Climate change

Environmental protection rests on the theory that the public trust which means that it is the duty of every person to protect the natural resources for the future generations. Environmental protection involves a number of laws including those for the protection of air, water, wildlife as well as for the control of pollution. The right to pollution free environment is a basic human right in more than a 100 countries that also have laws for environmental protection. Climate change includes the global warming, harsher weather, change in patterns of precipitation and increased frequencies of cyclones and wildfires. Climate change is responsible not just for increasing discomfort but also for the large scale extinction of plant and animal species, rising sea levels, changes in crop seasons and change in migratory patterns of animals. The climate change can be very drastic leading to the extinction of all lifeforms. Ways to combat the changing environmental conditions include reducing waste and pollution levels, using renewable energy sources, recycling, water conservation and energy conservation. Without strictly implementing a plan for environmental protection, it would not be possible to prevent the degradation of the living conditions on the planet.

Decriminalising homosexual relations

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, laid down the punishment for 'unnatural sexual offences'.  The Section provided that anyone who has voluntarily entered into a sexual relation with any man, woman for animal, against the law of nature, shall be punishable. The said provisions, as far as they dealt with consensual relationship between two adults, were in violation of the rights to equality (under Articles 14 and 15 of the Indian Constitution) and the right to privacy (Article 21). The said Section was held unconstitutional by the Delhi High Court in 2009 but it was overruled by the Supreme Court in 2010. Recently, the Supreme Court has unanimously held by a five member bench that sex is natural and the homosexual relationship between two consenting adults is not a crime.

Decriminalisation of politics

Decriminalisation of politics is an important step towards making the legislatures more accountable and trustworthy. Law makers cannot be law breakers. While the law (Section 8 of the Representation of Peoples Act) states that a candidate who is convicted of offence cannot be elected, the Election Commission wants that that any candidate who has a criminal chargesheet filed against him should be barred from contesting the elections if the offence for which he is charged is punishable with imprisonment for a term of five years or more. However, such a proposal is not favourable for many political parties as a number of their candidates may have charges against them. Instead there are proposals that only if the charges were framed within six months of poll should a candidate be barred from contesting elections. Decriminalising politics is a major issue specially as a number of candidates with criminal background may use their influence in turning the poll in their favour. Free and fair elections is the basic structure of the Constitution and the political parties should work with the Election Commission and the judiciary to ensure the same. Fielding candidates with a clear background leads to greater transparency and develops a sense of faith in the electorate. Preserving the sanctity of elections should therefore be of paramount importance for both the parties as well as the other constitutional bodies. 

A woman cannot be forced to live with her husband

The Supreme Court recently observed that an adult woman cannot be forced to live with her husband against her wishes. In the instant case, a muslim man had converted to hinduism to marry a woman but a few months later she moved back to her parent's home and refused to live with him. The woman  contented that she had moved back with her own volition and was not in form of pressure. The court observed that an adult woman cannot be forced to live with husband against her wishes. The court further stated that this type of case comes under matrimonial dispute and a writ of habeas corpus cannot be entertained and should be adjudicated by a relevant court instead.

Visual impairment and medical education

The Supreme Court has recently paved the way for visually impaired candidates to become a doctor. The Court has stated that candidates with low vision cannot be denied admission to medical courses. Rejecting the contention of the medical council that medical colleges are technical institutions and are thus not covered in higher educational institutions, the court observed that the term 'higher education institute' includes technical institutions. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act provides a 5% reservation for differently abled candidates in educational institutions. The court observed that there is nothing in law to prevent a candidate with a visual impairment of 40% or more from becoming a doctor.

Hate crimes and accountability

In the past couple of months there has been a spur in the instances of lynching. A number of innocent individuals became victim of hate crimes and public lynching. Most of these cases have their origin based on the forwarded messages on social media. Taking a notice of the rising instances of hate crimes, a limit has been put on the number of times a message is forwarded as well as each forwarded message is marked as such. The Supreme Court had previously taken notice of the issue and had asked the company to take actions to prevent such instances, following which a limit of five times was put on a person forwarding messages.
The Supreme Court taking further cognisance of the matter has issued directives that the whatsapp establishes a grievance office to look into the complaints of the consumers. The Court also directed that the company should follow the RBI directives to know know more about its subscribers (the Know Your Customer-KYC) and also follows all Indian laws on the subject. The company has replied that following the KYC guidelines would infringe the rights off privacy of its consumers.
While the rights of an individual pertaining to privacy and speech and expression are also subjected to certain the restrictions, an action to prevent other innocent victims from hate crimes is also imminent.

Transparency in religious institutions

The Supreme Court recently observed that all religious and charitable institutions should be open for audit of their hygiene, entry, accounts and assets. The Court observed that when a complaint about any such institution is filed, the district authorities should inspect and audit the premises. It observed that the reports sent by the district magistrate to the high courts should be treated as PILs. The Court observed that the issues related to the difficulties faced by the people visiting these shrines and institutions, the matters of hygiene, the inadequacy of the management, the utilisation of offerings is not only the responsibility of the state and central government but also of the courts. Taking a stand on the affairs of the Jagannath Puri temple, the Court observed that its doors should be opened for everyone, observing that the principles of hinduism embrace all kinds. In order to protect the devotees from harassment, the court observed that no sevak can have his individual place from where he sells offerings and instead they should be remunerated from the temple funds. The court ordered the installation of CCTV cameras to check the harassment of devotees in the temple premises.