Daily News Capsules
1. CJI Gavai backs exclusion of creamy layer in quota for SCs
Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai on Sunday affirmed that he is still for exclusion of creamy layer in reservations to Scheduled Castes. Addressing a programme “India and the Living Indian Constitution at 75 Years”, Gavai opined that children of an IAS officer cannot be equated with the offsprings of a poor agricultural labourer when it comes to reservations. “I also went further and took a view that the concept of creamy layer, as has been found in the judgment of Indra Sawhney (vs Union of India & Others). What is applicable to the Other Backward Classes, should also be made applicable to Scheduled Castes, though my judgment has been widely criticised on that issue,” Gavai said. “But I still hold that judges are not supposed to normally justify their judgments, and I still have about a week to go (retirement),” he added. CJI Gavai observed in 2024 that states must evolve a policy for identifying the creamy layer even among the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Schedule Tribes (ST) and deny them the benefit of reservation. Asserting that the Indian Constitution is not “static”, Justice Gavai said Dr BR Ambedkar always considered that it has to be evolving, organic, and a state-of-the-art living document as Article 368 provides for the amendment of the Constitution.
Possible Question
Critically examine the evolving judicial debate over applying the creamy layer principle to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. What constitutional, social-justice, and administrative factors should guide future policy on intra group equity in reservations?
2. US lowers tariffs amid anger over grocery prices
US President Donald Trump on Friday rolled back tariffs on more than 200 food products, including such staples as coffee, beef, bananas and orange juice, in the face of growing angst among American consumers about the high cost of groceries. The new exemptions mark a sharp reversal for Trump, who has long insisted that the sweeping import duties he imposed earlier this year are not fueling inflation. “They may in some cases” raise prices, Trump said of his tariffs when asked about the move aboard Air Force One on Friday evening. But he insisted that overall, the US has “virtually no inflation.” Democrats have won a string of victories in state and local elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York City, where growing voter concerns about affordability, including high food prices, were a key topic. Trump also told reporters aboard Air Force One that he would move forward with a $2,000 payment to lower-and middle income Americans that would be funded by tariff revenues sometime next year. The White House, in a fact sheet on the order, said it came on the heels of “significant progress the President has made in securing more reciprocal terms for our bilateral trade relationships.” It said Trump decided certain food items could be exempted since they were not grown or processed in the United States, and given the conclusion of nine framework deals, two final agreements on reciprocal trade, and two investment deals.
Possible Question
Analyse the implications of Trump’s tariff policies on the local economy as well as on international relations.
3. X moves HC against Sahyog portal order
X Corp has filed an appeal before the Karnataka high court challenging a single judge’s decision that upheld the Union government’s authority to issue content blocking directions through the central Sahyog portal, which is used to automate notices to intermediaries to remove unlawful online content. The appeal, filed on November 14, seeks to overturn the September 24 judgment, which had dismissed X Corp’s plea questioning the scope of Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The appeal is yet to be numbered by the registry. Once it is numbered, it will come up for hearing before a division bench. In its original petition filed in March this year, challenging the Union government’s mandatory direction to social media intermediaries to join the Sahyog portal, X Corp had argued that officers of the central government do not have independent statutory power to issue blocking orders under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act. It had argued that such directions can only be issued under the detailed procedural framework prescribed in Section 69A of the IT Act, read with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. On September 24 this year, however, a single bench of justice M Nagaprasanna had rejected this contention and dismissed X Corp’s plea, holding that the government’s use of the Sahyog portal was legally valid and consistent with the scheme of the IT Act.
Possible Question
Evaluate the constitutional and institutional questions raised by automated government takedown systems such as the Sahyog portal.
4. ‘Inquiry into NCLAT judge case must be handled solely by CJI’
The Supreme Court on Friday made it clear that any inquiry into the sensational revelation made in August by a judicial member of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) — that a judge “of a high constitutional court” telephoned him multiple times in connection with a pending appeal — must be handled exclusively by the Chief Justice of India on the administrative side. While acknowledging that the episode raised issues of “vital public importance”, a bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said that it would be inappropriate for the court to entertain the matter judicially. The bench was hearing a petition filed by M/s AS Met Corp Pvt Ltd, a party in the insolvency appeal where the NCLAT member, justice Sharad Kumar Sharma, had abruptly recused himself in August after disclosing the alleged phone calls. Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Prashant Bhushan pressed for a formal inquiry, and objected to reported news that the Supreme Court secretary general had been asked to look into the matter. Bhushan submitted that the secretary general was “not an appropriate authority” to probe allegations that he claimed, might involve, a sitting chief justice of a high court. The bench agreed. “The secretary general cannot inquire into something like this,” remarked the bench, but cautioned that any judicial intervention into the issue could “transgress into the administrative authority that a particular entity might have”. The court then requested the NCLAT chairperson, justice Ashok Bhushan, to list the plea before his bench in New Delhi and decide it “at the earliest.”
Possible Question
Analyse the mechanisms available within the Indian judiciary to address allegations of judicial impropriety. How can institutional integrity be protected while ensuring separation between judicial and administrative functions?
5. HC denies relief to same-sex couple in I-T case
The Bombay high court last week refused to grant interim relief to a same-sex couple who had moved the court to challenge the constitutional validity of Section 56(2)(x) of the Income-Tax Act — the provision that provides tax immunity for gifts exchanged between spouses, but only within heterosexual marriages. A division bench of justices Burgess Colabawalla and Amit Jamsandekar heard submissions from petitioners Payio Ashiho and Vivek Divan, who argued that the statute’s protection for “spouses” discriminates against same-sex couples who are unable, under current Indian law, to qualify as “spouses.” The petition sought either an interpretation of the fifth proviso to section 56(2)(x), which exempts gifts from “relatives,” including “spouses”, to read “spouse” as covering same-sex partners, or a declaration extending the exemption to such couples. But with statutory and constitutional questions to be weighed, the court said it could not complete the detailed hearing and frame a judgement before compliance deadlines for the current assessment year. When the counsel sought an interim direction to protect the couple from coercive tax action, the bench refused, observing bluntly that tax obligations cannot be held in suspension, “If you succeed, you will get your money back… but till then we cannot protect you,” the judge said. The bench accepted a request for fuller briefing and listed it for second week of December.
Possible Question
Examine the constitutional and policy implications of tax provisions that implicitly rely on heteronormative definitions of “spouse.” Should fiscal statutes evolve independently of, or in tandem with, broader marriage-equality jurisprudence?
Editorial Snapshots
A. Bihar’s trust vote for NDA
When an alliance’s two main constituents have a strike rate in excess of 80%, and it manages to get almost half of all votes polled (a vote share of 46.6%, 8.7-percentage points higher than the opposing grouping’s), you get a result like the Bihar one, where the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 202 seats in the 243-member assembly. There is a strong operational aspect to the victory — this is the kind of success an alliance enjoys when its constituents pull together, ensuring a near-complete transfer of votes to partners. The strike rates of the two main partners — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal- United, which contested 101 seats each — at 88.1% and 84.2% clearly demonstrate this. In 2020, the JD(U)’s chances were sabotaged by the LJP; this time, the LJP was part of the alliance, and won 19 of the 28 seats it contested. From choice of candidates to campaign effort, the NDA didn’t put a step wrong — unlike the opposing Grand Alliance (or Mahagathbandhan), the divisions between whose constituents surfaced repeatedly over the campaign. But there is also a strategic aspect to the victory, one built around several strands. The first one is welfarism, which has worked well for incumbent governments in recent polls — from Maharashtra to Madhya Pradesh to Jharkhand — especially when it is sharply focused on women. The second one was the BJP’s decision to project Nitish Kumar — a largely invisible presence during the campaign on account of his indifferent health — as the face of the NDA, despite what must have been a very strong temptation to push for its own candidate in a state where it is now the single-largest political party in terms of representation in the assembly. And the third one was the alliance’s choice of campaign issues — the old faithful duo of development and nationalism, and reminding voters (90% of whom had a first hand experience of the RJD’s rule in the state) of what it termed Jungle Raj. The Grand Alliance’s constituents bickered over seats, spoke in many voices, and chose issues that did not resonate with the electorate (for instance, this newspaper has repeatedly written about the revision in electoral rolls being a non-issue in Bihar). The result isn’t just an extremely poor performance, but likely marks the demise of the Lalu political dynasty. One of his sons lost the election, and the other, the leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and his chosen successor, scraped through, and the party’s M-Y (Muslim-Yadav) vote bank is beginning to show cracks. Still, the RJD’s performance and the imminent challenge the victorious JD-U now faces in finding a successor to Nitish Kumar in the next few years mean that Bihar’s politics could be in for a period of churn.
Possible Question
Assess the political and sociological factors behind the National Democratic Alliance’s strong electoral performance in Bihar. How do welfare delivery, party organisation and alliance management shape contemporary state-level mandates?
B. India-Bhutan: Reiterating old ties in a new context
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi was on a two-day visit to Bhutan last week. The visit was intended to address the new dynamics of a changing Bhutan, while underscoring India’s gratitude and willingness to engage with the popular and beloved monarchy of the country. Bhutan today is at a crossroads. Decades of unaddressed economic and social problems and little economic diversification have contributed to youth unemployment (17.8%). In recent years, over 9% of its population has migrated elsewhere, hollowing out the country’s working population and bureaucracy. By 2027, the country will also transition into an ageing society. China has continued intrusions into Bhutanese territories, pressuring the country to demarcate borders and enhance diplomatic relations. To cope with these challenges, Bhutan is redefining itself under the leadership of its fifth king, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. The State has introduced Gyalsung — a policy of mandatory national service for Bhutanese attaining 18 years of age — to promote a new form of civic nationalism. This is also being supplemented by the flagship project of Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), a special administrative region bordering Assam, intended to draw investments, promote innovation, and economic growth. India and Bhutan have also continued to reshape their ties, especially with frequent high-level engagements. India is assisting Bhutan with Gyalsung and is also helping with the GMC’s success by enhancing connectivity. India and Bhutan inaugurated a check post in Darranga in 2024, and Bhutan will also enjoy access to Assam’s Jogighopa multi-modal logistics park. India will be funding two railway links between Samtse and Banarhat (Assam) and Gelephu and Kokrajhar (Assam). India has agreed to open an immigration check post at Gelephu. During PM Modi’s visit, both countries inaugurated the 1,020 MW Punatsangchuu -2 project, which will add to 40% of Bhutan’s total production capacity. Discussions were also held on resuming Punatsangchuu-1. India also offered Bhutan its first-ever Line of Credit worth ₹4,000 crore in the energy sector. This is in addition to the ₹10,000-crore assistance for Bhutan’s current Five-Year Plan and economic stimulus package. The visit was symbolic too. It coincided with the 70th birth anniversary of the fourth king, the ongoing Global Peace Prayer Festival, and the presence of the Holy Piprahwa Relics of Lord Buddha from India. India has announced land for the construction of a Buddhist temple in Varanasi. This is in addition to the previously inaugurated Bhutanese temple in Nalanda. In essence, the visit was both symbolic and substantive. By touching upon several issues like connectivity, development cooperation, culture, energy, and defence and security, India has demonstrated that it will remain a steadfast partner to the country even as it faces a new set of domestic changes.
Possible Question
Discuss how India’s neighbourhood policy can adapt to demographic, geopolitical and economic transitions in Bhutan. How do connectivity, hydropower cooperation and cultural diplomacy contribute to long-term strategic stability?
Fact of the day
SMEs find gold in new markets as US tariffs bite: Indian small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) efforts to diversify from the high-tariff US market to hitherto unexplored countries such as Togo, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Uganda, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Kenya, Bahrain, and Poland have earned them “significant” premium for their goods from new vendors as compared to traditional American buyers. “In recent Reverse Buyer Seller Meets (RBSM) in Vizag and Pune this month, new buyers offered better rates for Indian products than traditional buyers. For example, buyers from Zimbabwe, Rwanda and some other countries offered $2-$4 more for a piece of shirt as compared to the American buyers. The US tariffs have opened new markets for us,” India SME Forum president Vinod Kumar said. Without naming the Indian garment manufacturer, Kumar said a small entrepreneur who used to export formal shirts to the US for $6-8 apiece, could negotiate a sample procurement of 50,000 pieces at around $10 per piece. “High tariffs imposed by the US did hit India’s garment exports to America, but it also opened up new opportunities,” he said. “After the success of Pune and Vizag, we are now planning 12 more RBSMs soon,” he said, adding that these are called reverse meets because potential buyers from different countries visit India unlike earlier practice of Indian firms visiting different markets scouting for buyers. RBSMs are organised by the India SME Forum under the aegis of the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in association with the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) and respective state governments. The RBSM programme invites first-time international buyers from non-traditional markets, including Togo, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Rwanda, Uganda, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Kenya, Bahrain and Poland, Hungary, along with buyers from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Japan, New Zealand and Australia, Kumar said.
