Polity

Pardoning powers granted under article 72 of the constitution to the President   Pardon – It removes both the sentence and the conviction and completely absolves the convict from all the sentences, punishments and disqualifications. Commutation – It denotes the substitution of one form of punishment for a lighter form. Remission – It implies reducing … Read more

The FR’s and DPSP are enshrined in part III and Part IV of the constitution. The former is justiciable and latter is not. In order to implement DPSP the FR’s gets violated. The conflict arises when the State needs to implement a directive principle and it infringes/ abridges the fundamental rights of the citizens. Earlier … Read more

. By the beginning of 1973 Indira Gandhi’s popularity began to decline. People’s expectations were unfulfilled. Little dent was being made in rural or urban poverty or economic inequality, nor was there any lessening of caste and class oppression in the countryside. The immediate provocation for the rising discontent was the marked deterioration in the … Read more

The distribution of legislative powers between the Centre and the states is rigid. Consequently, the Centre cannot delegate its legislative powers to the states and a single state cannot request the Parliament to make a law on a state subject. The distribution of executive power in general follows the distribution of legislative powers. But, such … Read more

Integrating institutional reforms in local governance with economic reforms was Gandhiji’s far-sighted vision of ‘Poorna Swaraj’. Economic reforms and local government empowerment were the two great initiatives launched in the 1990s. While economic reforms have taken roots and have yielded dividends, local government empowerment, as envisaged, has not taken place. The key reason behind such … Read more

These were laid down by the Supreme Court in a judgment in 1997. This was on a case filed by women’s rights groups, one of which was Vishaka. They had filed a public interest litigation over the alleged gang-rape of Bhanwari Devi, a social worker from Rajasthan. In 1992, she had prevented the marriage of … Read more

. The National Commission for SCs and STs came into being consequent upon passing of the 65th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1990. The Commission was established under Article 338 of the Constitution with the objective of monitoring all the safeguards provided for the SCs and STs under the Constitution or other law. Geographically and culturally, … Read more

The draft legislation is based on the 2010 report SudhaKaul Committee, and will replace the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995.  The act was brought to comply with the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to which India became a signatory in 2007. The 1995 Act recognised 7 disabilities – blindness, low vision, leprosy-cured, … Read more

Nagaraj and others vs Union of India and others, 2006 was judgement passed against in the case of petition filed against the constitutional validity of &77, 81, 82 and 85 amendment act. 77 CAA- inserted clause 4A in article 16( equality of opportunity in matters of public employment; reservation in promotion) 81 CAA- inserted clause … Read more

DPSP are enshrined in part IV of the constitution and they are constitutional direction to achieve social and economic democracy in India. They are akin to instrument of instruction and are fundamental to the governance of the country. They have paramount utility as: They act as a source of benchmark to judge the performance of … Read more