#Section 6A of The Citizenship Act - 1955

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CAA: Issues in the legal challenge to the law

The CAA - 2019 amends India's Citizenship Act of 1955. Explore recently notified rules under the CAA by Ministry of Home Affairs, sparking further debate and scrutiny.

[vsplusonline]

NRC must to identify non-citizens: Govt to SC

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/nrc-must-to-identify-non-citizens-govt-to-sc/

NRC must to identify non-citizens: Govt to SC

A National Register for Citizens (NRC) was needed to distinguish citizens from non-citizens and the Centre was well within its powers to identify illegal migrants and deport them as per the law, the home ministry contended in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Preparation of a NRC was a necessary exercise for any sovereign country for mere identification of citizens from non-citizens, it contended, without referring to the National Population Register (NPR) exercise, which gets underway next month, or the link between the two.

Identification of illegal migrants is a sovereign, statutory and moral responsibility of the government as a principle of governance. It is the responsibility of the Centre to detect illegal migrants and follow due process of law in deporting or expelling them. Such a power conferred by the Foreigners Act, 1946, is absolute and gives unfettered discretion to the government to expel foreigners from India. International laws cannot prevail over municipal laws in this matter, the affidavit, filed in response to court notices on a slew of petitions challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act and NPRNRC exercises, contended.

No illegal migrant can seek a right to settle and reside in India or make any claim for citizenship. Nor can migrants move court to press for any such right. Article 21 may have a vast canvas but it doesn’t cover illegal migrants. The procedure which puts the onus on the person claiming to be citizen to prove the fact, is ‘just’, ‘fair’ and ‘reasonable’ and has been held so by the courts. There’s a good and sound reason for placing the burden of proof upon the person concerned who asserts to be a citizen of a particular country, it contended.

In order to establish one’s citizenship, one may be required to give evidence of (i) his date of birth (ii) place of birth (iii) name of his parents (iv) their place of birth and citizenship. Sometimes the place of birth of his grandparents may also be relevant like under Section 6A(1)(d) of the Citizenship Act. All these facts would necessarily be within the personal knowledge of the person concerned and not of the authorities. After he has given evidence, the state authorities can verify the facts and rebut them if necessary. If state authorities dispute the claim of citizenship by a person, it will not only be difficult but almost impossible for them to first lead evidence on these points, the affidavit contended.

The government also had similar ‘unfettered powers’ to cancel registration of Overseas Indian Citizenship card holder should one violate Indian laws after hearing them, the home ministry said. OCI cardholders are not Indian citizensbut foreign nationals holding passports of their respective countries. An OCI card serves only as a lifelong visa which gives the foreigner the right to enter and stay in India without any time limit as specified by the government under section 7B of the Citizenship Act, 1955. Section 7D empowers the government to cancel the OCI registration.

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As high court rejects Assam woman’s plea, a look at what exactly is needed to prove citizenship in the state - india news

In a recent order, the Gauhati High Court rejected petition of a woman declared foreigner by a tribunal in Assam by stating that land revenue paying receipts, Permanent Account Number (PAN) card and bank documents don’t prove citizenship.The court of Justice Manojit Bhuyan and Justice Parthivjyoti Saikia also dismissed the petition of Jabeda Begum as she “failed to prove her linkage with her projected parents and her projected brother”.The order highlights how determination of citizenship is different in Assam - the only state where National Register of Citizens (NRC) containing names of citizens was prepared in 1951 and updated last year.In August last year, after a five-year process supervised by the Supreme Court, the updated NRC of Assam, which excluded names of 19 lakh applicants (of the 3.3 crore who applied) was published.The updated NRC has its genesis in the Assam Accord of 1985 signed after a six-year-long agitation against illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, which set March 24, 1971 as the date for determining citizenship in the state.The accord also resulted in insertion of Section 6A in the Citizenship Act, 1955, which stipulated that Indians and illegal migrants from Bangladesh who came to Assam prior to March 25, 1971 were deemed as citizens. The same date was used for the NRC updation process.To prove citizenship for inclusion in NRC applicants had to submit any one of the 14 documents issued before March 24, 1971 which had either their names or names of their ancestor to prove residence in Assam up to that date.These documents were 1951 NRC, electoral rolls till March 24, 1971, land and tenancy records, citizenship certificate, permanent resident certificate, refugee registration certificate, passport, insurance policy, government issued license or certificate, proof of employment, bank or post office accounts, birth certificate, education certificates or documents of court records or processes.Further, two more supplementary documents - certificates issued by circle officer or gram panchayat secretary to married women migrating after marriage (before or after March 24, 1971) and ration card issued prior to March 24, 1971 - could be added by applicants. But these two documents were to be accepted only if applicants had one of the 14 documents listed above.For those applicants who names were not in the 14 documents, they have to submit eight different documents to establish relationship with an ancestor (father, mother, grandfather, grandmother etc.) whose names were included in any one of the 14 documents prior to March 24, 1971.These documents were birth certificate, land records, examination certificates, bank, insurance police or post office records, certificate issued by circle officer or gram panchayat secretary (in case of married woman), name in electoral roll, ration card or any other legally acceptable document.Those applicants who failed to furnish these documents were excluded from the NRC list. But non-inclusion doesn’t make them non-citizens. These applicants have the provision of appealing their cases in foreigners’ tribunals, High Court and Supreme Court to prove citizenship. Read the full article

[loyallogic]

National Register of Citizens of India

In this article, Pearl Chinir of NLU-O discusses the implications of National Register of Citizens of India.

National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register which contains the names of all the citizens of India in Assam which was prepared after the Census was conducted in 1951 and contains the names of people mentioned in that Census of 1951. According to the directions given by the Government of India in 1951, these records were kept by the Deputy Commissioners and Sub Divisional Officers, which later on, in the early 1960s, were transferred to the Police.

History and Background

In the mid 19th century during the British reign, many outsiders settled in India during Colonial Assam for the rich forest of the region, where the growth of tea leaves was best suited. Because of its rich soil, Assam was very precious to the British in comparison to other states. In the late 19th century, they started migrating lakhs of Adivasis from Chotanagpur region when there wasn’t even a good transportation method. The British played their game well as they defeated the rebellious tribes and used those people as their laborers for as plantation workers. These Adivasis were also often attacked by the Bodos in Bodoland region of the state but they cannot leave as plantation work is their only source of livelihood and returning to their homes in Chotanagpur is not an option as there is nothing left there for them.

Gradually, the economic activities in North East region shrunk due to the creation of East Pakistan and the region of North East became landlocked as the ports of Dhaka and Chittagong became a part of the new country. However, the inflow of migrants could not be kept in check in our country.

Assam Accord of 1985

In accordance of the provisions of the Assam Accord, it created new citizenship criteria applicable exclusively for the State of Assam. In accordance with this, an amendment was passed in 1987, which added Section 6A to the Citizenship Act, 1955, which states that

All those who came to the state of Assam until January 1st, 1966 would be regularized.

All those who are not the residents and came to Assam between the period of January 1st, 1966 to March 25th, 1971 will not be considered as a citizen of India.

The foreigners, who came to Assam after March 25th, 1971, will be deported.

According to Clause 5.8 of the Assam Accord, “Foreigners who came to Assam on or after March 25, 1971, shall continue to be detected, deleted and expelled in accordance with law. Immediate and practical steps shall be taken to expel such foreigners.”

Just like the Assam Accord, the NRC updating process is being carried out in a three-stage administration that is Detect, Delete and Expel.

NRC Updation

Following the tripartite meeting between the Centre, Assam Government and All Assam Students’ Union, it was decided that NRC should be updated as it was highly demanded since decades. The matter got even tedious, when in 2009,  Assam Public Works (NGO), filed a writ petition to delete all illegal migrants’ names from voter lists in Assam as they cannot be considered as an Indian Citizen in the first place for such a constitutional right. Because of this, the Supreme Court also got involved in it.

To ‘detect’ the illegal migrants following acts are used-

The Foreigner’s Act, 1946 along with the Foreigner’s (Tribunal) Order, 1946.

The passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920.

Passport Act, 1967

The Citizenship Act, 1955

In the updated NRC, the following were elected to be enlisted in the updated one, which are:

People whose names are mentioned on the NRC 1951

People whose names are on any voter list in Assam up to March 24, 1971.

All Indian Citizens who moved to Assam after March 24, 1971

Descendants of the above mentioned

People originally from Bangladesh who registered themselves with the

Foreigner Regional Registration Office ( FRRO)  between January 1, 1966, to March 24, 1971, and were declared as Indian citizens by the Foreigner Tribunal

People who can provide admissible documents declaring themselves in a legal way citizen of India.

On July 30, 2018, this register was updated as per the provision of The Citizenship Act, 1955 and The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003. However, out of the 3.9 crores (approx), people had applied, only 2.9 crores of them were registered in the final draft or the updated NRC. This has led to leaving out about 40 lakhs of people of Assam from the register, which is why now there is a huge chaos.

Click Here

The prime reason for the implementation of NRC was to detect and eradicate illegal immigrants. But in this process, many other people due to some discrepancies have not been enlisted in the updated draft of NRC. For instance, due to lack of some document or fallacies in a document, many people from a single family have not been included in the updated list. Some people have also contended that as flood is an annual disaster in the region of Brahmaputra, there has been loss of documents, geographical shifts, change of address etc. Due to such reasons, many people have fallen under the 40 lakh people.

The Legal Consequence for the Remaining

Now, the question is what will happen of those 40 lakh people. The legal consequence aftermath would be that the person may receive a notice from one of the Assam foreign tribunals to get an Indian citizenship, failure of which the person may be deported or may have to go to jail as a person without any citizenship. The Chief Minister of Assam has stated that the people who are not in the list of the NRC would not be ‘eligible’ to receive fundamental rights but, in the eyes of the law, they are still protected with their fundamental rights as they are divided in two, those which are exclusively for the citizens of India and those which are for all the people in India.

According to Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, it states that “The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law and equal protection of laws within the territory of India”. We also have Article 20,21,21A etc which is available for “all persons” in respect of conviction for offences, Right to Life, Education, Religion, etc. We also have Article 32 available for all persons in India regarding the enforcement of Fundamental Rights by establishing the Supreme Court as the Court of First Instance. But, these persons will not have the right to vote as it is only available for the citizens of India. The remaining people would be officially declared to be non-citizens but and be recognized as foreigners.

According to Clause 5.4 of the Assam Accord, the people who have been detected as foreigners in the process, will be deleted from the electoral rolls in force and such person has to register themselves before the Registration Officers of their respective districts according to the provisions of the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939 and the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1939.”

Supreme Court Orders

The Supreme Court, a bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice RF Nariman, observed that as the list released on July 30, 2018, was only a draft of the NRC and not a final list and hence, it “cannot be the basis for any action by any authority”. Therefore, the second step to ‘delete’, cannot be implemented yet.

The Supreme Court also provided relief for the 40 lakh people who were not in the draft by permitting the Ministry of the Government of India to go ahead with the process of receiving claims and objections that the people have which commenced on September 25th, 2018 and the next 60 days from then.

The court also gave further orders regarding time schedule and different steps in the next hearing date.

Conclusion

Although this is not the final list, rather only a final draft of NRC and according to the NRC coordinator Mr. Prateek Hajeela, the NRC update will be a “continuous” process, the implementation of NRC might face some serious problems, including our relations with Bangladesh.

The people who have are not in the final draft, their appeal would be heard and the final list would be published on December 31st, 2018. However, if all these people would not be enlisted in the final list of NRC, it would be difficult to deport them back to Bangladesh as the neighboring countries have already stated their clear intentions that NRC has nothing to do with them and is an internal issue of Assam and India.

So, Even though, the “stateless” people would not be given a right to vote by the Government, thanks to the laid-back attitude of our country’s administration, it would be easy to make a bogus voter identity card just like in the case of  Aadhaar, PAN card, ration card and even voter’s identity card itself. Therefore, it might not be possible for the government to eradicate this main problem for which updating of NRC was hyped.

Many political issues have also started to rise with NRC as they have taken it as an opportunity to play the blame game. After seeing the draft of NRC, West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP government of playing vote-bank politics and also warned that because of the implantation of NRC they might ruin their relations with Bangladesh.

The post National Register of Citizens of India appeared first on iPleaders.

National Register of Citizens of India published first on https://namechangers.tumblr.com/

[juudgeblog]

National Register of Citizens of India

In this article, Pearl Chinir of NLU-O discusses the implications of National Register of Citizens of India.

National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register which contains the names of all the citizens of India in Assam which was prepared after the Census was conducted in 1951 and contains the names of people mentioned in that Census of 1951. According to the directions given by the Government of India in 1951, these records were kept by the Deputy Commissioners and Sub Divisional Officers, which later on, in the early 1960s, were transferred to the Police.

History and Background

In the mid 19th century during the British reign, many outsiders settled in India during Colonial Assam for the rich forest of the region, where the growth of tea leaves was best suited. Because of its rich soil, Assam was very precious to the British in comparison to other states. In the late 19th century, they started migrating lakhs of Adivasis from Chotanagpur region when there wasn’t even a good transportation method. The British played their game well as they defeated the rebellious tribes and used those people as their laborers for as plantation workers. These Adivasis were also often attacked by the Bodos in Bodoland region of the state but they cannot leave as plantation work is their only source of livelihood and returning to their homes in Chotanagpur is not an option as there is nothing left there for them.

Gradually, the economic activities in North East region shrunk due to the creation of East Pakistan and the region of North East became landlocked as the ports of Dhaka and Chittagong became a part of the new country. However, the inflow of migrants could not be kept in check in our country.

Assam Accord of 1985

In accordance of the provisions of the Assam Accord, it created new citizenship criteria applicable exclusively for the State of Assam. In accordance with this, an amendment was passed in 1987, which added Section 6A to the Citizenship Act, 1955, which states that

All those who came to the state of Assam until January 1st, 1966 would be regularized.

All those who are not the residents and came to Assam between the period of January 1st, 1966 to March 25th, 1971 will not be considered as a citizen of India.

The foreigners, who came to Assam after March 25th, 1971, will be deported.

According to Clause 5.8 of the Assam Accord, “Foreigners who came to Assam on or after March 25, 1971, shall continue to be detected, deleted and expelled in accordance with law. Immediate and practical steps shall be taken to expel such foreigners.”

Just like the Assam Accord, the NRC updating process is being carried out in a three-stage administration that is Detect, Delete and Expel.

NRC Updation

Following the tripartite meeting between the Centre, Assam Government and All Assam Students’ Union, it was decided that NRC should be updated as it was highly demanded since decades. The matter got even tedious, when in 2009,  Assam Public Works (NGO), filed a writ petition to delete all illegal migrants’ names from voter lists in Assam as they cannot be considered as an Indian Citizen in the first place for such a constitutional right. Because of this, the Supreme Court also got involved in it.

To ‘detect’ the illegal migrants following acts are used-

The Foreigner’s Act, 1946 along with the Foreigner’s (Tribunal) Order, 1946.

The passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920.

Passport Act, 1967

The Citizenship Act, 1955

In the updated NRC, the following were elected to be enlisted in the updated one, which are:

People whose names are mentioned on the NRC 1951

People whose names are on any voter list in Assam up to March 24, 1971.

All Indian Citizens who moved to Assam after March 24, 1971

Descendants of the above mentioned

People originally from Bangladesh who registered themselves with the

Foreigner Regional Registration Office ( FRRO)  between January 1, 1966, to March 24, 1971, and were declared as Indian citizens by the Foreigner Tribunal

People who can provide admissible documents declaring themselves in a legal way citizen of India.

On July 30, 2018, this register was updated as per the provision of The Citizenship Act, 1955 and The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003. However, out of the 3.9 crores (approx), people had applied, only 2.9 crores of them were registered in the final draft or the updated NRC. This has led to leaving out about 40 lakhs of people of Assam from the register, which is why now there is a huge chaos.

Click Here

The prime reason for the implementation of NRC was to detect and eradicate illegal immigrants. But in this process, many other people due to some discrepancies have not been enlisted in the updated draft of NRC. For instance, due to lack of some document or fallacies in a document, many people from a single family have not been included in the updated list. Some people have also contended that as flood is an annual disaster in the region of Brahmaputra, there has been loss of documents, geographical shifts, change of address etc. Due to such reasons, many people have fallen under the 40 lakh people.

The Legal Consequence for the Remaining

Now, the question is what will happen of those 40 lakh people. The legal consequence aftermath would be that the person may receive a notice from one of the Assam foreign tribunals to get an Indian citizenship, failure of which the person may be deported or may have to go to jail as a person without any citizenship. The Chief Minister of Assam has stated that the people who are not in the list of the NRC would not be ‘eligible’ to receive fundamental rights but, in the eyes of the law, they are still protected with their fundamental rights as they are divided in two, those which are exclusively for the citizens of India and those which are for all the people in India.

According to Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, it states that “The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law and equal protection of laws within the territory of India”. We also have Article 20,21,21A etc which is available for “all persons” in respect of conviction for offences, Right to Life, Education, Religion, etc. We also have Article 32 available for all persons in India regarding the enforcement of Fundamental Rights by establishing the Supreme Court as the Court of First Instance. But, these persons will not have the right to vote as it is only available for the citizens of India. The remaining people would be officially declared to be non-citizens but and be recognized as foreigners.

According to Clause 5.4 of the Assam Accord, the people who have been detected as foreigners in the process, will be deleted from the electoral rolls in force and such person has to register themselves before the Registration Officers of their respective districts according to the provisions of the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939 and the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1939.”

Supreme Court Orders

The Supreme Court, a bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice RF Nariman, observed that as the list released on July 30, 2018, was only a draft of the NRC and not a final list and hence, it “cannot be the basis for any action by any authority”. Therefore, the second step to ‘delete’, cannot be implemented yet.

The Supreme Court also provided relief for the 40 lakh people who were not in the draft by permitting the Ministry of the Government of India to go ahead with the process of receiving claims and objections that the people have which commenced on September 25th, 2018 and the next 60 days from then.

The court also gave further orders regarding time schedule and different steps in the next hearing date.

Conclusion

Although this is not the final list, rather only a final draft of NRC and according to the NRC coordinator Mr. Prateek Hajeela, the NRC update will be a “continuous” process, the implementation of NRC might face some serious problems, including our relations with Bangladesh.

The people who have are not in the final draft, their appeal would be heard and the final list would be published on December 31st, 2018. However, if all these people would not be enlisted in the final list of NRC, it would be difficult to deport them back to Bangladesh as the neighboring countries have already stated their clear intentions that NRC has nothing to do with them and is an internal issue of Assam and India.

So, Even though, the “stateless” people would not be given a right to vote by the Government, thanks to the laid-back attitude of our country’s administration, it would be easy to make a bogus voter identity card just like in the case of  Aadhaar, PAN card, ration card and even voter’s identity card itself. Therefore, it might not be possible for the government to eradicate this main problem for which updating of NRC was hyped.

Many political issues have also started to rise with NRC as they have taken it as an opportunity to play the blame game. After seeing the draft of NRC, West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP government of playing vote-bank politics and also warned that because of the implantation of NRC they might ruin their relations with Bangladesh.

The post National Register of Citizens of India appeared first on iPleaders.

National Register of Citizens of India syndicated from https://namechangersmumbai.wordpress.com/

[iasshikshalove]

Daily Current Affairs Dated On 23-09-2019

Daily Current Affairs Dated On 23-09-2019 GS-1 Marsiya poetry Why in news? On Friday, former Vice President Hamid Ansari, while addressing the function ‘Dastan-e-Marsiya: Karbala Se Kashi Tak’ in New Delhi, praised the Marsiya tradition of Urdu poetry, calling the art form an important part of ‘Adab’ (literature). About the poetry  Marsiya poetry, which holds special significance for Shia Muslims, is a form of literary expression that is dedicated to describing the persona of Imam Hussain, a revered figure in the Islamic world, and the hardships he and his kin underwent during the historic Battle of Karbala. Marsiya is typically read in the month of Muharram, which ended on September 10 this year. The Marsiya tradition of Urdu poetry  The word Marsiya means elegy, meaning a poem which is a lament for the dead. In Urdu literature, Marsiya is written principally in praise of Imam Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet, and his family members who died at the Battle of Karbala in the year 680 CE in present-day Iraq.  In the book ‘Reliving Karbala: Martyrdom in South Asian Memory’, author Syed Akbar Hyder describes Marsiya as a form of poetry which not only touches upon the death of Imam Hussain and other events, but also delves into his ethic (Akhlaaq) of forgiveness and etiquette (Adab) of compassion. Background  The Marsiya tradition first evolved in Delhi and the Deccan, but reached its zenith under the patronage of the Nawabs of Lucknow, who encouraged the art form in the 18th and 19th centuries around the same time when Mughal power was steadily receding.  In most iconic poets from the 19th century, Mir Anis and Mirza Dabir, made a profound impact on Marsiya, making six-line stanzas the preferred form.  Marsiya is also noteworthy for its depiction of events in 7th century Arabia in a manner which could be relatable to audiences in South Asia, making the genre popular here.  For example, its Arab characters are depicted in the South Asian setting, having habits and customs like elite North Indian families. According to Hyder, Marsiya is usually sung, and set to Indian Ragas, creating a fusion of music and poetry. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 23-09-2019 Atlantic current and global climate Why in news? In the Atlantic operates a large system of ocean currents, circulating the waters between the north and the south. Called Atlantic Meridional Overturning Current, or AMOC, it ensures the oceans are continually mixed, and heat and energy are distributed around Earth. For the last 15 years, however, scientists have been worried by signs that AMOC may be slowing, which could have drastic consequences on global climate. Recent study  Now a new study suggests that AMOC is getting help from the Indian Ocean.  Warming as a result of climate change, the Indian Ocean is causing a series of cascading effects that is providing AMOC a “jump start”, in one researcher’s words. How AMOC works  As warm water flows northwards in the Atlantic, it cools, while evaporation increases its salt content.  Low temperature and a high salt content raise the density of the water, causing it to sink deep into the ocean.  The cold, dense water deep below slowly spreads southward.  Eventually, it gets pulled back to the surface and warms again, and the circulation is complete.  This continual mixing of the oceans, and distribution of heat and energy around the planet, contribute to global climate. Other factors  Another oceanic system, which makes news more frequently, is the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).  This involves temperature changes of 1°-3°C in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, over periods between three and seven years.  El Niño refers to warming of the ocean surface and La Niña to cooling, while “Neutral” is between these extremes. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 23-09-2019  This alternating pattern affects rainfall distribution in the tropics and can have a strong influence on weather in other parts of the world. What is happening now?  AMOC has been stable for thousands of years.  Data since 2004, as well as projections, have given some scientists cause for concern.  What is not clear, however, is whether the signs of slowing in AMOC are a result of global warming or only a short-term anomaly.  AMOC had weakened substantially 17,000 to 15,000 years ago, and it had global impacts. Indian Ocean’s role  As the Indian Ocean warms faster and faster, it generates additional precipitation.  This draws more air from other parts of the world to the Indian Ocean, including the Atlantic.  With so much precipitation in the Indian Ocean, there will be less precipitation in the Atlantic Ocean.  Less precipitation will lead to higher salinity in the waters of the tropical portion of the Atlantic — because there won’t be as much rainwater to dilute it.  This saltier water in the Atlantic, as it comes north via AMOC, will get cold much quicker than usual and sink faster. This would act as a jump start for AMOC, intensifying the circulation. Groundwater in Punjab Why in news? Post recent floods some of villages in Jalandhar’s Shahkot and Kapurthala’s Sultanpur Lodhi have complained that their tubewells are pumping out contaminated and muddy groundwater. While villagers blame highly polluted Chitti Bein, which carries toxic industrial affluent from several cities, for getting flooded and polluting the groundwater source, The Indian Express explains if dirty flood water can get as deep as 300 ft below the earth in such a short period. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 23-09-2019 How many villages were hit by floods?  In Shahkot, 30 villages and in Sultanpur Lodhi, 20 villages were badly affected where flood water reached 5 to 10 feet and stayed at that level for almost two weeks. In such conditions the tubewells also remained submerged in flood water for weeks. How many villages are complaining about dirty tubewell water?  Over a dozen villages are complaining about the muddy, contaminated water in both Kapurthala and Jalandhar.  Villages located close to Chitti Bein, a highly polluted rivulet, are complaining about brackish water. How much time it takes for water to permeate to water table level?  The Central Ground Water Board officials in Chandigarh office said water that has stagnated on the surface cannot go deep into earth in just 2-3 weeks and it takes years for water to go deep down at the depth level of tubewells as it first enters the first layer of earth and then it undergoes natural filtration which rids it of several pollutants. Then why are villages getting dirty water despite the tubewells being 200-300 ft deep?  Experts blame faulty borewells, which have leakages or gaps as likely cause behind the problem that is still under observation. “If 200 to 300 feet tubewells are pumping brackish water it is possible that contaminated water got inside ‘directly’,”  “When a borewell is dug, its diameter is always little bigger than the diameter of the pipe that is to be inserted inside the bore because it helps an easy insertion.  But after that the space between the borewell and the pipe must be filled with sand but normally it is left open in large number of cases.  Whenever a tubewell gets submerged in any water that water will enter into bore through such leakages/open spaces and can get mixed with available aquifers inside the earth. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 23-09-2019  Second reason could be that when entire area is flooded and tubewells are too get submerged, the flood water can enter inside the bore well through outlet.  Due to heavy pressure of water through outlet, the filters installed inside borewell pipe can malfunction, thus letting dirty flood water directly enter the earth, which are totally opened beneath the earth.  Third reason could be that due to collapsing of the borewell or some other leakage in the earth. Experts said that brackish water problem could be temporary or long term depending upon the quantity of such water that directly entered the earth through borewells. Gs-2 National Register of Citizens (NRC) Why in news? WHEN THE National Register of Citizens (NRC) authorities in Assam published a consolidated family-wise list of applicants recently, they appended a note that those included may also be excluded later, and that no position in the list is permanent. As of now, the NRC has included 3.11 crore applicants as citizens, and excluded 19 lakh. Under what circumstances can an included person’s name be deleted? The note described three circumstances: * Any fact of misrepresentation of particulars/documents discovered by the authorities; * Discovery of a person being a Declared Foreigner (or a migrant of 1966-71 who is unregistered with a Foreigners Regional Registration Office [FRRO]); a person with a case pending at a Foreigners Tribunal, or a person being a D (Doubtful) voter or a descendant of such a person; Daily Current Affairs Dated On 23-09-2019 * Receipt of an opinion by any Foreigners Tribunal declaring a person as a foreigner. Who is a D-voter or a Declared Foreigner?  D-Voter is a category introduced in Assam in 1997 to mark people unable to prove their citizenship during verification.  A Declared Foreigner is one identified as such by one of the 100 Foreigners Tribunals (FTs), which are quasi-judicial bodies that opine whether or not a person is a foreigner within the meaning of the Foreigners Act, 1946.  Under Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, people who entered Assam between January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971 need to register with an FRRO.  They would have all rights of a citizen except the right to vote, which would be granted after 10 years. In the NRC note, those who entered Assam within this 1966-71 window but did not register themselves, too, are liable to be excluded. How could such persons have been included in the NRC in the first place?  There have been allegations that Declared Foreigners have entered the final NRC.  Parallel citizenship determination processes intersect in Assam, and the NRC process worked without any synchronised database that would have reflected the real-time case status of a suspected foreigner.  A centralised database is in the making, as a part of an e-FT programme, which will streamline databases of people declared or suspected to be foreigners by parallel processes (such as Foreigners Tribunals, Border Police reference, and NRC) and also store the biometrics of such people.  Another possible explanation is that a person declared to be a foreigner, having failed to produce papers to convince a Foreigners Tribunal, might have convinced the NRC with the same documents.  In fact, many Declared Foreigners from the Foreigners Tribunal process have later been declared “Indian” in higher courts.  Also, a large proportion of Tribunal cases are decided by ex parte rulings, so that the person has not argued his defence. These same persons could have presented documents to NRC officials. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 23-09-2019 Are there other circumstances in which a person listed in NRC can get removed?  State officials say it is “legally possible” for the Border Police to make a reference against a person in the NRC.  There is, however, no clarity whether the state will use that option.  “If there is solid and genuine ground, then a reference can be made,”. Is it possible to go for re-verification of the NRC, as demanded by some?  Government should approach the Supreme Court for re-verification, jointly with the All Assam Students’ Union and the NGO Assam Public Works (APW), the original petitioner in the NRC case.  : “In case of the NRC after its final publication Rule 10 of the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Card) Rule 2003 vests power in the Registrar General or his nominee to remove any names from the citizens list if it is found to be on the basis of incorrect particulars.. ...  The statutory position being that the executive has the authority to re-verify entries in the NRC, a fact-finding investigation in this regard will enable the Registrar General to undertake reverification.”  Rule 10 lists circumstances in which a person’s name can be deleted from the final NRC — “by an order of the Registrar General of Citizen Registration or any officer authorised by him”.  These include (i) death; (ii) the person ceasing to be an Indian citizen under Section 8 of the Citizenship Act; (iii) revocation of Indian citizenship under Section 9; or (iv) particulars provided by the individual or the family found to be incorrect.” What happens to the over 19 lakh who are already excluded?  They will have the chance to appeal at the Foreigners Tribunals.  The first step is obtaining an “exclusion or rejection” order from the NRC authorities, but there is no clarity on how long this will take.  As per amended rules, a person has 120 days (understood to be counted from the day of the issuance of the rejection order) to appeal.  If no appeal is filed in 120 days, the Deputy Commissioner of that district will make a “reference” to the Tribunal. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 23-09-2019  The state government has announced that those excluded will get legal aid through the District Legal Services Authorities. GS-3 Black holes Why in news? A supermassive black hole sits 26,000 light years away from Earth, near the Galactic Centre, or the centre of the Milky Way. Called Sagittarius A*, it is one of the few black holes where we can witness the flow of matter nearby. Since the discovery of Sagittarius A* 24 years ago, it has been fairly calm. This year, however, Sagittarius A* has shown unusual activity, and the area around it has been much brighter than usual. In research published recently in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, scientists have sought to explain why this is happening. Reasons  It may be that the Sagittarius A* has become hungrier, and has been feeding on nearby matter at a markedly faster rate, which one researcher described as a “big feast”.  A black hole does not emit light by itself, but the matter that it consumes can be a source of light.  A large quantity of gas from the S0-2 star, which travelled close to the black hole last year, may now have reached the latter.  Other possibilities of the heightened activity, the paper says, are that Sagittarius A* could be growing faster than usual in size, or that the current model that measures its level of brightness is inadequate and is in need of an update. The researchers noted three extraordinary occasions this year that marked the black hole’s unusual behaviour. On May 13, the area immediately outside Sagittarius A* was twice as bright as compared to any previously recorded instance. Reprocessed recordings from previous years reaffirmed that the brightness had indeed increased. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 23-09-2019 Mutual funds If you’re an investor in debt mutual funds, you’re probably puzzling over reports on ‘side-pocketing’ of bonds that figure in fund portfolios. Last week, UTI Credit Risk Fund and Reliance Ultra Short Duration Fund announced their intent to side-pocket bonds issued by Altico Capital after it as rated default grade by an agency. When debt funds face a downgrade or default on a bond they own, they write down its value in the NAV. Why is side-pocketing needed?  When debt funds write down the value of a bond, they usually aren’t sure if the bond is a complete dud or will realise some value later. But in the interests of conservatism, SEBI rules require funds to write down the value of such bonds by 25, 50, 75 or even 100% in their portfolios, based on their credit ratings.  When a fund takes such write-downs, the NAV takes an immediate blow.  But if the issuer of the bond later pays up his dues, the fund will then have to increase its NAV to account for the repayment. In such cases, investors in the scheme who exit early taking NAV losses would fail to benefit from the recovery.  On the other hand, new investors who entered the scheme after the write-down would stand to pocket unfair gains on a bond they never owned.  Segregating downgraded bonds in a fund’s portfolio into a ‘side-pocket’ avoids such unfair treatment.  When a scheme side-pockets a doubtful bond, any recovery from the bond is distributed to all investors who were invested in the scheme when the downgrade happened. Investors who got into a scheme after the downgrade, get to buy only into the main portfolio excluding the doubtful bond. When and what kind of bonds are debt funds supposed to segregate?  SEBI rules allow debt funds to side-pocket only those bonds that are downgraded below investment grade by rating agencies.  When a bond rated BBB or above is pegged down, it turns from an investment grade bond to a non-investment grade one.  Fund houses are required to decide on side-pocketing and secure the approval of their trustees for it, on the day the downgrade happens. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 23-09-2019 When a bond is downgraded, why do some fund houses announce side-pockets while others don’t?  SEBI has not made side-pocketing compulsory for all bonds that turn non-investment grade. This decision is left to the discretion of the AMC and its trustees.  So, when a bond slips into non-investment grade, some AMCs may write down its value and hang on, while others may side-pocket it.  Where there’s no side-pocketing, if you exit the scheme after the downgrade, you won’t receive any benefits if there’s a recovery. What happens when a side-pocket is created?  The scheme separates its portfolio into the good portion, consisting of investment grade bonds, and the bad portion comprising the downgraded bond.  The NAV of the scheme will be carved out to the extent of the value (after write down) of the bad bond.  All existing investors in the scheme will receive one new unit in the side-pocketed portfolio in addition to existing units in the scheme.  No transactions are allowed in these new units.  So, if you redeem the fund after side-pocketing, you will only receive the NAV of the main portfolio.  But if the scheme eventually recovers money from the bond, they will get automatically redeemed and you will receive a payout.  The trustees of the AMC are supposed to monitor the recovery of proceeds in the side-pocketed bonds. How do I know if a debt fund I’m going to invest in has side-pockets?  SEBI rules require all debt schemes to disclose the details of side-pocketed or segregated portfolios prominently with the scheme name in their advertisements, scheme documents, application forms and websites.

[competitionpedia]

CAA: Issues in the legal challenge to the law

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) of 2019, passed by the Parliament of India, seeks to amend the Citizenship Act of 1955, which provides for the acquisition and determination of Indian citizenship.

Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs notified the Citizenship Amendment Rules under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019

The CAA amends the Citizenship Act of 1955 to incorporate these provisions, marking a significant change in India's citizenship policy.

Aim: 

To give citizenship to the target group of migrants even if they do not have valid travel documents as mandated in The Citizenship Act, 1955.

To address the issue of persecution faced by religious minorities in neighbouring countries and provide them with refuge and citizenship in India.

The act provides a fast-track path to Indian citizenship for religious minorities – Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian – from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

The act has also cut the period of citizenship by naturalisation from 11 years to 5 i.e. eligible immigrants from these countries who entered India before December 31, 2014, can apply for citizenship under the CAA.

Thus, the amendment relaxed the requirements for certain categories of migrants, specifically based on religious lines, originating from three neighbouring countries with Muslim-majority populations.

It is noteworthy that the act does not include Muslims among the eligible religious groups for expedited citizenship.

Criticism: The act violates the secular principles enshrined in the Indian Constitution by discriminating against Muslims and undermining the idea of equal treatment under the law.

Exempted Areas: Certain categories of areas, such as tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura, as well as areas safeguarded by the 'Inner Line' system, were excluded from the scope of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Eligibility

Under the CAA Rules, migrants from these nations are required to demonstrate their country of origin, their religion, the date of their entry into India, and proficiency in an Indian language as prerequisites for applying for Indian citizenship.

Additionally, any document indicating that "either of the parents or grandparents or great-grandparents of the applicant is or had been a citizen of one of the three countries" is also acceptable.

The Rules specify 20 documents that can establish the date of entry into India for admissible proof.

Challenges in the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)

Legal Challenges:

Constitutional Validity: The CAA has faced legal challenges regarding its constitutionality, particularly with respect to Articles 14 (equality before law) and 15 (prohibition of discrimination) of the Indian Constitution. By providing preferential treatment to certain religious groups while excluding others, the CAA contravenes these fundamental rights and is seen as discriminatory and contrary to the principle of equality.

Against Secularism: The CAA's focus on granting citizenship based on religious lines, specifically excluding Muslims, is seen as contrary to the secular ethos of the Indian Constitution.

State Opposition: Several states have opposed the implementation of the CAA, leading to potential legal conflicts between the central government and state governments.

Administrative Challenges:

Documentation Verification: Verifying the authenticity of documents proving the eligibility criteria specified in the CAA can pose a significant administrative burden.

Infrastructure: Lack of adequate infrastructure and resources in government departments responsible for processing citizenship applications may hinder the smooth implementation of the CAA.

Social and Political Challenges:

Communal Tensions: The exclusion of Muslims from the purview of the CAA has led to communal tensions and polarization, affecting social harmony in various parts of the country.

Citizenship Criteria: The religious-based criteria for citizenship under the CAA have sparked debates about the secular nature of the Indian state and have been criticized for undermining the principles of equality and inclusivity.

Protest and Opposition: Widespread protests against the CAA have created political challenges for the government, leading to public unrest and opposition from various civil society groups and political parties.

International Relations:

Diplomatic Fallout: The CAA has strained relations with neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, which have expressed concerns about its impact on bilateral relations and regional stability.

Refugee Crisis: The CAA's focus on granting citizenship to persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries could exacerbate refugee crises and strain India's relations with international bodies and humanitarian organizations.

Economic Challenges:

Resource Allocation: Implementing the CAA may require significant financial resources for processing citizenship applications, accommodating new citizens, and addressing potential socio-economic challenges arising from demographic changes.

Section 6A of The Citizenship Act, 1955 and Assam: 

Section 6A was incorporated into the Citizenship Act subsequent to the signing of the Assam Accord in 1985. The Accord outlines the criteria for identifying foreigners in the state of Assam, establishing March 24, 1971, as the cutoff date, which contradicts the cutoff date specified in the CAA 2019.