Jan 3rd, 2022 - Daily Quiz
1.Consider the following Statements:
1. In the Kesavananda Bharti case, the Court for the first time expounded on its power to review amendments to the constitution.
2. It was only through such an exposition that the 39th Amendment Act was struck down in the Indira Gandhi vs. Raj Narain case.
Which of the Statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 Only
(b) 2 Only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
2. Consider the following Statements
1. Alcohol is a subject in the Concurrent list under the seventh schedule of the Indian Constitution.
2. As per DPSP, the state shall undertake rules to bring about prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal purposes of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health.
Which of the Statements given above is/are correct?.
(a) 1 Only
(b) 2 Only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
3. Consider the following Statements regarding Apatani weave:
1. The Apatani weave comes from the Apatani tribe living at Ziro, the headquarters of Lower Subansiri district.
2. The woven fabric of this tribe is known for its geometric and zigzag patterns and for its angular designs.
3. Only women folk are engaged in weaving.
Which of the Statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 1 and 3
(d) 1, 2 and 3
4. To which of the following Consumer Protection (Direct Selling) Rules, 2021 are applicable?
1.All goods and services bought or sold through direct selling.
2.All models of direct selling, all direct selling entities offering goods and services to consumers in India.
3.All forms of unfair trade practices across all models of direct selling.
4. To direct selling entities which are not established in India, but offers goods or services to consumers in India.
Select the correct answer using the following codes:
(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 2, 3 and 4
(c) 1, 3 and 4
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
5.Consider the following Statements regarding the Joint Parliamentary Committee
1.There are twice as many Lok Sabha members as the Rajya Sabha that are decided by Parliament.
2.The proceedings and findings of the committee are always confidential.
3.The government can take the decision to withhold a document if it is considered prejudicial to the safety or interest of the State.
Which of the Statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 1 and 3
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answers
1.c
In the Kesavananda Bharti case, the Court for the first time expounded on its power to review amendments to the constitution.
It was only through such an exposition that the 39th Amendment Act was struck down in the Indira Gandhi vs. Raj Narain case.
The power of judicial review:
The power of judicial review is often sought to be branded as judicial overreach. Such generalisations are misguided. The Constitution created three co-equal organs, and in this context, the judiciary has been given the role of reviewing the legality of steps taken by the other two organs. If the judiciary does not have the power of judicial review, then the functioning of democracy in this country would be unthinkable.
What are the concerns now?
There is usually no impact assessment or basic scrutiny of constitutionality before passing of legislation. The minimum that is expected while drafting laws is that they abide by settled Constitutional principles. They must also think of providing effective remedies for issues that may arise out of the law. But these principles seemingly are being ignored. This directly results in the clogging of courts.
At times, there are also concerted campaigns in print and social media against judges if parties do not get a favourable order.
Rising number of media trials: New media tools have the enormous amplifying ability but appear to be incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong, good and bad and the real and fake.
Need of the hour:
There is a requirement for domain expertise in the judiciary. We need judges and lawyers with an understanding of developments across various fields.
It is necessary to have continued judicial training from technical experts. Legal education needs to keep pace with the times and constantly update their curricula.
The judiciary needs a tailor-made platform to meet the requirements such as virtual hearings.
What is Judicial Review? Judicial review is the power of Judiciary to review any act or order of Legislative and Executive wings and to pronounce upon the constitutional validity when challenged by the affected person.
Judicial review present in India:
The power of Judicial Review comes from the Constitution of India itself (Articles 13, 32, 136, 142 and 147 of the Constitution).
The power of judicial review is evoked to protect and enforce the fundamental rights guaranteed in Part III of the Constitution.
Article 13 of the Constitution prohibits the Parliament and the state legislatures from making laws that “may take away or abridge the fundamental rights” guaranteed to the citizens of the country.
The provisions of Article 13 ensure the protection of the fundamental rights and consider any law “inconsistent with or in derogation of the fundamental rights” as void.
2.b
Alcohol is a subject in the State list under the seventh schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Article 47: The Directive Principle in the Constitution of India states that “The state shall undertake rules to bring about prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal purposes of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health”.
What are the main grounds raised against prohibition of liquor and in favour of prohibition?
The right of privacy is violated, which was given voice by the Supreme Court in 2017 in Puttaswamy judgment. The Right is associated with the citizens’ right to eat and drink as per their choice.
Ground of manifest arbitrariness: The law grants health permits and temporary permits to out-of-state tourists. The petition says there are no intelligible differences in the classes thus being created by the state on who gets to drink and who does not and violates the Right to Equality under Article 14 of the Constitution.
The following arguments indicate that such ban is the need of the hour:
The Constitution places a responsibility on all state governments to “at least contain, if not curtail, consumption of alcohol” (Article 47).
Strict state regulation is imperative to discourage regular and excessive consumption of alcohol.
Alcohol denudes family resources and reserves and leaves women and children as its most vulnerable victims. A social stigma at least as far as the family unit is concerned is still attached to the consumption of alcohol.
Vulnerable persons, either because of age or proclivity towards intoxication or as a feature of peer pressure, more often than not, succumb to this temptation.
Prohibition in Other States: Alcohol prohibition is in force in the states of Gujarat, Mizoram, Nagaland and the union territory of Lakshadweep.
3.d
The Apatani weave comes from the Apatani tribe living at Ziro, the headquarters of Lower Subansiri district.
The woven fabric of this tribe is known for its geometric and zigzag patterns and for its angular designs.
The tribe predominantly weaves shawls known as jig-jiro, and jilan or jackets called supuntarii.
The people use leaves and plant resources for organic dyeing of the cotton yarns in their traditional ways. And only women folk are engaged in weaving.
GI tag:
A GI is primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured product (handicrafts and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory.
Typically, such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness, which is essentially attributable to the place of its origin.
Security: Once the GI protection is granted, no other producer can misuse the name to market similar products. It also provides comfort to customers about the authenticity of that product.
Who is a registered proprietor of a geographical indication?
Any association of persons, producers, organisation or authority established by or under the law can be a registered proprietor.
Their name should be entered in the Register of Geographical Indication as registered proprietor for the Geographical Indication applied for.
How long the registration of Geographical Indication is valid?
The registration of a geographical indication is valid for a period of 10 years.
It can be renewed from time to time for further period of 10 years each.
In India, Geographical Indications registration is administered by the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 which came into force with effect from September 2003. The first product in India to be accorded with GI tag was Darjeeling tea in the year 2004-05.
4.d
All goods and services bought or sold through direct selling.
All models of direct selling, all direct selling entities offering goods and services to consumers in India.
All forms of unfair trade practises across all models of direct selling.
To direct selling entities which are not established in India, but offers goods or services to consumers in India.
Recently, the Centre has notified Consumer Protection (Direct Selling) Rules, 2021 for the direct selling industry.
It prohibits promotion of pyramid schemes and participation in money circulation schemes.
It has been notified in exercise of the powers conferred by the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
Earlier, the government notified and made effective the provisions of the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
The rules lay down duties and obligations of both direct selling entities and their direct sellers to “safeguard the interest of consumers’’.
The existing direct selling companies will need to ensure they comply with the rules within 90 days.
However, the direct sellers as well as the direct selling entities using e-commerce platforms for sale shall comply with the requirements of the Consumer Protection (e-Commerce) Rules, 2020.
5.c
A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is set up to examine a particular bill presented before the Parliament, or for the purpose of investigating cases of financial irregularities in any government activity.
The JPC is an ad-hoc body.
It is set up for a given period of time and is aimed at addressing a specific issue.
Composition:
In order to set up a JPC, a motion is passed in one House and supported by the other House.
The committee’s members are decided by Parliament.
The number of members can vary. There are twice as many Lok Sabha members as the Rajya Sabha.
Powers and Functions:
A JPC is authorised to collect evidence in oral or written form or demand documents in connection with the matter.
The proceedings and findings of the committee are confidential, except in matters of public interest.
The government can take the decision to withhold a document if it is considered prejudicial to the safety or interest of the State.
The Speaker has the final word in case of a dispute over calling for evidence.
The committee can invite interested parties for inquiry and summon people to appear before it.
The committee gets disbanded following the submission of its report to Parliament.
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