14 April 2023

DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS

Q1. The development of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which draws from the best traditions and harmonizes them with the current constitutional values of India, is a crucial step in the development of the country as a whole. Look critically at. (250 words)

 Paper & Topic: GS II – Indian Constitution

Model Answer:

Introduction:

• A single body of law covering the entire country that would apply to all religious groups in matters pertaining to their private life, such as adoption, inheritance, and marriage, would be provided through a standard civil code. It proposes to replace the personal laws based on the scriptures and customs of each significant religious community in the country with a unified set of laws regulating all citizens.
• The government is required by Article 44 of the Constitution to endeavour to guarantee that all Indians have access to a single civil code.

Body:

Background:

• The Supreme Court defended the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867 in its decision, saying that Goa is a “shining example” with a Uniform Civil Code.
• Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) S. A. Bobde recently complimented the Uniform Civil Code of Goa and asked “intellectuals” participating in “academic talk” to visit there to learn more about it.
• The Delhi High Court agreed that the nation needed a civil code that was “common to all” and instructed the federal government to take the necessary steps in this regard.

India is the ideal nation for UCC:

• Promotion of secularism: Regardless of a person’s religious affiliation, all people must be subject to the same set of laws, which is the basis of real secularism. A secular republic requires common law that applies to all citizens rather than norms that are differentiated depending on religious beliefs. It would help to end gender discrimination based on religion and maintain the secular fabric of the country.
• Protection of Women’s Rights & Vulnerable Groups: The most vulnerable sections of society will be protected. Women have been subjected to discrimination through personal laws in the name of sociocultural and religious customs. In order to protect women’s rights to a life of dignity and to have control over both their bodies and their lives, UCC may therefore bring all communities together.
• Gender equity: Women’s rights are usually limited under Hindu and Islamic law. The Indian Constitution’s protection of fundamental liberties is in contradiction with certain religiously based conventions. The government should adopt a universal civil code, according to a number of court decisions, most notably the Shah Bano case ruling.
• stops discrimination on the basis of religion: Personal laws make distinctions according to a person’s religious beliefs. A single statute with the same rules regarding extramarital affairs will provide justice for those who feel they have been treated unfairly.
• Many harmful, unequal, and unreasonable rituals and traditions that are now observed in many civilizations can be eliminated with the help of a reasonable, uniform, and common personal law. For instance, laws that prohibit manual scavenging. This behavior cannot be justified in a mature democracy like India, notwithstanding the possibility that it was commonplace in the past.
• Indian law, which includes the Evidence Act, Partnership Act, Sale of Goods Act, and Civil Procedure Code, follows a single code in the vast majority of civil proceedings. States have, however, made many modifications, thus there are differences in some areas even under these secular civil standards.
• UCC shouldn’t be dismissed as a pipe dream, according to Justice Prathiba M. Singh of the Delhi High Court, as caste, community, and religious divisions are gradually eroding in contemporary Indian society.
• UCC facilitates administration, making it simple to manage India’s enormous population base.

The following issues stand in the way of UCC passing:

• A uniform civil code is opposed by religious organizations because they believe it would interfere with religious matters and violate the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by article 25 of the constitution.
• If the whole nation were painted the same hue, diversity would be reduced. Every tribe has unique customs and rituals that are a reflection of their culture. If a single set of laws replaces all of a tribe’s customs and traditions, the tribe may go through an identity crisis. This might make social discontent worse.
• If communal politics were to be implemented, they would be a tyranny for the minority and lead to a lot of unrest across the country.
• Threat to Multiculturalism: The unique characteristics of Indian society’s multicultural identity may be eliminated by a single set of laws.
• likewise impacts the majority Hindus, for example, have particular laws that only apply to them. As a result, both the majority and the minority are impacted by this issue.
• Lack of political will: Because the BJP government has already resolved more significant issues like the Ayodhya conflict and the repeal of Article 370, UCC may be implemented with enough political will.
• Sensitive and challenging task – To create such a code in its true spirit, it is necessary to freely borrow from different personal laws, gradually amend each, issue judicial declarations guaranteeing gender equality, and adopt expansive interpretations of marriage, maintenance, adoption, and succession by taking into account the benefits that one community receives from the others. To finish this assignment, a lot of time and resources will be required. Government should always be fair and considerate to both majority and minority communities. In any other circumstance, it might lead to much more terrible intergroup conflict.
• Time is not yet right for this reform; there needs to be enough time to inspire confidence in the community given the strong opposition from the Muslim community in India, the overlap with other controversies like the beef scandal, the saffronization of college and high school curricula, and the top leadership’s silence on these issues. Otherwise, these attempts to make things more equitable will backfire, increasing the unease and susceptibility of Muslims and other minorities to being led to fundamentalist and extreme viewpoints.

Moving forward:

• The communities themselves should initiate the current personal law reforms, which call for extensive sensitization efforts.
• Existing institutions must be strengthened, modernized, and made more democratic to support this transformation. Across all religions, there must be serious efforts made to empower women.
• UCC can only develop through an evolutionary process that safeguards India’s extensive legal tradition and treats all personal laws equally.
• A diverse civil code must give way to a uniform one gradually; it cannot happen quickly. As a result, the administration must make gradual progress rather than quick decisions.
• People from many societies must converse and deliberate in order to discover common ground.

Conclusion:

• The foundational principles of the Constitution acknowledge diversity and make an effort to promote harmony among people of different denominations.  Although highly desirable, a unified legal system might potentially undermine the integrity and cohesion of the nation. Therefore, a single body of law should only include those components of rituals and traditions that hurt people. Reform and order must be implemented gradually in a democracy with the rule of law.

Q2. It is important to understand how the undertrials’ delayed justice-seeking is related to the urgent need for reform in the criminal justice system, particularly with relation to jail upgrades. Elucidate. (250 words)

 Paper & Topic: GS II – Election related issues

Model Answer:

Introduction:

• The almost a century-old prison system in India is in dire need of modernization. The seventh schedule of the Indian Constitution’s State List, item 4, describes the management of prisons in India as a state affair. However, they have generally been inadequately cared after and neglected.

Body:

A few key findings from the 2020 prison statistics include:

• More than 70% of these inmates come from underrepresented racial, ethnic, religious, and gender categories, according to data from 2020 jails.
• It claims that when compared to 2019, “the release of undertrials has decreased by 19.6 percent and the release of convicts has decreased by 41.2 percent.”
• In comparison to 2019, there were 11.4% more detainees and 11.7% more offenders awaiting trial in 2020.
• 2020 saw a 7% increase in incarceration-related deaths as a result of prisons’ implementation of a lockdown on public accountability. Inmates’ “unnatural deaths,” which include suicides, accidents, and killings, increased by 18.1%.

Prison reforms are required:

• Jail reform is necessary to safeguard inmates’ human rights and increase their chances of reintegrating into society.
• Since prisons are integrated into society, prison health is public health. It is essential to have enough medical resources.
• Undertrials were imprisoned in enormous numbers during the epidemic, resulting in overcrowded prisons that were a humanitarian disaster. Prison administrators fought to prevent a spreading outbreak among the staff and inmates as hundreds of criminals fell ill and several died.
• The majority of “overcrowding” in our jails, in the opinion of specialists, is caused by the widespread imprisonment of pre-trial convicts. The state’s penal policy has not placed a high premium on decriminalization.
• Instead, it has resulted in a staggering 40.1% increase in detentions from 2015 to 2020 (as of December 31, 2020) and an increase of 31.8% in the number of prisoners who are awaiting trial.
• Grave human rights breaches include overcrowding in prisons, biased trials, and brutality in detention facilities.
• The health of convicts declines in overcrowded prisons where there is poor nutrition, bad cleanliness, and little access to exercise and fresh air.
• The majority of illnesses that convicts are susceptible to also afflict prison staff.
• According to the NCRB, 1.2% of prisoners have mental illness, which results in unfair treatment, discrimination, and denial of their right to good health.
• The Bangkok Rules of the UN have been flagrantly violated; they state that “non-custodial means should be preferred for pregnant women during the pre-trial phase.”
• Public interest requests to the committees to adopt a public health and gender-sensitive classification to decongest the nation’s most overcrowded prisons were rejected.
• Many offenders are unable to post bail or offer sureties because of their financial circumstances.
• Fundamental rights may be violated in prisons that are not frequently inspected by the public.
• Most of the CCTV cameras that have been put in prisons are inoperative.

Moving forward:

• Governments and courts take a public health and gender-sensitive attitude when it comes to the issue of imprisoning numerous criminals while they await trial.
• With the aid of prison watchdogs, it is vital to hold these dreary incarceration facilities accountable.
• The decrease in the proportion of those in custody awaiting trial who are freed from custody and the increase in mortality while in detention must be considered a humanitarian tragedy.
• It is necessary to examine the HPCs’ unnecessarily bureaucratic methodology.
• Courts must prioritize the experiences of prisoners in “lockdown” prisons rather than making empty promises of reform that will never materialize.
• Qualified healthcare professionals who are not employed by the jail administration are required to give services to inmates.
• Commission on Prison and Jail Overcrowding: Should meet periodically to discuss any issue regarding prisons.
• A swift and thorough investigation must be conducted by an impartial investigative agency within a predetermined time frame for any offense, such as Custodial Violence. This ensures police accountability.

Conclusion:

• It’s time to end the law’s commitment to harshly, inhumanely, and degradingly punishing those who are being held pending trial. Pre-trial inmates must no longer be imprisoned in great numbers. Any society must find it abhorrent when there is institutionalized disdain for the harsh and inhumane treatment of captives.