20 May 2024

• Elections: Lok Sabha Phase 5 voting was held across 49 constituencies in multiple states.
• Polity: The Supreme Court ruled that election manifesto promises do not constitute corrupt practices under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
• Polity: The Supreme Court restricted the ED's power to arrest under PMLA once a special court takes cognisance of a chargesheet.
• International: India's State Mourning for Iranian President Raisi was observed on 21 May. The first CAA citizenship certificates were also issued to beneficiaries.

GS area: Polity (Elections)

Phase 5 of the 18th Lok Sabha General Elections was held on 20 May 2024.

• Coverage: 49 constituencies across Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal.
• Total election schedule: The 2024 General Election ran across 7 phases from 19 April to 1 June. Results were declared on 4 June.
• ECI's authority: Article 324 vests superintendence, direction, and control of all elections in the Election Commission of India.
• Overall participation: When complete, the 2024 election would see 642 million voters participate, with women voters exercising their franchise at 68.76 per cent turnout (comparable to male turnout for the first time).
• Phase 5 significance: Phase 5 included constituencies in Odisha, where simultaneous state assembly elections were also being held.

Static linkage: ECI, election phases, Article 324, voter participation.

GS area: Science and Technology (Nuclear), History

20 May 2024 was approximately the 50th anniversary of Operation Smiling Buddha, India's first nuclear test, conducted on 18 May 1974.

• Operation Smiling Buddha: India's first nuclear test at Pokhran in Jaisalmer district, Rajasthan. India described it as a "peaceful nuclear explosion," not a weapons test.
• Key scientists: Dr. H.N. Sethna (then Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission) and Dr. Raja Ramanna (led the scientific team at BARC).
• Yield: Approximately 8-10 kilotons (estimates vary; the test was successful but yield assessments differ between Indian and US sources).
• NSG consequence: The test triggered the formation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in 1974-75 by the major nuclear supplier countries, specifically to control nuclear technology transfer to non-NPT states.
• Contrast with 1998: Operation Shakti (1998, Pokhran-II) was an explicit weapons test, declared openly. Smiling Buddha was characterised as civilian/research. Both used Pokhran as the test site.
• BARC: Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai. India's main nuclear research centre, under the Department of Atomic Energy.

Static linkage: Nuclear history, NSG, India's nuclear programme.

GS area: Polity (Criminal Law, Financial Regulation)

The Supreme Court ruled that the Enforcement Directorate loses the power to arrest an accused under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) once a special court takes cognisance of a chargesheet.

• PMLA 2002: India's primary anti-money laundering law. The ED (Enforcement Directorate) is the investigating agency. Special PMLA courts handle trials.
• Previous position: The ED had wide powers to arrest a person at any stage of investigation, even after filing a chargesheet.
• New ruling: Once a special court takes cognisance of the chargesheet, the accused can no longer be arrested under PMLA arrest powers. Continued detention must follow the Criminal Procedure Code's (or BNSS's) framework with access to regular bail.
• Section 45 PMLA (twin conditions for bail): Two strict conditions for bail under PMLA: the accused must satisfy the court that they are not guilty (reverse burden of proof) and that they are not likely to reoffend while on bail.
• Significance: The ruling strengthens procedural rights of those accused under PMLA, a law that has attracted criticism for being used to prolong pre-trial detention.

Static linkage: PMLA, ED's powers, criminal procedure, fundamental rights.

GS area: Polity (Elections)

The Supreme Court ruled in the Zafar Ali Khan case (Karnataka assembly election context) that financial promises in election manifestos do not constitute corrupt practices under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

• Section 123 of RPA 1951: Defines corrupt practices in elections, including bribery and undue influence. It does not explicitly include manifesto promises.
• The case: A petition challenged manifesto promises of cash transfers and free welfare goods, arguing they constituted bribery.
• SC's ruling: Manifesto promises are aspirational policy statements, not offers of specific gratification to individual voters. They cannot be prosecuted as corrupt practices.
• Freebies debate: The broader "freebies" debate continues. The SC in an earlier case asked the ECI to develop a framework for dealing with irrational freebie promises, but stopped short of banning them.
• EC's position: The Election Commission can ask parties to justify their manifesto promises financially under the MCC but cannot ban them.

Static linkage: Election law, RPA 1951, ECI's powers, freebies debate.

GS area: Polity (Constitutional Law, Citizenship)

The first citizenship certificates under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 were issued to beneficiaries. The Ministry of Home Affairs made the announcement.

• CAA 2019: Amended the Citizenship Act, 1955 to provide a fast-track citizenship path for non-Muslim minorities (Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian) who fled religious persecution from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan and entered India on or before 31 December 2014.
• Residency requirement reduced: From 11 years (general naturalisation period) to 5 years for eligible applicants.
• Rules notified: The CAA Rules were finally notified on 11 March 2024, over four years after the Act's passage. Applications open via a designated online portal.
• Constitutional basis: Section 6B inserted into the Citizenship Act by CAA provides the legal framework. The exemption from Foreigners Act and Passport (Entry into India) Act applies to eligible applicants.
• Over 300 certificates: More than 300 citizenship certificates were reportedly issued in the initial round.

Static linkage: Citizenship law, CAA, fundamental rights debate.

• I4C cyber crime warning: Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), under MHA, warned about "digital arrest" scams where fraudsters impersonate police, CBI, NCB, RBI, and ED officials and hold victims on video calls demanding money. I4C had blocked over 1,000 Skype accounts used in such scams. Reporting: cybercrime.gov.in portal.
• Sea anemone bleaching update: ICAR-NBFGR confirmed the Lakshadweep bleaching event affected approximately 60 per cent of Agatti Island's sea anemone population. ICAR-NBFGR is headquartered in Lucknow and studies aquatic genetic resources.
• UNODC Wildlife Crime Report 2024: The third edition found the most trafficked animal by seizure volume was the rhinoceros (horn: 29% of animal seizures), followed by pangolins (28%) and elephants (ivory: 15%). The most trafficked plant group was cedar and related Sapindales species (47%). UNODC is headquartered in Vienna, Austria.