Consent in perpetuity: This is the assumption that once married; a woman gives her permanent consent, which she cannot retract. This concept in the colonial-era law is rooted in the idea that a woman is the ‘property’ of the man who marries her.
Expectation of sex: This is the assumption that a woman is duty-bound or is obligated to fulfil sexual responsibilities in a marriage, since the aim of marriage is procreation. And since the husband has a reasonable expectation of sex in a marriage, the provision implies that a woman cannot deny it.
What are the main arguments against the exception to the IPC section on rape?
It has been argued that the marital rape immunity stands against the light of the right to equality, the right to life with dignity, personhood, sexual, and personal autonomy — all of which are fundamental rights protected under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution respectively.
In the Delhi case, the petitioners argued that the exception creates an unreasonable classification between married and unmarried women and, by corollary, takes away the right of a married woman to give consent to a sexual activity.
They also argued that since courts have recognised that consent can be withdrawn even during or in between a sexual act, the assumption of “consent in perpetuity” cannot be legally valid. On the issue of “reasonable expectation of sex”, the petitioners argued that even though there is a reasonable expectation of sex from a sex worker or other domestic relationships as well, consent is not irrevocable.
The petitioners also argued that since the provision was inserted before the Constitution came into force, the provision cannot be presumed to be constitutional.
In 2013, the J S Verma Committee, set up to look into criminal law reforms following the brutal gangrape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedic in Delhi in 2012, had recommended removing the marital rape exception. But the then government did not change the law on marital rape.
#upsc #news #supremecourt #petitions #maritalrape #immunity #judgment #karnataka #exception #IPCsection375 #quash #charges #perpetuity #autonomy #JSVERMA #committee #criminal #law #paramedic
Expectation of sex: This is the assumption that a woman is duty-bound or is obligated to fulfil sexual responsibilities in a marriage, since the aim of marriage is procreation. And since the husband has a reasonable expectation of sex in a marriage, the provision implies that a woman cannot deny it.
What are the main arguments against the exception to the IPC section on rape?
It has been argued that the marital rape immunity stands against the light of the right to equality, the right to life with dignity, personhood, sexual, and personal autonomy — all of which are fundamental rights protected under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution respectively.
In the Delhi case, the petitioners argued that the exception creates an unreasonable classification between married and unmarried women and, by corollary, takes away the right of a married woman to give consent to a sexual activity.
They also argued that since courts have recognised that consent can be withdrawn even during or in between a sexual act, the assumption of “consent in perpetuity” cannot be legally valid. On the issue of “reasonable expectation of sex”, the petitioners argued that even though there is a reasonable expectation of sex from a sex worker or other domestic relationships as well, consent is not irrevocable.
The petitioners also argued that since the provision was inserted before the Constitution came into force, the provision cannot be presumed to be constitutional.
In 2013, the J S Verma Committee, set up to look into criminal law reforms following the brutal gangrape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedic in Delhi in 2012, had recommended removing the marital rape exception. But the then government did not change the law on marital rape.
#upsc #news #supremecourt #petitions #maritalrape #immunity #judgment #karnataka #exception #IPCsection375 #quash #charges #perpetuity #autonomy #JSVERMA #committee #criminal #law #paramedic
Today's Headlines - 05 August 2023
Govt’s Bill on IIMs over their autonomy
GS Paper - 2 (Polity)
The government has brought a Bill in Parliament giving itself significant say in the appointment and removal of Directors of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), and in initiating inquiries. The Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023, introduced in Lok Sabha, seeks to make changes in the law that governs the administration and running of IIMs. The proposed changes have triggered concern over their potential to erode the autonomy of the IIMs.
What is the purpose of the Bill?
The Bill seeks to amend the Indian Institutes of Management Act, 2017 which declared 20 existing IIMs as “institutions of national importance with a view to empower these institutions to attain standards of global excellence in management, management research and allied areas of knowledge.
Under the 2017 Act, the Director of an IIM is appointed by a Board of Governors, and the government has a limited say in the process.
The proposed amendments essentially seek to alter this situation, and to give the government an expanded role in the appointment of the IIM Director.
How is this change proposed to be effected?
Section 5 of the amendment Bill says that “After section 10 of the principal Act, the following section shall be inserted, namely— ’10A. (1) The President of India shall be the Visitor of every Institute’” covered under the IIM Act.
The Bill prescribes three primary roles for the Visitor: to make appointments, to audit the working of institutions, and to conduct an inquiry.
What is the current process of appointment of the Director?
Section 16(2) of the 2017 Act says “the Director shall be appointed by the Board, on such terms and conditions of service as may be prescribed.”
Section 16(1) says the “Director shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Institute and shall provide leadership to the Institute and be responsible for implementation of the decisions of the Board”.
Section 16(3) says “the Director shall be appointed out of the panel of names recommended by a search-cum-selection committee to be constituted by the Board”.
The Board chairperson will head the search-cum-selection committee, which will also have “three members chosen from amongst eminent administrators, industrialists, educationists, scientists, technocrats and management specialists”.
#upsc #news #headline #govtbill #autonomy #polity #parliament #institutes #management #IIMS #loksabha #purpose #bill #global #governors #section16 #chief #executive #officer #panel #eminent #administrators #educationists #scientists #technocrats
Govt’s Bill on IIMs over their autonomy
GS Paper - 2 (Polity)
The government has brought a Bill in Parliament giving itself significant say in the appointment and removal of Directors of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), and in initiating inquiries. The Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023, introduced in Lok Sabha, seeks to make changes in the law that governs the administration and running of IIMs. The proposed changes have triggered concern over their potential to erode the autonomy of the IIMs.
What is the purpose of the Bill?
The Bill seeks to amend the Indian Institutes of Management Act, 2017 which declared 20 existing IIMs as “institutions of national importance with a view to empower these institutions to attain standards of global excellence in management, management research and allied areas of knowledge.
Under the 2017 Act, the Director of an IIM is appointed by a Board of Governors, and the government has a limited say in the process.
The proposed amendments essentially seek to alter this situation, and to give the government an expanded role in the appointment of the IIM Director.
How is this change proposed to be effected?
Section 5 of the amendment Bill says that “After section 10 of the principal Act, the following section shall be inserted, namely— ’10A. (1) The President of India shall be the Visitor of every Institute’” covered under the IIM Act.
The Bill prescribes three primary roles for the Visitor: to make appointments, to audit the working of institutions, and to conduct an inquiry.
What is the current process of appointment of the Director?
Section 16(2) of the 2017 Act says “the Director shall be appointed by the Board, on such terms and conditions of service as may be prescribed.”
Section 16(1) says the “Director shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Institute and shall provide leadership to the Institute and be responsible for implementation of the decisions of the Board”.
Section 16(3) says “the Director shall be appointed out of the panel of names recommended by a search-cum-selection committee to be constituted by the Board”.
The Board chairperson will head the search-cum-selection committee, which will also have “three members chosen from amongst eminent administrators, industrialists, educationists, scientists, technocrats and management specialists”.
#upsc #news #headline #govtbill #autonomy #polity #parliament #institutes #management #IIMS #loksabha #purpose #bill #global #governors #section16 #chief #executive #officer #panel #eminent #administrators #educationists #scientists #technocrats
Today's Headlines - 05 September 2023
A sunrace of significant global missions
GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)
In the wake of the Indian Space Research Organisation's successful launch of its inaugural solar mission, Aditya-L1,, let's embark on a journey through key missions from space agencies worldwide, all dedicated to unravelling the enigmatic secrets of the Sun.
A Sunrace
USA
US: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the US space agency, launched the Parker Solar Probe in August 2018. In December 2021, Parker flew through the Sun's upper atmosphere, the corona, and sampled particles and magnetic fields there. This was the first time ever that a spacecraft touched the Sun, according to NASA.
In February 2020, NASA joined hands with the European Space Agency (ESA) and launched The Solar Orbiter to collect data to find out how the Sun created and controlled the constantly changing space environment throughout the solar system.
Other active solar missions by NASA are Advanced Composition Explorer launched in August, 1997; Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory in October, 2006; Solar Dynamics Observatory in February, 2010; and Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph launched in June, 2013.
Also, in December, 1995, NASA, ESA and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) jointly launched the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).
Japan
JAXA, Japan's space agency, launched its first solar observation satellite, Hinotori (ASTRO-A), in 1981. The objective was to study solar flares using hard X-rays, according to JAXA. JAXA's other solar exploratory missions are Yohkoh (SOLAR-A) launched in 1991; SOHO (along with NASA and ESA) in 1995; and Transient Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE), along with NASA, in 1998.
In 2006, Hinode (SOLAR-B) was launched, which was the successor to Yohkoh (SOLAR-A), the orbiting solar observatory. Japan launched it in collaboration with the US and the UK. The objective of Hinode, an observatory satellite, is to study the impact of the Sun on the Earth.
Yohkoh's objective was to observe solar flares and the solar corona. It was the first satellite to track almost an entire 11-year solar activity cycle.
Europe
In October, 1990, the ESA launched Ulysses to study the environment of space above and below the poles of the Sun, giving scientists information about the variable effect the Sun has on the space surrounding it. Other than solar missions launched in collaboration with NASA and the JAXA, the ESA launched Proba-2 in October, 2001.
Proba-2 is the second of the Proba series, building on nearly eight years of successful Proba-1 experience, even as Proba-1 was not a solar exploratory mission. On-board Proba-2 were four experiments, two of them were solar observation experiments.
Proba stands for Project for On-Board Autonomy. Upcoming solar missions of the ESA include Proba-3, scheduled for 2024 and Smile, scheduled for 2025.
China
The Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S) was successfully launched by the National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in October, 2022. The ASO-S mission is designed to reveal connections among the solar magnetic field, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
Solar flares and CMEs are eruptive solar phenomena, thought to be driven by changes in the Sun's magnetic field.
#upsc #news #headline #sunrace #significant #global #missions #spacetechnology #indian #space #organisation #AdityaL1 #NASA #Solar #magnetic #fields #spacecraft #firsttime #orbiter #ESA #enviroments #spectrograph #JAXA #SOHO #japan #USA #EUROPE #CHINA #ASO #CMEs #autonomy #mission
A sunrace of significant global missions
GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)
In the wake of the Indian Space Research Organisation's successful launch of its inaugural solar mission, Aditya-L1,, let's embark on a journey through key missions from space agencies worldwide, all dedicated to unravelling the enigmatic secrets of the Sun.
A Sunrace
USA
US: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the US space agency, launched the Parker Solar Probe in August 2018. In December 2021, Parker flew through the Sun's upper atmosphere, the corona, and sampled particles and magnetic fields there. This was the first time ever that a spacecraft touched the Sun, according to NASA.
In February 2020, NASA joined hands with the European Space Agency (ESA) and launched The Solar Orbiter to collect data to find out how the Sun created and controlled the constantly changing space environment throughout the solar system.
Other active solar missions by NASA are Advanced Composition Explorer launched in August, 1997; Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory in October, 2006; Solar Dynamics Observatory in February, 2010; and Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph launched in June, 2013.
Also, in December, 1995, NASA, ESA and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) jointly launched the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).
Japan
JAXA, Japan's space agency, launched its first solar observation satellite, Hinotori (ASTRO-A), in 1981. The objective was to study solar flares using hard X-rays, according to JAXA. JAXA's other solar exploratory missions are Yohkoh (SOLAR-A) launched in 1991; SOHO (along with NASA and ESA) in 1995; and Transient Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE), along with NASA, in 1998.
In 2006, Hinode (SOLAR-B) was launched, which was the successor to Yohkoh (SOLAR-A), the orbiting solar observatory. Japan launched it in collaboration with the US and the UK. The objective of Hinode, an observatory satellite, is to study the impact of the Sun on the Earth.
Yohkoh's objective was to observe solar flares and the solar corona. It was the first satellite to track almost an entire 11-year solar activity cycle.
Europe
In October, 1990, the ESA launched Ulysses to study the environment of space above and below the poles of the Sun, giving scientists information about the variable effect the Sun has on the space surrounding it. Other than solar missions launched in collaboration with NASA and the JAXA, the ESA launched Proba-2 in October, 2001.
Proba-2 is the second of the Proba series, building on nearly eight years of successful Proba-1 experience, even as Proba-1 was not a solar exploratory mission. On-board Proba-2 were four experiments, two of them were solar observation experiments.
Proba stands for Project for On-Board Autonomy. Upcoming solar missions of the ESA include Proba-3, scheduled for 2024 and Smile, scheduled for 2025.
China
The Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S) was successfully launched by the National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in October, 2022. The ASO-S mission is designed to reveal connections among the solar magnetic field, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
Solar flares and CMEs are eruptive solar phenomena, thought to be driven by changes in the Sun's magnetic field.
#upsc #news #headline #sunrace #significant #global #missions #spacetechnology #indian #space #organisation #AdityaL1 #NASA #Solar #magnetic #fields #spacecraft #firsttime #orbiter #ESA #enviroments #spectrograph #JAXA #SOHO #japan #USA #EUROPE #CHINA #ASO #CMEs #autonomy #mission