Arrest and Detention in India

GS II Polity

Why in News?

Detention of political leaders during a protest related to the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) brought renewed attention to constitutional safeguards against arbitrary arrest and detention.

Core Distinction

• Arrest: Taking a person into legal custody, generally in connection with an alleged offence.
• Police detention: Temporary restraint/custody by police, which must have a legal basis.
• Preventive detention: Detention without trial to prevent a person from acting in a manner considered harmful to specified interests such as national security or public order.

Constitutional Safeguards

Article 21 — Life and Personal Liberty

• No person can be deprived of life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.
• Judicial interpretation has expanded Article 21 to include fair, just and reasonable procedure.

Article 22(1) — Ordinary Arrest

• Person must be informed of the grounds of arrest.
• Right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of choice.

Article 22(2) — Production before Magistrate

• Arrested person must be produced before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours, excluding travel time.
• Continued detention requires magistrate''s authority.

Article 22(3) — Exceptions

These protections under Article 22(1) and 22(2) do not apply to:

• Enemy aliens
• Persons arrested or detained under preventivedetention laws.

Article 22(4)–(7) — Preventive Detention

• Provides specific constitutional safeguards for preventive detention.
• The detainee must ordinarily be communicated the grounds of detention and given the opportunity to make a representation, subject to constitutional exceptions.

Key Judgments

• D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (1997): Laid down safeguards to prevent custodial torture and abuse, including requirements relating to arrest records and informing relatives.
• Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2014): Arrest should not be automatic, particularly for offences punishable with imprisonment up to seven years; police must justify the necessity of arrest.
• Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India (2023): Under PMLA, grounds of arrest must be furnished in writing to the arrested person.

BNSS and Arrest

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 replaced the CrPC and contains provisions governing arrest, detention, investigation and related procedures.

Major Constitutional Tension

• State''s duty to maintain public order - Individual''s right to life, liberty and peaceful democratic participation
• Preventive detention is constitutionally permitted but represents an exception to the ordinary criminal justice process, because detention can occur without a conventional criminal trial.

Environment Responsibility

GS III Environment

Why in News?

Ahead of COP31, India reiterated the importance of Equity and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDRRC) in global climate negotiations.

 What is CBDRRC?

CBDRRC means that all countries have a common responsibility to address environmental problems, but their responsibilities should differ based on their historical contribution to the problem and their respective capabilities.

Three Core Elements

• Common Responsibility - Climate change requires collective global action.
• Differentiated Responsibility - Countries with greater historical contributions to emissions should shoulder a larger share of responsibility.
• Respective Capabilities - Countries with greater financial, technological and institutional capacity should contribute more.

Evolution

• Rio Declaration, 1992 — Principle 7: Formally articulated the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.
• UNFCCC — Article 3(1): Recognises CBDR along with respective capabilities.
• Kyoto Protocol: Reflected stronger differentiation through binding emissionreduction commitments primarily for developed countries.
• Paris Agreement: Applies to all countries, while differentiation is reflected through national circumstances and nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

Significance for India

• Climate Justice: Recognises that developing countries should not bear the same burden as historically highemitting developed countries.
• Climate Finance: Supports India''s demand for greater financial support from developed countries.
• Technology Transfer: Strengthens the case for access to affordable and advanced climate technologies.
• Development Space: Helps developing countries pursue poverty reduction and economic development while undertaking climate action.
• Historical Responsibility: Keeps the issue of cumulative/historical emissions central to climate negotiations.

India’s Stakes in the Global Pandemic Agreement

GS  II International institutions

Why in News?

India raised concerns over equity, benefit sharing and national sovereignty in implementing the WHOled Pandemic Agreement, particularly regarding access to pathogens and the sharing of benefits arising from their use.

What is the Pandemic Agreement?

• A WHOled international framework for preventing, preparing for and responding to future pandemics.
• Adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2025.
• Focuses on pandemic surveillance, resilient health systems, technology transfer and equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics.

Key Issue: PABS

• Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) is a crucial element of the Agreement.
• Countries may share pathogens and associated genetic information for research and pandemic preparedness.
• Developing countries seek predictable access to vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics developed using such resources.
• The central debate is how to balance open pathogen access, intellectual property, technology transfer and benefit sharing.

Why is India Concerned?

• Pharmaceutical hub: India has significant vaccine and genericdrug manufacturing capacity.
• Technology dependence: India remains dependent on imported APIs, advanced technologies and critical inputs.
• Strategic autonomy: Pandemic preparedness is linked not only to public health but also to national health security and supply chain resilience.
• Sovereignty: Global surveillance and information sharing mechanisms must operate without undermining legitimate national control over biological resources.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026 — Chirality & Asymmetric Autocatalysis

GS III: Biotechnology

Why in News?

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai for work concerning nonlinear effects and asymmetric autocatalysis, with important implications for understanding how molecular asymmetry can be generated and amplified.

Core Concept — Chirality

• A chiral molecule cannot be superimposed on its mirror image.
• The two mirror image forms are called enantiomers.
• Although chemically similar in many respects, biological systems can distinguish between enantiomers because biological molecules themselves are highly stereospecific.

Biological Homochirality

Living systems show a strong preference for particular molecular orientations:

• Proteins → predominantly Lamino acids
• Nucleic acids → predominantly D sugars

Asymmetric Autocatalysis

• A chiral product catalyses the formation of more of itself.
• Even a very small initial excess of one enantiomer can therefore be amplified through repeated reactions.
• This provides a possible mechanism through which a tiny molecular asymmetry could develop into a strong singlehanded molecular preference.

Non Linear Effect

• In ordinary chemical reactions, a small change in the proportion of one enantiomer may produce a proportionally similar change in the product.
• In nonlinear asymmetric catalysis, however, a small initial enantiomeric imbalance can produce a much larger imbalance in the product.

Significance

• Pharmaceutical industry : Helps in producing drugs with a high proportion of the desired enantiomer, potentially reducing unwanted effects associated with the other form.
• Origin of life : Provides insights into how biological systems may have developed their strong preference for one molecular handedness.
• Green chemistry : More selective synthesis can potentially reduce by products and chemical waste.
• Stereo selective synthesis : Strengthens the ability of chemists to control the three dimensional arrangement of molecules during chemical reactions.

OJ 287 Blazar — Probing Binary Supermassive Black Holes

GS I Geography

Why in News?

The Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, coordinated a decadelong international observational campaign that generated an extensive optical dataset of the blazar OJ 287.

What is a Blazar?

•  A blazar is an active galactic nucleus (AGN) whose relativistic jet is directed approximately towards Earth.
• The jet is powered by matter falling towards a supermassive black hole.
• Due to the jet’s orientation, radiation appears exceptionally bright because of relativistic beaming.
• Emits across a broad range of the electromagnetic spectrum.

What is OJ 287?

• A distant blazar located billions of light years away.
• Associated with a binary supermassive black hole system.
• Shows periodic variations in brightness, making it an important object for long term monitoring.
• Its observations help test models of black hole dynamics and relativistic astrophysics.

Press Council of India (PCI)

GS II Governance

Why in News?

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting notified 13 journalists as members of the Press Council of India.

What is PCI?

The Press Council of India (PCI) is a statutory, autonomous and quasi judicial body established to safeguard press freedom and maintain standards of journalism.

• Established under the Press Council Act, 1965.
• The first Council was constituted in 1966.
• Abolished during the Emergency (1975–77).
• Re established under the Press Council Act, 1978.

Key Functions

• Complaints: Examines complaints regarding the press and against the press.
• Press Freedom: Inquires into complaints of interference with the freedom of the press.
• Journalistic Standards: Develops principles and standards of journalistic conduct.
• Quasi judicial powers: Has certain powers of a civil court while conducting inquiries.

Composition

• Chairman + 28 members
• Chairman: Traditionally a person who has been a Judge of the Supreme Court.
• Members represent newspapers, news agencies, Parliament and cultural/literary fields.
• Term: 3 years.

Significance

PCI seeks to maintain a balance between:

• Freedom of Press ↔ Accountability & Responsible Journalism
• It provides an institutional mechanism to address issues involving press freedom, journalistic ethics and media standards.

Limitation

• PCI''s powers are primarily moral and regulatory rather than punitive.
• It can issue warnings, admonitions and censures, but lacks strong powers to impose financial penalties.
• Its jurisdiction is focused on the press/newspapers and news agencies, rather than the entire digital media ecosystem.

RBI Raises Repo Rate

GS  III: Indian economy

Why in News?

The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50% and shifted its monetarypolicy stance from neutral to calibrated tightening.

What is Repo Rate?

The repo rate is the rate at which the RBI lends shortterm funds to banks against eligible securities, primarily through repurchase transactions.

• 1 basis point (bp) = 0.01 percentage point
• Therefore, 25 bps = 0.25 percentage point.

Impact

Borrowers

• Floatingrate loans may become more expensive.
• EMIs can rise or loan repayment periods may increase.

Depositors

• Banks may offer relatively higher deposit rates as funding conditions tighten, though the passthrough varies.

Credit & Demand

• Higher borrowing costs can moderate excessive credit growth and consumption.
• Interest sensitive investment may also weaken.

Inflation

• Lower aggregate demand can help contain demandside inflationary pressures.

Currency & Capital Flows

• Relatively higher domestic interest rates can support the attractiveness of rupee denominated assets, potentially helping external stability. However, exchange rates depend on multiple domestic and global factors.

Risk of Excessive Tightening

• Monetary tightening involves a trade off: Too little tightening → persistent inflation risk . Too much tightening → weaker consumption, investment and economic growth

SAREX2026: Strengthening India’s Maritime Search and Rescue Capability

GS III Defence

Why in News?

The Multinational Search and Rescue Exercise (SAREX2026) was conducted off the coast of Paradip, Odisha, alongside the 24th National Maritime Search and Rescue Board meeting.

What is SAREX?

• A maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) exercise led by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG).
• Tests coordination among maritime, aviation, defence and other agencies during emergencies at sea.
• Covers India’s Indian Search and Rescue Region (ISRR).

Key Features

• Simulated aircraft ditching, vessel sinking and mass casualty evacuation.
• Uses satellite enabled distress location systems for faster identification of casualties.
• Integrates maritime, aviation and defence agencies for coordinated response.

Significance

• First responder capability: Reinforces India’s role as a reliable responder in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
• Maritime safety: Supports safer shipping and uninterrupted maritime connectivity.
• Regional cooperation: Builds interoperability and trust among regional maritime agencies.
• Disaster resilience: Enhances preparedness for accidents, cyclones and other maritime emergencies.

Silk Road - Underwater Archaeological Discovery

GS I Art and culture

Why in News?

An underwater archaeological expedition discovered remains of a medieval Silk Road trading settlement at the submerged ToruAygyr complex in Lake IssykKul, Kyrgyzstan.

What was the Silk Road?

• A network of land and maritime trade routes linking East Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, West Asia, Africa and Europe.
• Facilitated the movement of goods, people, ideas, technologies, art and religions.
• It functioned as a network rather than a single route.

India’s Link with the Silk Road

• Uttarapatha: Ancient northern Indian trade route connecting the subcontinent with regions towards Central Asia.
• Karakoram routes: Connected Ladakh with Yarkand and Kashgar, facilitating trade and cultural exchange.
• Kushanas: Controlled important Central Asian territories and played a major role in facilitating long distance trade.
• Buddhism: Trade routes also enabled the transmission of Buddhism from India towards Central and East Asia.

Lake IssykKul

• Location: Northeastern Kyrgyzstan, in the Tien Shan mountain system of Central Asia.
• Meaning: “IssykKul” means “warm lake” in Kyrgyz, as it generally does not freeze in winter.
• Type: Endorheic (closeddrainage), saline lake — it has no outlet to the sea.
• Elevation: About 1,607 m above sea level.
• Significance: One of the world’s largest highaltitude lakes and a major ecological and tourism hotspot of Kyrgyzstan.
• Hydrology: Fed by numerous streams and rivers, but no river flows out of the lake.
• Surroundings: Bordered by the Kungey AlaToo Range to the north and Terskey AlaToo Range to the south.
• UNESCO: The IssykKul region is associated with UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme.
• Strategic relevance: Located in the wider Central Asian region, making it relevant to questions on Tien Shan, Central Asian geography and transboundary environmental issues.