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A seven-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court disagreed with and overruled the majority judgment in the more than quarter-century-old Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) bribery case, in which the Supreme Court had held that members of the legislature enjoy immunity from being charged with bribery in relation to the way they vote or speak in the House.
The details of the judgment are awaited. Here, we explain what this landmark case was about.
Article 194(2) of the Constitution states:
“No member of the Legislature of a State shall be liable to any proceedings in any court in respect of anything said or any vote given by him in the Legislature or any committee thereof, and no person shall be so liable in respect of the publication by or under the authority of a House of such a Legislature of any report, paper, votes or proceedings.” Article 105(2) provides identical protections to members of Parliament.
In 1998, a five-judge bench in P.V. Narasimha Rao v State (CBI/SPE) interpreted these articles literally and held that legislators enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution for bribery in matters connected to their speech and votes in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies.
Ideas Page
Why minerals are critical (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Two important steps have been taken by the government in the past year on the subject of critical minerals. The first was to identify a list of 30 critical minerals (apart from rare earths, which are clearly identified in the periodic table) in July 2023 and the second was to amend the existing mining laws in November 2023 to allow private sector participation in the auction of 20 blocks of critical minerals/rare earths.
Critical minerals have no particular definition and countries identify the minerals critical to them using their own criteria. The US has identified 50 minerals while Japan has identified 31.
Critical minerals and rare earths should not be used interchangeably as is done very often. India has identified 30 critical minerals depending upon their disruption potential, substitutability, cross-cutting usage across different sectors, import reliance, recycling rates etc.
The states/UTs which house these 30 identified critical minerals are Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Explained
When lawmakers takes bribe (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
A seven-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, ruled that lawmakers facing bribery charges in connection with their speech and votes in the House cannot be immune from criminal prosecution.
In doing so, the Court held that claims to parliamentary privilege by lawmakers can be subject to judicial review, and only Parliament cannot have the last word on the issue.
Apart from CJI Chandrachud, Justices AS Bopanna, MM Sundaresh, PS Narasimha, JB Pardiwala, Sanjay Kumar and Manoj Mishra were part of the Bench.
Article 105(2) of the Constitution states: “No member of Parliament shall be liable to any proceedings in any court in respect of anything said or any vote given by him in the Parliament or any committee thereof, and no person shall be so liable in respect of the publication by or under the authority of a House of Parliament of any report, paper, votes or proceedings.”
India’s happy leopard story : What headline number does not show (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The results of the 2022 national survey released last week have come up with a leopard population of 13,874 (12,616-15,132). This is a gain of 75% from the 7,910 (6,566-9,181) estimated in 2014.
However, a more realistic comparison should consider the 2018 figures, when the number of camera points increased nearly three times to 26,838 from 9,777 in 2014.
As a result, the number of leopards photographed also increased from 1,647 in 2014 to 5,240 in 2018, leading to a more realistic overall estimate.
The 2022 study deployed cameras at 32,803 locations and reported an 8% jump over the 12,852 (12,172-13,535) estimated in 2018. In the common areas covered in both surveys, the rise in numbers is a more modest 4.4%.
Either way, this may project a perception of stability with marginal growth in the leopard population. But the spotted cat is still not out of the woods because, ironically, that is where they are.
Economy
India – EFTA trade deal: Pharm food processing to be part of investment (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) has agreed to invest $100 billion in India over 15 years in sectors including pharma, food processing, engineering and chemical sector as part of the free trade agreement (FTA) with India that is likely to be announced within a month, a senior government official has said.
The government officials pointed out that the deal will help India diversify its pharma and chemical imports away from China, dependence on which has been a long standing concern for the country.
India primarily depends on Chinese imports in strategically important sectors such as chemical and pharma sectors to fulfill domestic demand and fulfill export orders.
It imported $3.4 billion worth of medical and bulk drugs worth nearly $7 billion, as per commerce and industry ministry data.
As Switzerland chiefly exports better standard pharma and medical devices to India, duty elimination under the deal could help EFTA countries compete with Chinese products that will continue to face high tariffs, hence helping India diversify away from cheap quality Chinese products. India’s average tariffs are among the highest in the world at over 18 per cent. The elimination of the duty under FTA tends to give significant advantage to the FTA partner countries.
World
Shehbaz Sharif sworn in as Pak PM for 2nd term (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on taking oath as the prime minister of Pakistan.
Sharif on Monday took the oath as prime minister of Pakistan, assuming the cash-strapped country's reins for a second time, nearly a month after an inconclusive election marred by allegations of vote rigging.
PM Modi said on X, "Congratulations to @CMShehbaz on being sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan." In the February 8 elections, Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party came second.
Independent candidates backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf won the most seats but failed to get a majority in Parliament.
China to provide free military assistance to Maldives signs deal (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
China Monday signed an agreement to provide free military assistance with Maldives. This agreement comes a week after an Indian civilian team arrived in the country to replace military personnel manning one of the three aviation platforms gifted by New Delhi to Malé.
The agreement between Beijing and Malé was signed by the Maldivian minister of defence Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon and Major General Zhang Baoqun, the Chinese deputy director of the office for international military cooperation.
“Minister of Defence @mgmaumoon and Major General Zhang Baoqun, Deputy Director of the Office for International Military Cooperation of the People’s Republic of China, signed an agreement on China’s provision of military assistance gratis to the Republic of Maldives, fostering stronger bilateral ties.