Good morning, The Supreme Court’s order on sedition cases, the Delhi High Court’s split verdict on marital rape, and the RBI’s plan to tackle inflation – here are the top reads of today’s edition The Big Story
The Supreme Court has put on hold trial in all sedition cases pending before courts across the country until the government completes its promised exercise “to re-examine and re-consider the provisions of Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code” dealing with the offence of sedition. The court said that there is a “requirement to balance… security interests and integrity of the State… and the civil liberties of citizens”. Chitranshul Sinha, Advocate-on-Record of the Supreme Court of India, writes on the apex court’s latest verdict on sedition: "The language used by the Court is “trials, appeals and proceedings”, which would then also put in abeyance even such appeals where convictions are under challenge. The Court should have granted liberty to the appellate courts to grant appropriate relief in cases where the accused is incarcerated during the pendency of their appeal.” The conviction rate in cases filed under the sedition law has fluctuated between 3% and 33% over the years, and the pendency of such cases in court reached a high of 95% in 2020. Since 2014, when the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) started compiling data on sedition, 399 sedition cases have been filed across the country, including a high of 93 in 2019, and 73 in 2020. Incidentally, 2019 is also the year with the lowest conviction rate at 3.3%. We break down some of these numbers. Only in the Express
Election strategist Prashant Kishor at a recent Express e.Adda spoke about how polarisation in elections is “much overhyped”, the BJP as a “formidable election party”, and what the Opposition needs to do. “For every Hindu who is impressed with the BJP’s narrative of Hindutva, there is one Hindu who is not”, and the Opposition needs to remember that, Kishor said. From the Front Page On petitions seeking the criminalisation of marital rape, the Delhi High Court delivered a split verdict. While Justice Rajiv Shakdher struck down the Exception 2 that protects men, who have forced non-consensual intercourse with their wives, from criminal prosecution under Section 376 IPC, Justice C Hari Shankar disagreed. The split verdict paves the way for adjudication by the Supreme Court. With inflation seen as posing the “biggest threat” to the economy, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is looking at reversing all measures – liquidity infused and policy rate cuts – taken during the pandemic over the next 1-2 years, a source told The Indian Express. The Consumer Price Index or CPI-based inflation is expected to breach the 7 per cent mark in April. “Three-fourth of the CPI is due to war risk… Supply-side constraints have worsened, and we are forced to act,” the source said. Nine years ago, Akol Rani Namasudhra’s son allegedly died by suicide after being served a notice to prove his citizenship in Assam. Three months ago, she received a similar notice. On Wednesday, she was finally declared “Indian”. The news of her son’s death had led Narendra Modi, while campaigning for the 2014 Lok Sabha election in their district before becoming the Prime Minister, to hit out at the Congress government in power at the time for violating human rights.
Artists Mayur and Tushar Vayeda from Mumbai paint a wall of Delhi's Lodhi Colony, for the first time after the Covid-19 lockdown, with Warli art. (📸 Praveen Khanna)
Must Read From the six groups formed to come up with suggestions to be discussed at the Congress’ “Chintan Shivir” beginning Friday, the youth and empowerment committee has suggested that the party “rebrand” itself as a “considerably young organisation” and reorient its approach and communication strategy to appeal to youngsters. In an interview with The Indian Express, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai spoke about the recent hijab controversy, halal row and the use of loudspeakers at mosques: “Our administration has been very, very fair. Even on the azaan issue, I said the Supreme Court’s order will be followed. In the case of halal or azaan, the orders were issued during Congress rule,” Bommai said. “But the Congress people are not ready to obey their own orders. Due to political reasons, the present Congress party is not ready to follow them. But I am following the rule of law.” And Finally...
On Wednesday, 22-year-old runner Jyothi Yarraji was finally able to rewrite the 20-year-old national mark set by Anuradha Biswal in 2002 with a 13.23s gold-winning effort at the Cyprus International Meet. Despite beating the record twice in the past, she was denied a national record both times. From giving up junk food, including her all-time favourite biriyani, to sacrificing family life — Jyothi speaks about the rigorous training routine that helped her set a new national record. 🤫 Delhi Confidential: While the government has never openly admitted that demonetisation was a mistake, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday made an oblique reference to this while praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his communication skills. “Because of his communication skills, in spite of demonetisation, he was able to win the elections,” he said at an event. 🎧 In today’s episode of the ‘3 Things’ podcast, we look at the significance of the Delhi High Court’s verdict regarding marital rape, what the latest NFHS data reveals about children’s diet in India, and how the rupee falling affects you. Until tomorrow,
Rahel Philipose and Sonal Gupta
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