QBullet: SC Hearing on Right to Privacy; Nagaland Floor Test Today
Here’s a look at what’s making headlines.
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1) Now, Nine-Judge Constitution Bench to Hear Aadhaar Petitions
A nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court will, on 19 July, hear the question whether privacy in the world’s largest democracy is a fundamental human right and is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution.
The decision, taken by a five-judge Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India JS Khehar, follows the filing of a bunch of petitions contending that the Aadhaar scheme, which requires the mandatory parting of biometric details, is a violation of the citizens' right to privacy.
Two judgments of the Supreme Court – the MP Sharma verdict pronounced by the then full quorum of eight judges of the Supreme Court shortly after the adoption of the Constitution in 1950 and the Kharak Singh verdict of 1962 by a six-judge Bench – had dominated the judicial dialogue on privacy over the past decades. Both judgments had concluded that privacy was not a fundamental or guaranteed right.
Source: The Hindu
2) Mayawati’s Resignation From Rajya Sabha Unlikely to be Accepted as Letter Breaks Parliamentary Procedure
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati resigned from Parliament on Tuesday, hours after storming out of the Rajya Sabha over not being allowed time to complete her speech on alleged Dalit atrocities in Uttar Pradesh.
The resignation of Mayawati, a Dalit leader and a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, may not be accepted since it does not follow a prescribed format, but her move could her score a political point by projecting herself as a champion of the Dalit cause.
In her three-page resignation letter, she detailed the morning’s incident as the reason for her decision, which technically is a breach of protocol. A parliamentarian cannot cite a motive or reason for quitting, parliamentary procedure dictates.
Source: Hindustan Times
3) Nagaland Trust Vote: Guwahati HC Rejects CM’s Plea, Fresh Floor Test on Wednesday
In what can be described as a major setback to Nagaland chief minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu, the Kohima bench of the Guwahati High Court on Tuesday rejected his contentions against a directive by the governor to go for a floor test, and pushed the ball back to the Raj Bhavan saying it was up to him (governor) to take a decision.
A couple of hours after the High Court order was out, governor PB Acharya issued fresh orders calling for an emergency special session of the Nagaland Assembly on Wednesday morning with an one-point agenda “to test the majority support” of the present cabinet led by chief minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu.
Source: The Indian Express
4) No End in Sight to Bihar Crisis
Amid a standoff between the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Janata Dal(U), partners in the grand alliance in Bihar, RJD leader and Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav on Tuesday met Chief Minister Nitish Kumar after a Cabinet meeting.
Sources in the two parties told The Hindu that Mr. Kumar insisted that Mr. Tejaswi Yadav resign, while the Minister said his party would meet the charges made against him legally. Later, RJD Ministers and leaders gathered at the residence of party chief Lalu Prasad and discussed the political situation.
The meeting went on for about 40 minutes. Later, Mr. Tejaswi Yadav came out and drove straight to the 10 Circular Road residence of Mr. Prasad, where party Ministers and some senior party leaders were waiting for him. After he reached there and shared what transpired between him and Mr. Kumar, the RJD leaders held another meeting.
Later, State Congress leaders too reached Mr. Prasad’s residence and got into a huddle.
Source: The Hindu
5) Baiters Reminded of Godse
Ever since Gopalkrishna Gandhi’s name was confirmed as the Opposition candidate for Vice-President, a vicious campaign has been launched online that his “only ‘credentials’ are that he filed mercy petition for terrorist Yakub Memon”.
Today, Gopalkrishna issued a gentle reminder to those short on memory: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s sons Mani Lal Gandhi and Ramdas Gandhi had appealed against the death sentence handed to Nathuram Godse who assassinated the Mahatma.
Not just for Godse. The sons had also pleaded for mercy for Narayan Apte, who was present at the spot when Godse pulled the trigger. In spite of the appeals, both Godse and Apte were hanged in 1949.
What Gopalkrishna was saying was that his appeal for mercy was rooted in his belief that the death penalty was wrong and was not confined to an individual.
“I believe that the death penalty and capital punishment belong to the medieval ages,”,” Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson told reporters on Tuesday.
Source: The Telegraph
6) China ‘Unusually Aggressive’ Over Sikkim Standoff, says Jaishankar, but Downplays Issue as ‘Media Hype’
China has been unusually aggressive in the standoff with India near the Sikkim border but the two sides are trying to find a solution through diplomatic channels, the government said on Tuesday, hours after Beijing issued a fresh warning to New Delhi.
Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a face-off in the Donglang or Doklam region at the tri-junction of the boundaries of India, Bhutan and China since June 16. India has said its troops acted in coordination with the Bhutan government to oppose the construction of a road by Chinese troops in the strategic region.
On Tuesday, foreign secretary S Jaishankar briefed the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. The panel’s members, including Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, posed a series of questions to him pertaining to stand-off.
Source: Hindustan Times
7) Scolded for Using Mobile, Jawan Shoots Major with AK-47
An army officer belonging to 71 Armoured Regiment has been allegedly shot dead by a jawan on 17 July after they had an altercation over using cellphone while on duty in a sensitive area.
The officer has been identified as Major Shikhar Thapa was shot 5 times by the jawan on Monday night.
Thapa had pulled up the jawan, who hasn't been identified, and told him he would be reported to the commanding officer for using his cellphone while on duty, Hindustan Times reported.
Read the full story on The Quint.
8) Kerala CM Vijayan Writes to PM Modi over ‘Language Discrimination’ in Delhi University
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Tuesday wrote to the Prime Minister against alleged discrimination by the Delhi University against students who include Malayalam or several other languages in their ‘best of four’ while seeking admission to undergraduate courses.
The Indian Express had, on 12 July, reported that Malayalam, Nepali, Tamil, Odia, Kannada, Marathi and several other languages were not listed as ‘academic subjects’ by DU, and attracted a 2.5 percent deduction in the aggregate marks if included in the ‘best of four’. The reason is that these are not included in the list of modern Indian languages recognised by DU, and the university does not have departments teaching these subjects.
Source: The Indian Express
9) SDMC to Install 100 Water ATMs in Delhi
After NDMC, South Delhi Municipal Corporation has initiated a project to install 100 water ATMs and 100 mobile toilet vans across its area.
The move has come after LG Anil Baijal held a meeting with the civic bodies last month and directed them to ensure that water ATMs are installed across Delhi at the earliest and are maintained properly .
Senior officials claimed that the tender has been floated and once installed, people can get chilled filtered water for just Rs 2 (250ml). “Paper glasses will be available at every water ATM. If someone wants to fill their bottle, they will have to pay Rs 5 per litre,“ a senior official said.
Source: Times of India
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