The week that went by! Weekly News Page Feb 21st - Feb 28th Law, Policy and Governance Daily snippets 1. Centre may rethink order on international seminars - The government would relook at the controversial order issued by the Ministry of Education in January that many scientists said curbs free scientific discussion at international fora, K. Vijay-Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, said. - On January 15, the Ministry updated the guidelines governing online conferences, seminars and training programmes that required, among others, scientists at the highest grades of seniority to get a clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs. 2. ‘Right to peaceful protest is a nonnegotiable human right’ ​ ​ - Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg has extended her support to Disha Ravi, the 22year old environmental activist who has been charged with sedition for allegedly editing an advocacy toolkit on the farmers’ protest, and sharing it with Ms. Thunberg. “Freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protest and ​ assembly are non-negotiable human rights. These must be a fundamental part of any democracy”. ​ ​ - The Poetic Justice Foundation (PJF), a Canada-based non profit, has been at the centre of a roving investigation ​ launched by Delhi Police regarding a social media campaign around the ongoing farmers agitation. 3. Child abuse is unpardonable, says HC - An offence involving abuse of a child victim is unpardonable, the Delhi High Court remarked while refusing to lower the sentence awarded to a teacher, who was convicted for sodomising a 7-year old boy. Justice Subramaniam Prasad said releasing such convicts “by reducing the sentence will send a wrong signal to the ​ society and will be against the purpose for which the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences ) Act was enacted”. ​ 4. Give Rs1 lakh each to two custodial torture victims’ - The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has recommended that the Ministry of Home Affairs pay Rs1 lakh each to two victims of custodial torture at Delhi’s Adarsh Nagar police station in a 2019 case. - “The commission was convinced that from the material on record, prima facie it is established that the ​ complainant and his nephew were given third degree torture. They were assaulted by the police personnel, as named in the FIR, and are now facing trial before the court,...the commission held that since the police officers failed to act as responsible public servants, therefore, departmental proceedings against them should also be initiated, and they should be punished accordingly. The State is vicariously liable for the action of public servants/police officers and hence the victims are entitled for compensation.” ​ 5. Schools told to sensitise students on cyber bullying - The Delhi government has issued a circular to all the heads of schools to educate students and their parents about the safe use of Internet and sensitise them about cyberbullying and online threats as they continue to ​ ​ attend classes online due to the pandemic. - The Directorate of Education (DoE) said a study has been conducted by India Child Protection Fund (ICPF) ​ regarding online exploitation of children and increase in activities related to child sexual abuse material, which ​ ​ indicates a sharp rise in demand for online child pornography during the lockdown. ​ ​ 6. Delhi court grants bail to Disha - Terming the ‘toolkit’ shared by climate change activist Disha Ravi as “innocuous”, a Delhi court granted her bail. ​ ​ Additional sessions judge Dharmender Rana said, “The perusal of the said ‘toolkit’ reveals that any call for any ​ kind of violence is conspicuously absent.” ​ - Dealing with the interpretation of the word ‘sedition’, a charge slapped by the Delhi Police on the 22-year old activist, the judge said, “Law proscribes only such activities as would be intended, or have a tendency, to create ​ disorder or disturbance of public peace by resort to violence”. ​ 7. Govt. Withdraws order on online science meets - The government has withdrawn a controversial order that required scientists and researchers, among others, participating in online international scientific seminars and conferences, to get prior clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs. The order, issued on January 31, had drawn severe backlash from scientists. - The restrictions, according to scientists, were too broad based and vague and would have made it impossible ​ ​ for many scientists to participate in online conferences without contravening the law. 8. Plea seeks simplification of child adoption process - Lengthy and cumbersome adoption procedures of the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) and the ​ ​ increasing number of childless couples have given rise to a “grey market” for adoption, an NGO told the Delhi ​ ​ High Court. - A Bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh issued notice to the Ministry of Women and Child ​ Development, Delhi government, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and CARA ​ ​ seeking their stand on the NGO’s plea seeking simplification of the adoption procedure. ​ ​ 9. U.P. Assembly passes Bill on conversion amid protests - Amid protests by the Opposition, the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed by voice vote a Bill to curb ​ religious conversions carried out by fraudulent or any other undue means, including through marriage. ​ - The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2021, seeks to replace the ordinance ​ ​ promulgated in November last year that provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years and a maximum fine of ₹50,000 for violators. Opposing the legislation, parties said that marriage is a personal matter of an individual. 10. Govt. to monitor OTT content - For the first time, the government, under the ambit of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, has brought in detailed guidelines for digital content on both digital ​ media and Over The Top (OTT) platforms, while giving itself overriding powers. The new rules lay down a three ​ tier grievance redressal mechanism. However, over and above this framework, the government has equipped itself with “emergency” powers to block public access of any information. 11. London court’s nod for Nirav Modi’s extradition - The Westminster Magistrates Court in London allowed India’s extradition request against businessman Nirav ​ Modi, who is wanted in connection with the 13,758 crore Punjab National Bank fraud, ruling that a prima facie ​ ​₹ ​ case had been made out. Notice of application for approval to appeal has to be sought within 14 days of extradition, or discharge, ordered by the Secretary of State. 12. Same-sex marriages will cause havoc, Central govt. tells HC - The Centre opposed any changes to the existing laws on marriage to recognise same-sex marriages, saying such ​ interference would cause “a complete havoc with the delicate balance of personal laws in the country”. Living ​ ​ ​ together as partners and having sexual relationship by same-sex individuals is not comparable with the Indian ​ family unit concept". - The Centre submitted that “registration of marriage of same-sex persons also results in violation of existing ​ ​ personal as well as codified law provisions". 13. President’s Rule in Puducherry notified - President’s Rule was imposed in the Union Territory of Puducherry and the Legislative Assembly was placed ​ ​ under suspended animation, according to a notification issued by the Union Home Ministry. Union Territories are administered in accordance with the provisions of Article 239 to 241 of the Constitution, and according to ​ ​ the Allocation of Business Rules, 1961, certain subjects pertaining to Union Territories, namely Legislative ​ ​ matters, Finance and Budget and Services, have been allocated to the Home Ministry. It comes after the fall of Congress govt. 14. SC exploring avenues to offer quick relief to accident victims - The Supreme Court is exploring the creation of a nationwide online mechanism to help road accident victims ​ ​ and their families get compensation within a short time of the accident. A Bench led by Justice S.K. Kaul is considering various avenues to speed up the compensation process, including the setting up of a national grid ​ ​ ​ to seamlessly disburse compensation across States to the online submission of police records and accident claim ​ documents in Motor Accidents Claims Tribunals - The court’s intervention came on a writ petition filed by one of India’s largest insurance firms, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company, on the plight of victims who have been waiting for years for compensation. 15. AG refuses consent for contempt proceedings against former CJI Gogoi ​ - Attorney General K.K.Venugopal has refused to give consent to an activist to initiate criminal contempt ​ ​ proceedings against former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi for his comments about the Supreme Court. It was reported that Justice Gogoi, now a Rajya Sabha member, had used terms such as “ram shackled” judiciary and so on. 16. ‘Provision to block content under IT rules not new’ ​ - The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting clarified that no “new provision” had been added to the ​ ​ existing law, after the uproar over a provision of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and ​ Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, under which the Secretary of the Ministry can block public access to any ​ information in case of emergency. The