Today's Headlines

Today's Headlines - 01 June 2023

Immunity under the President’s name

GS Paper - 2 (Polity)

The Supreme Court has held that the government, when entering into a contract under the President’s namecannot claim immunity from the legal provisions of that contract under Article 299 of the Constitution, in a recent case. The case dealt with an application filed by Glock Asia-Pacific Limited, a pistol manufacturing company, against the Centre regarding the appointment of an arbitrator in a tender-related dispute.

What is Article 299 of the Constitution?

  1. Article 298 grants the Centre and the state governments the power to carry on trade or business, acquire, hold, and dispose of property, and make contracts for any purpose, while Article 299 delineates the manner in which these contracts will be concluded.
  2. Articles 298 and 299 came after the Constitution came into effect and the government entered into contracts even in the pre-independence era.
  3. According to the Crown Proceedings Act of 1947, the Crown could not be sued in court for a contract it entered into.
  4. Article 299 of the Constitution provides that “all contracts made in the exercise of the executive power of the Union or of a State shall be expressed to be made by the President or by the Governor of the State” and that all such contracts and “assurances of property made in the exercise of that power shall be executed” on behalf of the President or the Governor by persons in a manner as directed and authorised by them.
  5. Further, the phrase ‘expressed to be made and executed’ under Article 299 (1) means that there must be a deed or contract in writing and that it should be executed by a person duly authorised by the President of the Governor on their behalf.
  6. The objective behind Article 299(1), as per the 1954 top court ruling in ‘Chatturbhuj Vithaldas Jasani v. Moreshwar Parashram & Ors’, is that there must be a definite procedure according to which contracts must be made by agents acting on the government’s behalf; otherwise, public funds may be depleted by unauthorized or illegitimate contracts. It implies that contracts not adhering to the manner given in Article 299(1) cannot be enforced by any contracting party.
  7. However, Article 299 (2) says that essentially, neither the President nor the Governor can be personally held liable for such contracts.

What was the case?

  1. The 19 May ruling delivered by the Bench, also comprising Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala, dealt with an application filed by Glock Asia-Pacific Limited against the Centre on the appointment of an arbitrator in a dispute.
  2. Glock Asia Pacific entered into a contract with the Ministry of Home Affairs for the supply of 31,756 Glock pistols. Subsequently, there was a dispute between the two parties due to the Centre invoking a performance bank guarantee.
  3. A performance bank guarantee, similar to a letter of credit, is the bank’s promise that it will meet the debtor’s liabilities, provided that he fails to meet the contractual obligations.
  4. Glock then issue a notice invoking arbitration, nominating a retired Delhi High Court judge as the sole arbitrator. When the government was called to accept this, it said that the arbitrator’s nomination violated one of the tender conditions that said an officer in the Law Ministry, appointed by the MHA Secretary, would be the arbitrator in case of a dispute.
  5. Thus, Glock challenged this clause in the agreement, which allowed a government officer to resolve the difference between the two parties as an arbitrator, as one party here was the MHA itself.

 

World No-Tobacco Day 2023

GS Paper - 3 (Health and Diseases)

World No Tobacco Day is observed on 31st May each year. It is an annual awareness day organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) to highlight the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocate for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption worldwide.

Goal of this day

  1. The primary goal of World No Tobacco Day is to raise awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco on both individual health and public health.
  2. Tobacco use is a leading cause of preventable deaths globally, causing numerous diseases such as cancercardiovascular diseaseschronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and other respiratory illnesses.
  3. It not only affects the health of the person using tobacco but also harms non-smokers through secondhand smoke exposure.

Origin

  1. World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) originated in 1987 when the World Health Organization (WHO) designated 31st May as a day to raise awareness about the health risks associated with tobacco use.
  2. The annual observance was created to draw attention to the global tobacco epidemic and encourage action to reduce tobacco consumption.
  3. The idea for World No Tobacco Day emerged from the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the WHO. During the assembly's 39th session in 1986, Member States adopted a resolution calling for the establishment of an annual day dedicated to tobacco control.
  4. The goal was to educate the public about the dangers of tobacco, advocate for effective policies, and promote tobacco cessation. Since then, 31st May has been observed as World No Tobacco Day each year

 

India’s new Parliament

GS Paper - 2 (Polity)

In the 75th year of Independence, India has a new Parliament building, built by Indians, and embodies the culture, pride and spirit of the entire nation.

Why does India need a new Parliament building?

  1. The official website of the Central Vista project makes the point that the existing Parliament House, which was commissioned in 1927, is almost a century old Heritage Grade-I building that has seen a massive increase in parliamentary activities and users over the decades.
  2. Ad hoc constructions and modifications have been made over time, and the building “is showing signs of distress and over-utilization and is not able to meet the current requirements in terms of spaceamenities and technology”.

Some of the major issues are:

  1. Narrow seating space for MPs: The present building was never designed to accommodate a bicameral legislature for a full-fledged democracy.
  2. The number of Lok Sabha seats is likely to increase significantly from the current 545 after 2026, when the freeze on the total number of seats lifts.
  3. The seating arrangements are cramped and cumbersome, with no desks beyond the second row. The Central Hall has seating capacity only for 440 persons.
  4. Distressed infrastructure: The addition of services like water supply and sewer linesairconditioningfirefighting equipmentCCTV cameras, etc., have led to seepage of water at several places and impacted the aesthetics of the building.
  5. Obsolete communication structures: Communications infrastructure and technology is antiquated in the existing Parliament, and the acoustics of all the halls need improvement.
  6. Safety concerns: The current Parliament building was built when Delhi was in Seismic Zone-II; currently it is in Seismic Zone-IV, says the website. This raises structural safety concerns.
  7. Inadequate workspace for employees: Over the years, inner service corridors were converted into offices which resulted in poor-quality workspaces.

What are the main features of the new Parliament building?

  1. The new building, which stands alongside the existing Parliament House, “reflects the aspirations of 135 crore Indians”.
  2. The old and new Parliament buildings “will work together as an ensemble” to “facilitate smooth and efficient functioning of operations”.

Salient features of the new Parliament

  1. It has a built-up area of about 65,000 sq m, with its triangular shape ensuring the optimum utilisation of space.
  2. The new building will house a larger Lok Sabha hall with a capacity of up to 888 seats, and a larger Rajya Sabha hall with a capacity of upto 384 seats.
  3. The Lok Sabha may accommodate up to 1,272 seats for joint sessions of Parliament. The Lok Sabha hall is based on the peacock theme, India’s national bird. The Rajya Sabha is based on the lotus theme, India’s national flower.
  4. A state of the art Constitutional Hall in the building “symbolically and physically puts the Indian citizens at the heart of our democracy”.
  5. The new building will have large committee rooms with the latest audio-visual equipment, and will provide a superior library experience.