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Jan 26, 2022
SUPREME COURT'S VERDICT ON INHERITANCE OF DAUGHTERS
The Supreme Court has ruled that the property of a man who has died without executing a will and is survived only by a daughter will devolve upon the daughter and not others such as his brother.
Supreme court verdict
It stated that
The laws governing child custody:
The Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act (HMGA) 1956:
Highlights:
Key highlights
About the Award:
Climate Change in the Region:
Location of Peru:
- The case involved a dispute over the property of a person who died in 1949 leaving behind a daughter who also died issueless in 1967.
Supreme court verdict
It stated that
- Smritis, the Commentaries written by various renowned learned persons and even judicial pronouncements have recognised the rights of several female heirs, the wives and the daughter’s being the foremost of them.
- If a property of a male Hindu dying intestate is a self-acquired property or obtained in partition of a co-parcenery or a family property, the same would devolve by inheritance and not by survivorship, and a daughter of such a male Hindu would be entitled to inherit such property in preference to other collaterals.
- It is an Act relating to the succession and inheritance of property.
- This Act also deals with intestate or unwilled (testamentary) succession.
- This Act combines all the aspects of Hindu succession and brings them into its ambit.
- Any person who is Hindu by religion or any of its forms or developments, including a Virashaiva, Lingayat, or a Brahmo, Prarthna or Arya Samaj follower.
- Any person who is a Buddhist, Sikh or Jain by religion.
- Any other person who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi, Jew, unless it is proved that such person would not be governed by Hindu law or custom.
- This Act shall also extend to the whole of India.
- However, this Section shall not apply to any Scheduled Tribes covered under the meaning of Article 366 of the Constitution, unless otherwise directed by the Central Government by a notification in the Official Gazette.
- Any property whose succession comes under the regulation of the Indian Succession Act, 1925by reasons of the provision under Section 21 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
- Section 21 of the Special Marriage Act states that succession to the property of any person whose marriage is solemnized under this Act and the property of the issue of such marriage shall be governed by the Special Marriage Act.
- Any estate or property which goes to the single heir through the terms of any agreement or covenant formed between the Ruler of an Indian State and the Government or through any enactment formed and passed before the commencement of this Act.
- When the succession of the property is governed by a testament or a will, then it is referred to as testamentary succession.
- Under Hindu law, a Hindu male or female can make the will for the property, including that of a share in the undivided Mitakshara coparcenary property, in favour of anyone.
- In Mitakshara law, on the death of a coparcener, his interest became merged with that of the surviving coparceners.
- Sons inherited property only by virtue of being or becoming coparceners.
- The distribution will be under the provisions of the will and not through the laws of inheritance.
- Someone who dies leaving behind no will or testament.
- When such a situation happens, then this property will be distributed among the legal heirs by the laws of inheritance.
- Women are granted ownership of property, whether it was acquired before or after the commencement of the Act, thus abolishing their ‘limited owner’ status.
- It is an amendment to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.
- It was essentially meant for removing gender discriminatory provisions regarding property rights in the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.
- This act is of coparcener, which means that” By birth becomes a coparcener in her own right in the same manner as the son to the daughter or women”.
- It provided that daughters would be entitled to an equal share in the property as the son.
The laws governing child custody:
The Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act (HMGA) 1956:
- The natural guardian of a Hindu minor boy or unmarried girl shall be the father and mother.
- Custody of a minor, below five years of age, shall ordinarily be with the mother.
- The HMGA does not contain any independent, legal or procedural mechanism for deciding custody rights or declaring court-appointed guardians.
- The law is colonial in nature.
- This deals with the appointment of a person as a ‘guardian’ to a child, both with respect to the child and property.
- Child custody, guardianship and visitation issues between parents are determined under the GWA, if a natural parent wants to be declared as an exclusive guardian to his/her own child.
- India is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
- The definition of “best interests of the child” has been incorporated from the UNCRC in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
- It means “the basis for any decision taken regarding the child, to ensure fulfilment of his basic rights and needs, identity, social well-being and physical, emotional and intellectual development”.
- It recommended joint custody and shared parenting.
- It disagreed with the idea of singular child custody with one parent.
- The committee said that “best interests of the child” are of paramount importance in matters relating to child custody in view of the UNCRC.
- It recommended a complete draft of The Protection of Children (Inter-Country Removal and Retention) Bill, defining wrongful removal and retention, with a complete mechanism for redress.
- Family courts offer little aid in such cases. Therefore, general guidelines or practice directions by the Supreme Court are the need of the hour.
- Family courts are equipped under the Family Courts Act of 1984 to devise their own procedure, independent of the technicalities of law.
- They can formulate out-of-box methods and insist that children be shared by the father and mother.
- Shared or joint parenting with equal rights is a viable, practical, balanced solution for the child’s optimal growth.
Highlights:
- Pandemic brought economic activity to a standstill for at least two quarters in 2020-21 and resulted in a 7.3% contraction in GDP in 2020-21.
- It hit the urban poor most and eroded their household income.
- Richest 20% of households have, on average, added more income per household and more pooled income as a group in the past five years.
- Exactly the opposite has happened for the poorest 20% of households.
- There has been a rise in the share of poor in cities.
- Poorest 20% (first quintile) witnessed the biggest erosion of 53%
- The second-lowest quintile (lower middle category), too, witnessed a decline in their household income of 32% in the same period.
- Quantum of erosion reduced to 9% for those in the middle-income category.
- The top two quintiles: upper-middle (20%) and richest (20%), saw their household income rise by 7% and 39% respectively.
Key highlights
- Investments of $10 trillion (Rs 744 lakh crore) in the hydrogen sector by 2050 will pull down the cost of the fuel and disrupt the energy sector.
- The cost of green hydrogen will fall from about $3.70per kilogram today to just over $1 kg in 2035, and around $0.75 kg by 2050.
- The annual demand for hydrogen will hit 771 million tonnes globally by 2050, as the industry accelerates decarbonisation efforts.
- Green hydrogen technology will fill the gap between renewable energy and Net Zero carbon emissions.
- Green hydrogen is defined as hydrogen produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity.
- India consumes about six million tonnes of hydrogen every year for the production of ammonia and methanol in industrial sectors, including fertilisers and refineries.
- This could increase to 28 million tonnes by 2050, principally due to the rising demand from the industry, but also due to the expansion of transport and power sectors.
About the Award:
- Administered by: National Disaster Management Authority
- Award is given on: 23rd January on the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
- Aim: To recognize the excellent work done by individuals and institutions in India in the field of Disaster Management.
- Only Indian nationals and Indian institutions can apply for the award.
- For institutional awards: Voluntary organizations, corporate entities, academic/research institutions, response/ uniformed forces, or any other institution may apply for the award.
- The applicant must have worked in the area of Disaster Management like:
- Prevention, Mitigation, Preparedness, Rescue, Response, Relief, Rehabilitation, Research, Innovation or Early Warning related work in India.
- Saving human lives.
- Reduction in the impact of disasters on lives, livestock, livelihoods, property, society, economy, or environment.
- Mobilization and provision of resources for effective response during disasters
- Immediate relief work in disaster-hit areas and communities
- Effective and innovative use of technology in any field of disaster management.
- Disaster mitigation initiatives in hazard-prone areas
- Capacity building of communities for response and risk reduction.
- Early warning and dissemination of disaster risk information to people on a real-time basis.
- Scientific/ technical research and innovation in any field of disaster management.
- Post-disaster recovery and rehabilitation.
- Continued functioning of critical infrastructure and basic services during disasters.
- Creating awareness among the masses for preparedness and risk reduction.
- Institution: A certificate and a cash prize of 51 lakhs.
- Individual: A certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 00 lakhs.
- An application by an institution does not debar any individual from that institution to apply for the award in his individual capacity.
Climate Change in the Region:
- The warm winters and unexpected snowfall are affecting the town of Kaza, which is the largest commercial centre of Spiti Valley.
- Kaza is the gateway to the Himalayan cold desert that spans Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur districts of Himachal Pradesh in the south to Ladakh in the north.
- The rainfall has decreased in Lahaul-Spiti & Kinnaur in the past three decades (1989-2018).
- The area under Ravi, Sutlej, Chenab and Beas basins have shrunk in 2020-21.
- Ladakh’s average temperature has increased in last 3 decades.
- There is a rapid and significant temperature increase over Leh in 1991-2013 after a short period of cooling between 1979 and 1991.
- A declining trend can be seen in the annual precipitation between 1995 and 2012.
- The Pensilungpa glacier in the Zanskar Valley had shrunk by 36% between 1962 and 2012 due to increasing temperature and low winter precipitation.
- Leh and its surrounding mountainous regions were also experiencing short bursts of rainfall.
- It also had an impact on the region’s biodiversity, around its lakes and wetlands.
- Bird species like: the magpie, sparrows and red-billed chough have decreased in number.
- It is a large area of the northern and eastern Kashmir region in the northwestern Indian subcontinent.
- It is divided between Pakistan, as part of Gilgit-Baltistan and India, as part of Ladakh Union Territory.
- It covers about 45,000 square miles and contains the Ladakh Range.
- Ladakh Range is a southeastern extension of the Karakoram Range, and the upper Indus River valley.
- In southeastern Ladakh lies Rupshu, an area of large brackish lakes.
- To the northwest of Rupshu lies the Zaskar Range.
- Zaskar is drained by the Zaskar River which flows northward and joins the Indus River below Leh.
- The climate of Ladakh is cold and dry.
- Average annual precipitation is 80 mm.
- Vegetation is confined to valleys where tamarisk, shrubs, furze and other plants supply firewood.
- Principal products: wheat, barley, millet, peas, beans, and turnips.
- Woolen cloth and other textiles are the primary manufactures.
Location of Peru:
- Peru is a country in western South America.
- Its borders lie in sparsely populated zones except for Lake Titicaca basin in the southeast.
- The boundaries with Colombia to the northeast and Brazil to the east traverse lower ranges or tropical forests.
- The borders with Bolivia to the southeast and Ecuador to the northwest run across the Andes.
- Oil spill is a type of pollution that can occur on land or on water.
- It is basically the release or spillage of petroleum products.
- Most of the oil spills are found in oceans.
- Organic matter from dead living organisms is vital in the formation of oil.
- Therefore, oil exists in most parts of the earth but deep down.
- Natural occurrences like hurricanes, earthquakes and sea storms cause natural oil spills.
- Large oil spills in the world are due to oil transportation.
- Oil tankers usually have faulty issues or collide with other ships, hence causing massive oil spills.
- Many oil rigs are being drilled in seas, some of which have technical issues, hence causing oil spillage.
- People intentionally drain oil products without considering their effects on the environment.
- This happens when mechanics spill oil after changing oil from vehicle or engines.
- Most of these drainage systems are connected to large water bodies.
- This is a hazardous cause of aquatic life.
- Most countries in the middle east are rich in oil that has led to an unending fight between militants and international soldiers.
- Due to many oil wells, smuggling has been a key financial route for the militants. These have also caused massive oil spills.
- Sea plants are important for the survival of marine animals.
- When an oil spill happens, there is no entry of oxygen in the sea.
- This leads to the death of sea plants due to lack of oxygen.
- Aquatic animals are the most affected when an oil spill happens.
- They die due to lack of oxygen in the sea.
- Petroleum products contain toxic chemicals such as benzene, hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and toluene.
- When these chemicals are inhaled by humans it causes health problems.
- They affect lungs, which are a major organ responsible for breathing.
- Coral reefs act as habitat to marine animals.
- Once coral reefs come into contact with oil, they tend to stop its growth.
- Most affected are marine invertebrates which depend on corals for survival.
- Oil spills can affect the drinking water bodies as well.
- Lack of clean drinking water may lead to waterborne diseases hence causing death.
- At present, no method has been developed for cleaning up major oil spills. Though improvements in technology have coordinated responses.
- Floating booms can be placed around the source of the spill and harbors to reduce the spreading of an oil slick over the sea surface.
- Skimming: a technique that use booms is most effective in calm waters.
- It involves various mechanisms that physically separate the oil from the water and place the oil into collection tanks.
- Another approach is to use sorbents like straw, volcanic ash, that absorb the oil from the water.
- International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage (BUNKER) was adopted on 23 March 2001.
- Aim: To ensure adequate and effective compensation is available to persons who suffer damage caused by spills of oil, when carried as fuel in ships' bunkers.
- The Convention applies to damage caused on the territory, including the territorial sea and in economic zones of States Parties.
- The Kerala Bird Atlas (KBA) is the first-of-its-kind state-level bird atlas in India.
- It offers authentic, consistent and comparable data through random sampling from the geographical terrain split into nearly 4000 grids.
- It is considered to be a valuable resource for testing various ecological hypotheses and suggesting science-backed conservation measures.
- Reason for choosing CM from bhandari community: to correct the injustice the Bhandari community suffered at the hands of Goa’s major parties who never picked a CM from the community despite its numerical strength.
- As per the 2011 census, Goa’s population has 66% Hindus, Christians (25%), Muslims (3.5%), and the remaining others.
- The Bhandaris are Goa’s largest caste group constituting more than 30% of Goa’s total Hindu population.
- Their traditional occupation was toddy-tapping and distilling, farm tilling, and working in orchards.
- Bhandaris have the status of Other Backward Class (OBC) in goa.
- As per 2014 data, Bhandari’s accounts for 61% of OBCs in Goa.
- They are spread across Goa and Maharashtra’s Konkan belt including parts of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.
- The two fungi species: Ganoderma keralense and G. pseudoapplanatum
- These fungi grow on the tree trunk and reduce the fertility and growth of Coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) trees, even in the death of the plant.
- This disease is called butt rot or basal stem rot disease of coconut.
- Locally this disease has many names like Ganoderma wilt (Andhra Pradesh), Anaberoga (Karnataka), Thanjavur wilt (Tamil Nadu), etc.
POSTED ON 26-01-2022 BY ADMIN
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