February 24

• Defamation


  The act of communicating false statements about a person that injure the reputation of that person when observed through the eyes of ordinary man

  
• Forms of defamation


  • Libel (in permanent form like writing, print, picture)
  • Slander (in unwritten form like spoken words, gestures, representations)

  
• Criminal defamation


  Requires knowledge or reason to believe that something is defamatory (mens rea), publication to a third person, clear identification of the person defamed, and lowering of reputation in the eyes of right-thinking people

  
• Intention is a basic essential under criminal defamation law but not under civil defamation law

  
• Defamation law in India can be traced back to Kautilya's Arthashastra and was first drafted by Lord Macaulay in 1837

  
• Article 19 of the Indian Constitution


  Grants various freedoms to citizens, but Article 19(2) imposes reasonable restrictions including on defamation
• Indian laws on defamation

  • Chapter XXI (sections 499-502) of Indian Penal Code (criminal defamation)
  • Section 199 of Criminal Procedure Code (prosecution of defamation)
  • Section 356 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (criminal defamation)

  
• Criminal defamation is a bailable, non-cognizable and compoundable offence in India

  
• The 22nd Law Commission of India has recommended that the offence of criminal defamation should be retained in the new criminal laws

  
• Defamation


  Reasonable restrictions under Article 19(2) of the Indian constitution

  
• Criminal defamation in Indian laws

  1. Chapter XXI (section 499 – 502) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)

  2. Section 199 of the Criminal Procedure code (CrPC)

  3. Section 356 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

  
• Civil law on defamation

  Punishable under the Law of Torts by imposing punishment in the form of damages to be awarded to the claimant

  
• Criminal law on defamation

  Bailable, non-cognizable offence and compoundable offence<|>Section 500 of IPC prescribed the punishment of a maximum term of imprisonment of two years, or fine, or both<|>Section 356 of BNS consolidated Section 499 and Section 500 and added punishment of community service

  
• Important Judgements on defamation

  • Rohini Singh v. State of Gujarat (2018)
  • Mrs. Pat Sharpe v. Dwijendra Nath Bose (1963)
  • Subramanian Swamy v. Union of India
  • Chintaman Rao Vs. The State of Madhya Pradesh
  • Sukdeo Vithal Pansare v. Prabhakar Sukdeo Pansare (1974)

  
• The Law Commission chose to undertake this extensive study on the law of defamation following the Supreme Court's decision in the Subramaniam Swamy vs. Union of India (2016) case

  
• The Law Commission's report on defamation

  It traces the history of the law of defamation, how it is defined and the essential characteristics for it to be proven as an offence<|>It states that the right to freedom of speech must be balanced with protecting the right to reputation through the application of criminal defamation laws<|>It stated that Criminal defamation acts as a deterrent against false and malicious statements, preventing damage to one's reputation that civil remedies might not adequately address<|>It appreciated the inclusion of community service as an alternative punishment against the offence of Defamation under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

  
• Law Commission of India

  An executive body constituted by the Government of India from time to time<|>It acts as an advisory body to Ministry of law and justice<|>The first Law Commission was established during the British Raj era in 1834<|>The first Law Commission of independent India was established in 1955 for a three-year term<|>It conducts legal research and assesses current Indian laws, with the aim of suggesting reforms and crafting new legislation, either upon referral by the Central Government or independently<|>Composed of one chairman, one permanent member, one member secretary and six part-time members<|>Justice (former) Rituraj Awasthi is the Chairman of the current and 22nd Law Commission of India<|>Reeta Vasishta is the member secretary of the 22nd Law Commission<|>Other members - Retired High Court judge Justice K T Sankaran, Professor Anand Paliwal, Professor D P Verma, Professor Raka Arya and M Karunanithi<|>The current law commission was constituted in February, 2020, for a period of three years. Its extended term will end on 31st August, 2024
• Other Reports by 22nd law commission

  • Report no 278 - Urgent Need to Amend Rule 14(4) of Order VII of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
  • Report no. 279 - usage of the law of sedition
  • Report no. 280 - The law on adverse possession
  • Report no. 281 – compensation for damage due to installation of towers and transmission lines under the Indian telegraph act. 1885 and the electricity act 2003
• Important Reports of the Law Commission of India

  • Electoral Disqualifications (244th Report), 2014
  • Electoral Reforms (255th Report), 2015
  • Wrongful Prosecution (277th Report), 2018
  • Review of the Indian Evidence Act (185th Report), 2003
  • Trial by Media (200th Report), 2006
  • Death Penalty (262nd Report)
  • Human DNA Profiling (271st Report)
• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin presented a resolution in the state assembly 14 February, urging the union government to halt the delimitation exercise scheduled for 2026
• Delimitation


  The act or process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies in a country or a province having a legislative body<|>The main objective is to provide equal representation to equal segments of a population<|>Carried out every few years after a Census by an independent Delimitation Commission formed under the provisions of the Delimitation Commission Act
• The number of seats in the Lok Sabha based on the 1951, 1961 and 1971 Census was fixed at 494, 522 and 543, when the population was 36.1, 43.9 and 54.8 crore respectively
• There was no delimitation after the 1981, 1991 and 2001 Censuses
• The last delimitation exercise that changed the state wise composition of Lok Sabha was completed in 1976 on the basis of the 1971 census
• The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976, froze the delimitation exercise till 2000
• The 84th Amendment Act, 2001, again froze the constituency boundaries until the first census after 2026, or at least till 2031
• Delimitation Commission


  Appointed by the President of India and works in collaboration with the Election Commission of India<|>Composed of a retired Supreme Court judge, the Chief Election Commissioner of India and respective State Election Commissioners<|>Works without any executive influence<|>A quasi- judicial body and its orders are final and cannot be questioned before any court<|>The first Delimitation Commission Act was enacted in 1952<|>Delimitation Commissions have been set up four times — 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002
• The number of seats were frozen based on the 1971 Census in order to encourage population control measures
• Due to uneven population explosion in the last 5 decades, states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan had a greater increase than States like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh
• There are two options being discussed - continuing with the existing 543 seats and their redistribution, or increasing the number of seats to 848 with proportionate increase among various States
• In both these scenarios, the southern States, the smaller states in the north like Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, as well as the northeastern States are bound to be at a disadvantage when compared to the northern States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan
• International practices on delimitation

  United States: Number of seats in the House of Representatives capped at 435 since 1913, seats among the States redistributed after every Census through the 'method of equal proportion'<|>European Union: The EU parliament consists 720 members and the number of seats is divided between 27 member countries based on the principle of 'degressive proportionality'
• Transparency International released the 2023 edition of the Corruption Perception Index in Berlin
• The CPI global average remains unchanged at 43 for the twelfth year in a row, with more than two-thirds of countries scoring below 50
• The main reason for the increase in corruption has been recorded to be a decline in the functioning of justice systems
• Corruption Perception Index


  A leading global indicator of public sector corruption<|>Scores 180 countries and territories around the world based on perceptions of public sector corruption<|>Uses data from 13 external sources, including the World Bank, World Economic Forum, private risk and consulting companies, think tanks and others<|>Ranks countries on a scale of corruption with a score of 0 corresponding to the greatest corruption and 100 to the least corrupt

  
• Global Rankings in the 2023 edition of the CPI

  • Denmark (90) tops the index for the sixth consecutive year, with Finland and New Zealand following closely with scores of 87 and 85, respectively
  • Somalia (11), Venezuela (13), Syria (13), South Sudan (13) and Yemen (16) take the bottom spots in the index

  
• Electoral Bonds


  Interest-free, bearer instruments for anonymous donations to political parties in India

  
• Electoral bonds were launched by PM Narendra Modi's government in 2018 to make political funding more transparent

  
• Electoral Bonds


  • Available in denominations of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh, and Rs 1 crore without any maximum limits
  • Authorised and issued by State Bank of India and its 29 specified branches
  • A donor with a KYC-compliant account can purchase the bonds individually or jointly
  • Political parties can choose to redeem these bonds within 15 days of receipt to finance their electoral expenses
  • Available for purchase for 10 days in the beginning of every quarter - January, April, July and October