Class Notes 4 You

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier organisation to look into corruption and other conventional crimes. CBI derives its power of investigation from Delhi Police establishment act. But to make any probe in the State, CBI needs either General or specific consent. Recently, 8 states have withdrawn their consent to the CBI to initiate fresh probes in their jurisdictions. This has brought the concept of Federalism in discussion that how much power CBI and State possess in their respective jurisdiction Power of State and CBI in centrality of the Federalism: Sections 5 and 6 of the DSPE Act deal with the extension of powers and jurisdiction of special police establishment to other areas and the requirement of consent of the state governments. The Supreme Court has said that though Section 5 enables the Centre to extend powers and jurisdiction to DSPE members beyond union territories to a state, Section 6 makes it compulsory to take prior approval from the concerned state for ...

The doctrine of the basic structure of the Constitution was evolved by the Supreme Court in Kesavananda Bharati case as a way out to address the tussle between the power of parliament to amend the constitution and the scope of judicial review. Article 368 of the Indian Constitution empowers the Parliament to amend the constitution by way of addition, variation or repeal of any provision of this Constitution in accordance with the procedure laid down in the article 368. But it is a limited power of the Parliament in the sense:  If the parliament wants to make any changes or amend the Constitution, they have to propose the bill in the parliament and after the voting if the bill gets the majority, the bill will be sent to the president for his consent who enjoys veto power. If the Amendment was passed by the parliament and if the judiciary feels to review it, the judiciary has the power and if the judiciary thinks that Amendment is unlawful or against any provision or against publi...

The Indian Constitution provides for division of powers among the Centre and the states. However, there are certain provisions that exhibit the centralising tendencies. Hence, Sir Ivor Jennings has called a quasi - federal constitution with unitary bias. Epidemic Disease Act: • This Act empowers the state governments to prescribe regulations regarding any person or group of people to contain the spread of COVID-19. On the contrary, the Centre applied and relied more on the Disaster Management Act 2005. • All the states and union territories of India are advised to invoke the provisions of Section 2 of the Epidemic Disease Act 1897. The section includes special measures to be taken by the Centre to prescribe regulations as to dangerous epidemic disease. Disaster Management Act: • The act allows the centre to issue guidelines, directions or order to the state for mitigating the effect of disaster. However, Public health and sanitation is under the State list. • Section 72 of the Disaster...

Constitutional Morality means adherence to or being faithful to bottom line principles of constitutional values. It includes commitment to an inclusive and democratic political process in which both individual and collective interests are satisfied. While the term ‘Constitutional Morality’ is not found in the Indian Constitution, nevertheless it is rooted in various facets of the constitution. 1. Preamble : Outlines principles such as justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity as the cornerstones of our democracy. 2. Fundamental Rights : Protects the rights of individuals against arbitrary use of power by the State. Especially, Article 32 provides for enforcement of these rights in SC. 3. Directive Principles of State Policy : Guidelines to the State to implement the vision of the makers of the constitution. These include Gandhian, Socialist and Liberal-Intellectual directions. Constitutional morality through judicial decisions : 1. Government of NCT of Delhi Vs. Union of India : In t...

The debate on development vs environment protection has engulfed all facets of human existence and Mountain Ecosystems are no different. The trans Himalayas, Himalayas, hills of north east and western ghats are among the major Mountain ecosystems in India threatened by Anthropogenic activities. Negative Impacts of tourism and development initiatives: 1. Poorly designed infrastructure without factoring the geo sensitivity of the region. 2. Unsustainable tourism prevalent by high carbon footprint and low eco conservation. 3. Poor waste disposal and management leads to loss of aesthetics. 4. Air and water pollution. 5. Biodiversity loss. Restorative steps from the negative impacts: 1. Follow recommendations of Kasturirangan committee for conservation of western ghats and scale up with modifications to other regions. 2. Sustainable Infrastructure development keeping in mind ecological sensitivity with special focus on traditional structures. 3. National Mission on Sustaining Himala...

Water stress is a situation in which the water resources in a region or country are insufficient for its needs. According to the World Resources Institute, India is ranked 13/ 17 in most water-stressed countries of the world. NITI Aayog’s Composite Water Management Index states that 21 major cities in India are threatened by severe water stress. Regional Variation of water stress: 1. Eastern India receives adequate rainfall and hence suffers from minimum scarcity. 2. Though parts of North east India receive very heavy rainfall, in many parts there is flooding in the wet season while there is water scarcity in dry season. E.g., Cherrapunji. 3. Central and western India receive low rainfall hence are water stressed. E.g., Vidarbha. 4. Parts of upper gangetic plains and north west India are facing acute water stress due to overexploitation of groundwater for irrigation. 5. Coastal regions suffer from low water stress due to good orographic rainfall and proximity to the seas. Reasons for r...

Mangroves or tidal forests are salt-tolerant vegetation that grows in intertidal regions. They have significant environmental and economic benefits but are under serious threat due to anthropogenic activities. Causes of Depletion: Clearing of forest for agriculture, infra projects and shrimp farming. Overexploitation for fuelwood, softwood, leaves etc. Increased freshwater flow from rivers disturbs the salinity and sediment balance. Rise in SST (Sea surface temperature) leading to warming up of water bodies and increased instances and intensity of cyclones, floods, etc. Role of mangroves in maintaining coastal ecology: Highly diverse ecosystem housing a variety of flora and fauna, often exotic and threatened ones. Natural breakwaters to cyclones, tsunami and storm surges protecting coastal ecosystems. Water filtration and aquifer recharge. Provision of tangible output like wood, leaves etc. Recreation, tourism and livelihood for coastal communities. Strict policy implementation, commun...