SC upholds Section 6A of the Citizenship Act as valid law

A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, in a 4:1 majority judgment, upheld the constitutionality of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, which permits immigrants from Bangladesh residing in Assam to secure Indian citizenship. 

The court held it as a valid piece of legislation aligned with the preambular value of fraternity. 

The principle of fraternity cannot be selectively applied to one section living in Assam while another lot is labelled "illegal immigrants", Justice Surya Kant, who authored the lead opinion for the five-judge Bench, observed. 

Centre to distribute 1,600 tonnes of onions

Union Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said that the Centre will distribute 1,600 tonnes of onions in the northern region to address rising prices ahead of the festival season. 

The Centre said 42 wagons, 53 trucks, of onions are being transported by the 'Kanda fast train' from Nashik to Delhi-NCR and it will reach the national capital on October 20. 

A modified UBI policy may be more feasible

The idea of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) keeps surfacing from time to time. 

A recent report by the International Labour Organization talks about how job growth has been lagging globally due to automation and Artificial Intelligence and notes the massive problem of youth unemployment in India. 

The phenomenon of jobless growth, where productivity rises but job creation lags and contributes to the alarming trend in inequality, has rekindled interest in a UBI as a component of a social safety net across the world. 

With the exception of marital rape

The Marital Rape Exception (MRE) is a colonial relic, originating from the "doctrine of coverture" in English common law, which severely curtailed a married woman's legal autonomy. 

In March 2022, the Karnataka High Court in Hrishikesh Sahoo versus the State of Karnataka and Others ruled that a married man can be prosecuted for raping his wife. 

The judgment relied on a 2013 report authored by the Justice J.S. Verma Committee, which recommended the abolition of the MRE.

A pivotal question before the top court is whether striking down the MRE would result in the creation of a new offence, as it would allow for the prosecution of husbands who engage in non-consensual sex with their wives. 

Parties hail court verdict on Section 6A of Citizenship Act

Political parties across the spectrum welcomed the Supreme Court judgment on Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, inserted into the Act as a special provision to deal with the citizenship of people covered under the Assam Accord.

In a majority verdict, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A which grants Indian citizenship to immigrants who came to Assam between January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971. 

The Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, also upheld the cut-off date of March 25, 1971, for entry into Assam and granting citizenship as correct.

"This verdict reestablished the rationality of the Assam movement and the Assam Accord. We demand again that every clause of the Assam Accord be fully implemented," the AASU said in a statement.

Chief Justice Chandrachud recommends Justice Sanjiv Khanna as successor

Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud has recommended Justice Sanjiv Khanna for appointment as the 51st Chief Justice of India. Chief Justice Chandrachud will retire on November 10. 

Under the Memorandum of Procedure for the appointment of the Chief Justice of India and Supreme Court judges, the Law Ministry seeks the recommendation of the outgoing Chief Justice about the next appointment. 

The letter from the government kick-starts the appointment process for the next Chief Justice of India. 

Justice Khanna is the next in line in accordance with the seniority norm. He enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1983.

India, Pakistan should move on from past, Jaishankar's visit a 'beginning': Nawaz Sharif

Calling for India and Pakistan to move on from the "past", former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says the two sides must "pick up the threads" of the conversation that he had begun with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

The visit by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) this week was a "beginning" and hoped it would be followed by an "opening", he adds. 

Supreme Court questions the logic behind the exception to marital rape in penal law

The Supreme Court questioned the logic behind a penal law that considers wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation and assault of a wife by her husband as offences but not the act of forced sex that follows after the woman relents under pressure. 

"The husband demands sexual intercourse. Wife resists. She is wrongfully confined. She is threatened and criminally intimidated. 

So, all the preliminary acts make offences under the law, but the act of forced sexual intercourse alone is not a crime?" Justice J.B. Pardiwala asked. 

RBI orders 'cease and desist' on 4 NBFCs for usurious pricing

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday ordered four non-banking financial corporations (NBFCs) to cease and desist from sanction and disbursal of loans, charging them with usurious pricing and other regulatory deviations. 

The NBFCs rapped by the central bank are Asirvad Micro Finance Ltd., the MFI arm of Manappuram Finance Ltd., Arohan Financial Services Ltd., Mitsubishi UFG-backed DMI Finance Private Ltd., and Navi Finserv Ltd. 

"This action is based on material supervisory concerns observed in the pricing policy of these companies in terms of their weighted average lending rate (WALR) and the interest spread charged over their cost of funds," the RBI said in a notification. 

Saudi Arabia launches new digital space for wage protection

With a series of digitally enforceable measures and platforms, Saudi Arabia is getting ready to ensure a more secure working condition for foreign workers, including those from India.

A group of officials from the Human Resources and Social Development Ministry presented the Saudi plans for meeting the Vision 2030 of the Saudi government and said the Kingdom's plans regarding the expat workers would secure workers' rights and cut down on illegal immigration.