that I was capable of doing things that I thought otherwise would be never my cup of tea. It was a very small earning but it did make a satisfaction in me. It made me realize my worth and my capability. That moment promised me that I am capable of being who I want to be. It doesn’t matter what job you do,unless you love it, and how much do you earn. All that matters is that if you are able to make yourself stable and strong. Find happiness and satisfaction in your achievements. Let all the small things in your life make you smile.

INFERTILITY HURTS!

6 Things to Know Before Starting Infertility Treatments — *source:* www.chicagohealthonline.com

Infertility means not being able to get pregnant after one year of trying (or six months if a woman is 35 or older). Women who can get pregnant but are unable to stay pregnant may also be infertile.

Pregnancy is the result of a process that has many steps. To get pregnant:

A woman’s body must release an egg from one of her ovaries (ovulation).
The egg must go through a fallopian tube toward the uterus(womb).
A man’s sperm must join with (fertilize) the egg along the way.
The fertilized egg must attach to the inside of the uterus (implantation).

Infertility can happen if there are problems with any of these steps.

Is infertility a women problem?

No, infertility is not always a woman’s problem. Both women and men can have problems that cause infertility. About one-third of infertility cases are caused by women’s problems. Another one third of fertility problems are due to the man. The other cases are caused by a mixture of male and female problems or by unknown problems.

Most cases of female infertility are caused by problems with ovulation. Without ovulation, there are no eggs to be fertilized. Some signs that a woman is not ovulating normally include irregular or absent menstrual periods.

Ovulation problems are often caused by polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). PCOS is a hormone imbalance problem which can interfere with normal ovulation. PCOS is the most common cause of female infertility. Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) is another cause of ovulation problems. POI occurs when a woman’s ovaries stop working normally before she is 40. POI is not the same as early menopause.

Less common causes of fertility problems in women include:

Blocked fallopian tubes due to pelvic inflammatory disease, endometriosis, or surgery for ectopic pregnancy
Physical problems with the uterus
Uterine fibroids, which are non-cancerous clumps of tissue and muscle on the walls of the uterus.

Many things can change a woman’s ability to have a baby. These include:

Age
Smoking
Excess alcohol use
Stress
Poor diet
Athletic training
Being overweight or underweight
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
Health problems that cause hormonal changes, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome and primary ovarian insufficiency.

Infertility in men is most often caused by:

A problem called varicocele. This happens when the veins on a man’s testicle(s) are too large. This heats the testicles. The heat can affect the number or shape of the sperm.
Other factors that cause a man to make too few sperm or none at all.
Movement of the sperm. This may be caused by the shape of the sperm. Sometimes injuries or other damage to the reproductive system block the sperm.

Sometimes a man is born with the problems that affect his sperm. Other times problems start later in life due to illness or injury. For example, cystic fibrosis often causes infertility in men.

A man’s sperm can be changed by his overall health and lifestyle. Some things that may reduce the health or number of sperm include:

Heavy alcohol use
Drugs
Smoking cigarettes
Age
Environmental toxins, including pesticides and lead
Health problems such as mumps, serious conditions like kidney disease, or hormone problems
Medicines
Radiation treatment and chemotherapy for cancer

Infertility can be treated with medicine, surgery, artificial insemination, or assisted reproductive technology. Many times these treatments are combined. In most cases infertility is treated with drugs or surgery.

Doctors recommend specific treatments for infertility based on:

Test results
How long the couple has been trying to get pregnant
The age of both the man and woman
The overall health of the partners
Preference of the partners

Doctors often treat infertility in men in the following ways:

Sexual problems: Doctors can help men deal with impotence or premature ejaculation. Behavioral therapy and/or medicines can be used in these cases.
Too few sperm: Sometimes surgery can correct the cause of the problem. In other cases, doctors surgically remove sperm directly from the male reproductive tract. Antibiotics can also be used to clear up infections affecting sperm count.
Sperm movement: Sometimes semen has no sperm because of a block in the man’s system. In some cases, surgery can correct the problem.

In women, some physical problems can also be corrected with surgery.

A number of fertility medicines are used to treat women with ovulation problems. It is important to talk with your doctor about the pros and cons of these medicines. You should understand the possible dangers, benefits, and side effects.

Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is an infertility treatment that is often called artificial insemination. In this procedure, the woman is injected with specially prepared sperm. Sometimes the woman is also treated with medicines that stimulate ovulation before IUI.

IUI is often used to treat:

Mild male factor infertility
Women who have problems with their cervical mucus
Couples with unexplained infertility

IUI is often used to treat:

Mild male factor infertility
Women who have problems with their cervical mucus
Couples with unexplained infertility

IUI is often used to treat:

Mild male factor infertility
Women who have problems with their cervical mucus
Couples with unexplained infertility

IUI is often used to treat:

Mild male factor infertility
Women who have problems with their cervical mucus
Couples with unexplained infertility

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is a group of different methods used to help infertile couples. ART works by removing eggs from a woman’s body. The eggs are then mixed with sperm to make embryos. The embryos are then put back in the woman’s body.

Common methods of ART include:

In vitro fertilization (IVF) means fertilization outside of the body. IVF is the most effective ART. It is often used when a woman’s fallopian tubes are blocked or when a man produces too few sperm. Doctors treat the woman with a drug that causes the ovaries to produce multiple eggs. Once mature, the eggs are removed from the woman. They are put in a dish in the lab along with the man’s sperm for fertilization. After 3 to 5 days, healthy embryos are implanted in the woman’s uterus.
Zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT) or Tubal Embryo Transfer is similar to IVF. Fertilization occurs in the laboratory. Then the very young embryo is transferred to the fallopian tube instead of the uterus.
Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) involves transferring eggs and sperm into the woman’s fallopian tube. So fertilization occurs in the woman’s body. Few practices offer GIFT as an option.
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is often used for couples in which there are serious problems with the sperm. Sometimes it is also used for older couples or for those with failed IVF attempts. In ICSI, a single sperm is injected into a mature egg. Then the embryo is transferred to the uterus or fallopian tube

Assisted reproductive technology procedures sometimes involve the use of donor eggs (eggs from another woman), donor sperm, or previously frozen embryos.

Donor eggs are sometimes used for women who cannot produce eggs. Also, donor eggs or donor sperm are sometimes used when the woman or man has a genetic disease that can be passed on to the baby.

An infertile woman or couple may also use donor embryos. These are embryos that were either created by couples in infertility treatment or were created from donor sperm and donor eggs. The donated embryo is transferred to the uterus. The child will not be genetically related to either parent.

Surrogacy

Women with no eggs or unhealthy eggs might also want to consider surrogacy. A surrogate is a woman who agrees to become pregnant using the man’s sperm and her own egg. The child will be genetically related to the surrogate and the male partner.

Gestational Carrier

Women with ovaries but no uterus may be able to use a gestational carrier. This may also be an option for women who shouldn’t become pregnant because of a serious health problem. In this case, a woman uses her own egg. It is fertilized by her partner’s sperm and the embryo is placed inside the carrier’s uterus.

Just because something isn’t happening for you right now doesn’t mean that will never happen. Even miracles take little time.

Newborn tests positive for COVID-19 in London | Live Science — *source: livesscience.com*

Internships are just like footprints in the sand each steps signifies the journey taken.

An internship is basically a period of work experience or an opportunity provided by companies to an intern for a specific period of tenure where they can gain work experience or satisfy requirements for qualification.Internships are very crucial way of obtaining knowledge or practical exposure of how actually the corporates operates.It plays a very crucial role in advancing or enhancing one’s career.Someone rightly quoted that “There is no substitute really for learning about the World of work and being in the World of work you can do through Internships”.An internship can provide career building experience and could be a steeping stone to your dream job.An internship provided by the corporates are of two types paid and unpaid.If intern take the internship seriously and do it with utmost honesty and dedication then company provides PPO (pre-placement offer). Through Internship intern can learn about career field from inside and could have experience of working with professionals.Through internship one can learn new skills and builds leadership qualities.

It acts as an opportunity to practice formal communication and team work skills.It leads to achieve a sense of accomplishment and boost confidence in an intern.Traits like integrity,commitment ans self -motivation are learned by an intern during internship.It helps develops professionalism and also encourage character growth.Internship are work experience are a proven method of getting one’s foot in the door.

Corporatization

Newspaper which was mainly the source of information and communication even at the beginning of 20th century has now become a big and profitable industry. From a vehicle of social change, it has become a machinery to make profit and holding a firm and highly protected position in the business world. In a business organisation, when a person invests money and also must get a larger return. Therefore, a newspaper when it borrows money from the market or from any financial institution must plan for a surplus return. Thus a newspaper organisation has a commercial outlook to make his business a profitable one.

Newspapers being a socio-economic system has a duty to look after the welfare of public. The newspaper manager should look after the public as well as the technical side of the paper making. Every person in this society has a right to right to know the facts about the surrounding, the country and the world too. The right to get information correctly makes a man read a newspaper where fairness, objectivity, accuracy and comprehensiveness of news are expected from the publication.

The same expectation is applicable to other news media also. The credibility of media establishes a rapport between the publisher and the consumer. Besides disseminating news and information, the views and editorials of a newspaper helps to form a public opinion, henceforth taking part in social information directly or indirectly.

Zoo

The world is a huge place to see. It consists of so many living organisms that it is impossible to see each and every one of them. Especially for human beings, who are fascinated very much by animals. For the same reasons, zoos were created so that humans can interact better with animals. In other words, a zoo is a facility that has animals, birds, and reptiles of all kinds. They are confined to space where they are given food and medical facilities. The government has given strict guidelines to maintain a zoo. This is done keeping in mind the animal’s safety. In addition, zoos are made breeding grounds for animals to protect their species.

Benefits of Zoo

Zoos were made to bring wildlife closer to humans. It gave humans a better and up-close view of them. This allows various researchers and scientists to note the behavioral pattern of the animals. It helps them in their studies and discover new things. In addition, zoos are a great source of entertainment for kids. They love visiting zoos and interacting with animals. This helps them learn practical knowledge about the animal. It also gives them exposure to wildlife and widens their knowledge. Furthermore, zoos give us easy access to rare animals. Had it not been for zoos, we would have never been able to see what some animals looked like. We enjoy their behavior and it also creates awareness about the extinction of the rare species. Similarly, zoos are a safe breeding ground for animals. They ensure the animal breeds so they never go extinct. This helps in creating a good balance. Moreover, the zoos ensure the animals get all the nutrition in their bodies to lead a healthy life. This is beneficial as the animal may not get guaranteed meals in the forests.

Disadvantages of Zoo

While the zoo is a great place for entertainment, it is also very exploitive. It takes advantage of the poor animals to make a profit off them. The zoos keep animals in very bad conditions. It takes unethical methods just to create revenue.

Furthermore, zoos are very unfair to animals. They take the animals out of their natural habitats just for the sake of human entertainment. Why would the animals be put into cages as humans want them to? They are voiceless creatures who are being forced to live in poor conditions. Imagine putting humans into cages so animals could come to see them. It sounds inhumane the other way around but not when we do the same to animals.

Most importantly, zoos do not take proper care of exotic animals. They bring them over in their facility despite knowing that they cannot survive in that climate. Some zoos do not take enough precautionary measures to keep the animals safe. This has resulted in so many deaths of animals that it seems cruel.

In short, though zoos are very helpful to humans and animals to an extent. They must be monitored constantly to ensure the animals are safe. The unethical zoos must be shut down at once to prevent any further loss of animals.

Social media: a bane or boon

Vaishali Singh

Social media is creating a sense of competence in people’s mind, and this competition is making people ungrounded, it’s becoming the major reason of mental crisis these days, amidst this pandemic COVID- 19 outbreak people are not engaged in more productive tasks and in order to utilize their energy and satisfy the curiosity of exploring life they prefer to log in to the social media applications and wasting all their time scrolling their mobile phone’s screens endlessly, but have you thought of the consequences of using of these useless mobile applications which are distracting you from doing the necessary tasks and making you lazy and feel unproductive. The way social media is affecting your mindset is horrible, the moment you wake up, you take up your cell phone, and keep checking the notifications you’ve received overnight, which is highly unhealthy for your mental health, social media is making you more like a robot and your cell phones are becoming your masters, you just keep following the notifications you receive whole the day, the over usage of social media affects your sub conscious mind and your sub conscious plays the major role in shaping up your thoughts and mindset, which is directly proportional to the actions you take to acheive your dreams, but it’s over usage tires your brain and reduces your chances of executing the important work tasks. So, this is how your cell phones are becoming the reason behind your failure, but you’ve probably heard that every coin has two faces similarly it’s up to you that how you use something whether it’s your cell phone, the internet access you have or your social media account, if you use it to fulfil your purpose, to acknowledge yourself, to educate yourself, to fulfill your dreams then it can play the role of BOON in your life but if you use that same cell phone, that same social media just for passing the time, reading the memes, reacting on the posts endlessly, watching the comedy videos, in simple words, (seeking the temporary pleasure) instead of utilising your time in executing the important tasks, then it can become the BANE of your life. You won’t realise it today, you will notice the outcomes of your actions overtime and only then when you’ll notice your actions keenly. Now, while reading this blog post a question would definitely arise in your mind and that is, what can you do to prevent your life from getting controlled by the social media, the answer is very simple it’s impossible to change your life overnight, but the continuous efforts you put overtime can help you to change your life for better, now you have to make a proper schedule and would have to set a goal for yourself that will keep you motivated, just uninstall the unnecessary applications and data from your mobile phone, and start working on the path of your dreams right away.

https://www.pexels.com/photo/iphone-technology-iphone-6-plus-apple-17663/

Poor Public Works And Infrastructure

Imagine that you have to go to work but there are no roads to get you there. Or heavy rains have flooded your route and made it impossible. A lack of infrastructure – from roads, bridges, and wells, to cables for light, cell phones, and internet – can isolate communities living in rural areas. Living off the grid often means living without the ability to go to school, work, or the market to buy and sell goods. Travelling further distances to access basic services not only takes time, it costs money, keeping families in poverty.

Majority of poor people in the world live in rural areas where the level of public infrastructure especially roads
seems low. The inadequate roads and poor road access put high cost of transportation; reduce ability to use
access high quality inputs; limit the uses of local markets to the sales of their products, the purchase of consumer
goods and opportunities for off-farm employment. Poor road access has put nevertheless constraints for rural
poor people in terms of access to other social infrastructure such as education and health facilities. Therefore,
improvement of rural road seems to be a clear means by which large numbers of people might acquire the
opportunity to participate in the market economy and thereby raise themselves out of poverty.

Infrastructure is a key element of poverty alleviation. It often acts as a catalyst to development and enhances the
impact of interventions to improve the poor’s access to other assets, e.g., human, social, financial, and natural
assets. Its impact is felt both on the economic and social sectors. Without roads, the poor are not able to sell their
output on the market. In India, it has been shown that roads alone account for seven percent of the growth in
aggregate output of the rural areas. Without electricity, the industrialization process, which provides the poor an
important source of employment, is unlikely to take off. Many of the world’s poor people live in rural areas isolated by distance, terrain and poverty from employment and economic opportunities, markets, healthcare and education. Lack of basic infrastructure such paths, trails,bridges and roads and access to transport services makes it difficult for poor people to access markets and services.

Good transport infrastructure is a necessary condition for economic growth and poverty alleviation, but transport
investments alone cannot address the problems of the poorest households. The adequate supply of infrastructure services has long been viewed as essential for economic development and poverty reduction, both in the policy and academic realms. More recently, increasing attention has also been shifting to the impact of infrastructure on poverty and inequality.

Conclusion

The study aimed to explore lack of infrastructure; the impact on economic development. The findings of the study proved that lack of infrastructure holds back economic development raises unemployment and promotes poor standard living.

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Surrogacy

Gestational Carrier

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Benefits of Zoo

Disadvantages of Zoo

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this: