Polity updates - 01 July 2021 India warns EU nations: After the Covishield and Covaxin vaccines were not included in the "Green Passport scheme"
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Polity updates - 01 July 2021
- India warns EU nations: After the Covishield and Covaxin vaccines were not included in the "Green Passport scheme" of the European Union to facilitate free movement, India requested each of the 27 member countries to individually consider allowing Indians who have taken two vaccine doses to travel to Europe. The states have the flexibility to also accept vaccines authorised at the national level or by the WHO, which allows inclusion of Covishield, but not Covaxin. Several states – Austria, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Slovenia and Spain – have added Covishield, but not Covaxin, which has yet to secure WHO approval. India threatened that citizens of countries which reject Indian vaccines could be placed in quarantine when they travel here, using a medical procedure for diplomatic aims. The Serum Institute of India is confident of receiving approval from the European Medicines Agency for its Covid-19 vaccine Covishield, in a month’s time.
- CJI reminds the need for total freedom : The Chief Justice of India Justice NV Ramana has said that for the judiciary to apply checks on governmental power and action, it has to have complete freedom. The judiciary cannot be controlled, directly or indirectly, by the legislature or the executive, or else the rule of law would become illusory. He said that “judges should not be swayed by the emotional pitch of public opinion either, which is getting amplified through social media platforms.” Significantly, he said that the Indian people have changed the ruling party or combination of parties eight times, which accounts for nearly 50% of the number of general elections, so the masses have performed their duties reasonably well. Now, it is the turn of those who are manning the key organs of the state to ponder if they are living up to the Constitutional mandate. This is a stinging rebuke to the state of affairs, quite unlike the earlier CJI Bobade.
- No longer a terrorist: A 44-year-old Srinagar resident, arrested and jailed nearly 12 years ago on terrorism charges and branded as the “Pepsi Bomber” by the media and the J&K Police, returned home after a lower court in Surat, Gujarat, acquitted him of all charges, including under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Bashir Ahmed Baba, who is from Srinagar’s Rainawari area, says he “never lost faith”. The police planted this racy nickname on Baba, claiming he was skilled in assembling Improvised Explosive Devices in empty Pepsi cans. The media pushed it, though no evidence was offered at the time, or during his trial.
- Adults beware, religious laws are here: The Allahabad High Court has declared three interfaith marriages in violation of UP’s new controversial law. It refused to grant protection to three interfaith couples on the ground that their marriages were “illegal” since they had not complied with the requirements under the recently enacted anti-conversion law ― the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act. While in two of the cases, the women involved had converted to Hinduism from Islam to marry Hindu men, a third case was about a Hindu man converting to Islam to marry Muslim woman. This law and the one in force in Madhya Pradesh has been criticised for being in violation of the basic spirit of the Indian Constitution and a tool to be used against minorities and to curtail the agency of women of all religions.
- SC rebukes government on Covid compensation: A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and MR Shah was unhappy about the delay (and refusal) in granting compensation to the families of Covid-dead in India. It also directed the government to ensure that death certificates clearly stated that a person died from Covid-19 to allow his family members to claim the benefit. It said that the government was bound to pay ex gratia to the next of kin of all those who died of Covid-19, and rejected the Centre’s plea to declare Section 12 of the National Disaster Management Act (NDMA) as nonmandatory and absolve the government of any duty to pay ex gratia to kin of Covid-19 victims. The court left the amount to be decided as per fresh guidelines to be framed by the Authority while giving it six weeks to draw up the guidelines. The PM heads the NDMA. The court was clear that it cannot fix a particular quantum to be paid. Earlier, the Centre had refused to pay Rs.4 lakh for every Covid-19 victim’s kin on the ground that it would be a huge strain on the resources of the central and state governments. It had said it would create infrastructure and augment hospitals, testing and vaccination. The SC noted the amounts paid by different states on account of ex gratia differed hugely, with Karnataka paying Rs.1 lakh, Delhi Rs.50,000 and Bihar Rs.4 lakh. Central guidelines would rationalise such amounts, it said. The order came on a petition filed by Reepak Kansal seeking Rs.4 lakh ex gratia in every Covid-19 case.
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