20 December 2023

• New criminal laws: Lok Sabha passed all three new criminal law bills: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (replacing IPC), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (replacing CrPC), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (replacing Indian Evidence Act). Over 140 opposition members were suspended.
• Tunnel rescue: The Uttarkashi tunnel collapse that had trapped 41 workers was resolved when "rathole" miners tunnelled through the final obstruction by hand.
• Voting rights: The Supreme Court directed the formation of a fresh Delimitation Commission to rebalance diluted SC/ST reserved seats.
• Goa Liberation Day: December 19 marked the 62nd anniversary of Operation Vijay that liberated Goa from Portuguese rule in 1961.

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GS area: Polity (legislation)

The Lok Sabha passed all three new criminal law bills on 20 December 2023. Over 140 opposition members had been suspended from the House earlier in the session, raising procedure questions:

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS):

• Replaces the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC).
• Reorganises offences. Sedition is removed as a standalone offence but "acts endangering sovereignty" provisions retain similar scope.
• Terrorism defined in the main penal code for the first time (previously only in UAPA).
• Introduces mandatory minimum sentences for certain sexual offences.

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS):

• Replaces the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC).
• Introduces a 90-day limit for police investigations in custody cases.
• Provides for trials in absentia for proclaimed offenders after three months of absconding.
• Mandates video recording of search and seizure operations.

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA):

• Replaces the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
• Recognises electronic records and electronic signatures as primary evidence.
• Updates the definition of documents to include digital formats.

All three received presidential assent on 25 December 2023 and were notified in the Gazette. They came into force on 1 July 2024.

Static linkage: Criminal law, Parliament, judicial reform.

GS area: Society, Disaster Management

41 construction workers were rescued after being trapped for 17 days in a tunnel collapse at Silkyara in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand:

• What happened: A tunnel under construction for the Char Dham all-weather road project collapsed, trapping workers inside.
• Rescue challenge: Large mechanised auger machines failed as the drill bit hit steel debris. Manually trained "rathole miners" were then called to dig the final stretch by hand through a narrow passage.
• Rathole mining: A technique of manual mining using small, constricting passages. It is banned in India under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act and a Supreme Court order due to its extreme danger and coal mine safety violations. The Uttarkashi use was a one-off safety exception.
• Ethical dimension: The incident raised questions about whether workers should receive legal immunity for performing banned activities when necessary to save lives.
• Char Dham road project: A Rs 12,000 crore project to provide all-weather road connectivity to the four Char Dham pilgrimage sites in Uttarakhand.

Static linkage: Disaster management, labour rights, mountain connectivity.

GS area: Polity (elections)

The Supreme Court directed the establishment of a fresh Delimitation Commission to address declining representation for SC/ST reserved constituencies:

• One person, one vote, one value: Constitutional principle requiring approximately equal electoral populations across constituencies.
• Quantitative dilution: UP MPs represent roughly 2.53 million constituents each; Tamil Nadu MPs represent roughly 1.84 million each. The discrepancy arises from population growth variations.
• Delimitation freeze: The 42nd Amendment (1976) froze constituency boundaries based on 1971 census figures until 2001. The 84th Amendment (2002) extended the freeze to 2026 to prevent states from being penalised for successful population control.
• Four delimitation commissions: Established in 1952, 1963, 1973, and 2002.
• Gerrymandering techniques: Cracking (splitting a community across multiple constituencies), stacking (combining communities to dilute majority), and packing (concentrating a community in one constituency to limit representation elsewhere).

Static linkage: Elections, representation, constitutional amendments.

GS area: History (modern India)

December 19 is Goa Liberation Day. It marks Operation Vijay, launched in 1961:

• Operation Vijay: India's military operation to end Portuguese rule over Goa, Daman, and Diu on 19 December 1961.
• Portuguese rule duration: 451 years since Alfonso de Albuquerque's conquest in 1510.
• Key figures: Tristão de Bragança Cunha (Goa's first freedom fighter, led agitation from 1928), Ram Manohar Lohia (led Satyagraha in Goa in 1946).
• Statehood: Goa became India's 25th state on 30 May 1987 (carved out of the Union Territory of Goa, Daman, and Diu).
• Protected areas: Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary (Chorao Island), Mollem National Park (part of Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary).

Static linkage: Modern Indian history, integration of territories.

GS area: Geography, Environment

Research on katabatic winds in the Himalayas found potential climate moderating effects:

• Katabatic winds: Cold, dense air that flows downhill under gravity from elevated terrain to surrounding valleys and plains. In the Himalayas, cold night air drains off the glaciers and slopes.
• Anabatic winds: The opposite. Warm air rises up slopes during the day.
• Climate significance: Himalayan katabatic winds potentially slow warming in high-altitude valleys by bringing cold air down from glaciated zones, moderating local temperatures.

Static linkage: Physical geography, climate change, Himalayan ecosystems.

GS area: Social Justice, Governance

A parliamentary committee finding revealed that thalassemia, haemophilia, and sickle cell disease are excluded from the 4 per cent reservation for persons with disabilities:

• Reservation framework: The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 provides a 4 per cent reservation in government employment. Of this, 1 per cent is reserved for benchmark disabilities including blindness, locomotor disability, and others listed in the Act.
• Blood disorder exclusion: Chronic genetic blood disorders are not among the listed benchmark disabilities. Advocacy groups have sought their inclusion.
• National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission: India launched this mission with a screening and awareness target for tribal populations, who have higher sickle cell disease prevalence.

Static linkage: Social justice, disability rights, Constitution (Article 41).

• Marine Protected Areas: 130 Marine Protected Areas and 106 Important Coastal Marine Biodiversity Areas (ICMBAs) have been identified in India. Project Dolphin was launched in 2021. The Dugong Conservation Reserve in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay is India's first dedicated dugong reserve.
• Lathyrism ban: India banned khesari dal (Lathyrus sativus) in 1961 under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act due to the neurotoxin BAPN causing lathyrism, a permanent neurological condition affecting the legs. A government committee in 2015 recommended lifting the ban given newly developed low-toxin varieties.

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