Page 12 - Indian Constitution

State govts vs Governors saga takes new twists with SC's intervention

Article 200 of the Constitution asks Governors to sign Bills passed by legislatures 'as soon as possible', and state governments requested the apex court to prescribe a time limit for it

Increase in litigation reflects people's confidence in system: SC judge

Supreme Court judge Justice Rajesh Bindal on Tuesday said the increase in litigation should not dishearten anybody as it shows people's confidence in the country's legal system. Delivering a lecture as part of the Constitution Day celebrations at the India International University of Legal Education and Research (IIULER) in Goa, Justice Bindal said that around five crore cases are pending in civil courts in the country, including 4.2 crore cases in district courts, about 60 lakh in the high courts and 70,000 in the Supreme Court. If the average number of parties in each case was assumed to be four and each party's family member average taken as four, the total number of people affected by the pendency would be five crore multiplied twice by four and it comes to 80 crore. Then there are a large number of witnesses also associated with these cases, he said. In a country with a population of 140 crore, this number shows that the legal fraternity is connected with almost everybody's ..

Necessary to defeat BJP to save Constitution and democracy: Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said it is "necessary to defeat the BJP" to "save the Constitution and democracy" in the country. Addressing the 'Samvidhan Bachao Maharally' organised in Mati on the occasion of the Constitution Day, Yadav said, "Today is a historic day. This day tells us that if democracy survives and the Constitution survives then we can take our rights from the governments through the right of one vote that we have got." "The people of the BJP do not believe in law and the Constitution. To save the Constitution and democracy, it is necessary to defeat the BJP. No one is getting justice in the BJP government," he added, according to a statement issued by the Samajwadi Party (SP) here. The rally was organised by Raja Ram Pal, former MP from Uttar Pradesh's Akbarpur Lok Sabha constituency. Yadav claimed that "samajwadis" are struggling the most and taking risks to save the Constitution in the country. "We all are taking a pledge today to save the ...

Need to make laws simpler, relatable to younger generation: Justice Khanna

Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjiv Khanna Sunday said there was a "pressing need" to make laws simpler, accessible, more humane and relatable to the younger generation. The top court judge, who is next-in-line to become the Chief Justice of India (CJI) after the retirement of incumbent CJI D Y Chandrachud in November next year, said that the Indian Constitution was a "living document" influencing millions of lives and urged all to "move forward with determination unity and optimism". Justice Khanna was speaking at a Constitution Day event in the Supreme Court in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu, CJI Chandrachud, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and several other dignitaries. Since 2015, November 26 is observed as Constitution Day to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India by the Constituent Assembly in 1949. Earlier, the day was observed as Law Day. "As we commemorate the 74th Constitution Day, we find ourselves at a pivotal moment in our nation's journey.

India came out of adverse situations due to its Constitution, says Meghwal

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Sunday said India was able to strengthen democracy as the judiciary and the governments did their work. He also said that India fared better than its neighbours due to its Constitution, which he described as a living document. Addressing an event in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu and Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud to celebrate Constitution Day, the minister said the country has been able to come out of adverse situations due to its Constitution. "Countries around us got independence -- Pakistan attained independence with us; Sri Lanka got independence before us but disturbance, Nepal there was disturbance, there was disturbance in Myanmar," he said adding Bangladesh also faced problems. "But there is only one key reason as to why we moved in the right direction. We had the living document, the Constitution," he said. The minister said India came out several adverse situations due to the Constitution. "We came out of variou

'Systematic', 'strident' attack on Constitution by BJP-RSS visible: Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday accused the BJP government of using every trick in its textbook to crush and curtail freedoms enshrined in the Constitution, and said every citizen should question the attack on the Constitution, its ethos and values. His remarks come on Constitution Day, which marks the day when India adopted the Constitution in 1949. In a post on X, Kharge said, "The Constitution of India is the lifeline of our Democracy". "As we observe and celebrate the 74th Constitution Day, we bow in utmost reverence to its makers for they guaranteed the social, economic and political rights of every Indian," the Congress chief said. Kharge charged that the present regime is using every trick in its textbook to crush and curtail all freedoms enshrined in the Constitution. The "systematic and strident attack" on the Constitution by the BJP-RSS is visible in the "rampant misuse" of every nut and bolt of the government machinery, he alleged. "As a nation state,

Bihar urges Centre for 65% quota in 9th Schedule to seek legal shield

The Bihar government on Wednesday decided to urge the Centre to incorporate the hiked reservation for deprived castes from 50 to 65 per cent in state government jobs and educational institutions in the 9th schedule of the Constitution, so that it is guaranteed immunity from legal scrutiny, an official said. The Ninth Schedule of the Constitution includes a list of Central and state laws that cannot be challenged in courts. In 1992, the Supreme Court capped reservations for the backward classes at 50 per cent. The Cabinet also increased the dearness allowance of government employees in Bihar by 4 per cent. They will get a DA of 46 per cent with effect from July 1 this year, Additional Chief Secretary (Cabinet Secretariat), S Siddharth, told reporters after the Cabinet meeting. The Nitish Kumar government on Tuesday issued gazette notifications for raising the quota for deprived castes to 65 per cent, after Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar gave his assent to two bills, paving the

Citizens don't have right to know source of electoral bond funds: Centre

Attorney General R Venkataramani said that the Constitution has not conferred citizens with a fundamental right to know the source of electoral bond funds

The Constitution: An imperfect charter

Colonial or otherwise, our Constitution requires more than just tinkering to align it with ground reality

SC appoints sign-language interpreter to help hearing-impaired persons

Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud on Friday announced the appointment of a sign-language interpreter by the Supreme Court to help hearing-impaired lawyers and litigants to comprehend judicial proceedings. "Today, we have an interpreter whom the Supreme Court has appointed," the CJI said at the outset of the proceedings. "This is a historic moment," a lawyer said. The CJI said he wanted to have a sign-language interpreter for the Constitution bench hearings. On September 22, a bench headed by the CJI heard hearing-impaired lawyer Sarah Sunny through sign-language interpreter Saurav Roy Chowdhury in a case related to the rights of persons with disability (PwD). Lawyers and bar bodies had lauded the fact that the Supreme Court allowed a hearing-impaired lawyer to argue a case through a sign-language interpreter. CJI Chandrachud, who is sensitive towards providing accessibility to justice delivery systems to the differently-abled, also constituted a Supreme Court committee

Indian constitution protects its linguistic minorities: Activists at UNHRC

A group of NGOs and social activists informed the United Nations about the Indian Constitution which protects the country's linguistic minorities, especially in the Northeast region.They were speaking at a side event organised by Sindhi Adhikar Manch (Association) titled "Linguistic Minorities & Human Rights in India" during the 54th Session of the UN Human Rights Council.The panellists included Gobind Gurbani, CEO of Sindhi Adhikar Manch (Association), Parmita Sarma from Akshar Foundation and Arvind Kumar from Focus Global Reporter.Gurbani addressed the audience and emphasised that Article 30(1) of the Indian Constitution provided a fundamental right to linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutes of their choice.Article 350 A empowers the state to establish and impart primary education in the mother tongueGurbani added that Sindhis came to India empty-handed after partition in 1947 but have been supported by the government as partners in ...

LIVE: RS passes Bill to reserve 33% of seats for women in LS, Assemblies

Day 3 of Parliament's special session will commence today. Catch all the latest updates from the session here

LS passes 128th CAB paving way to 33% reservation for women in parliament

454 members vote in favour, 2 against; Rajya Sabha may take up the Bill today; Home minister indicates provision may become a reality by 2029

'Socialist, secular' in the Preamble to Constitution: All you need to know

The two terms 'socialist' and 'secular' were inserted into the Preamble by the 42nd Amendment of the Constitution in 1976

'Socialist, Secular' removed from new copies of Constitution: Adhir Ranjan

He alleged, "Their intention is suspicious. It has been done cleverly. It is a matter of concern for me"

Special session of Parliament to begin today: Here is all you need to know

Parliament special session: On August 31, the Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Prahlad Joshi announced that a special session will be held from September 18 to 22

All-party meet: Oppn dub bill on EC appointments as anti-Constitution

Several opposition leaders on Sunday dubbed the bill on the appointment and service conditions of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners as "anti-Constitution" and "anti-democratic", sources said. They spoke against the bill at an all-party meeting convened by the government on the eve of the five-day Parliament session beginning Monday. The bill seeks to replace the Chief Justice of India with a cabinet minister in the panel for selection of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners, in a move that will allow the government to have more control in the appointment of members of the poll panel. The bill comes months after the Supreme Court in March ruled that a three-member panel, headed by the Prime Minister and comprising the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India, will select the CEC and ECs till a law is framed by Parliament on the appointment of these commissioners. According to the Chief Election Commissioner a

SC refers pleas challenging sedition law to bench of at least five judges

The Supreme Court on Tuesday referred to a Constitution bench of at least five judges a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the colonial-era provision of sedition under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud declined the request of the Centre to defer the reference to a larger bench as Parliament is in the process of re-enacting the provisions of the penal code. The bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, directed the apex court registry to place the papers before the CJI so that appropriate decision can be taken on the administrative side for constitution of a bench of "strength of at least five judges". The apex court had on May 1 deferred the hearing on these pleas after the Centre had said it was at an advanced stage of consultation on re-examining the penal provision. On August 11, in a landmark move to overhaul colonial-era criminal laws, the Centre had introduced in the Lok Sabha three bills t

2014 verdict striking down DSPE Act will have retrospective operation: SC

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that its 2014 verdict, which had struck down a provision of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946 which provided immunity from arrest for officers of the level of joint secretary and above, will have retrospective operation. In its May 2014 judgement, the apex court had held as invalid section 6A(1) of the Act, which required approval of the Centre to conduct any inquiry or investigation into any offence alleged to have been committed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, where such allegation relates to employees of central government of the level of joint secretary and above. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul delivered its verdict on the issue of whether the striking down of the provision granting immunity from arrest would have a retrospective effect in view of rights protected under Article 20 of the Constitution. Article 20 of the Constitution provides for protection in respect of convictio

India, that is Bharat, in Article 1 of Constitution: A look at the debate

On September 17, 1949, B R Ambedkar presented the final version of the provision to the House, which included both 'Bharat' and 'India'