News Analysis India

Tag: Law

  • Maratha quota: Special session of Maharashtra Assembly to commence today, Maratha quota likely on agenda

    The Maharashtra government will hold a special Vidhan Sabha session for one day on Tuesday to hold discussion on the Maratha reservation issue.

    Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde stressed on Friday that reservation to Marathas will be given according to the terms of the law after presenting the report in during the special assembly session called for February 20.

    “The survey has been conducted on nearly 2-2.5 crore people… Keeping in mind that the OBC community is not left behind in the process, the government will present the report to the cabinet committee. On February 20, we have called a special session of the assembly, after which the Maratha reservation will be given according to the terms of the law…,” CM Shinde said.The decision to hold the session was taken at the weekly Cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

    “The cabinet meeting has given its nod to convene a one-day special session of the legislature on Tuesday, February 20, to discuss the various demands of the Maratha community,” a note issued by the Chief Minister’s office stated.

    The decision to convene a special session was prompted by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil, who is on a hunger strike at Antarwali Saarati village in Jalna district.After the Maha Vikas Aghadi meeting, Congress president Nana Patole said that the Maharashtra Assembly session would commence on Monday, adding that the meeting was being held to form a strategy for the session. “The Maharashtra Assembly session commences tomorrow. The system is that they should call the opposition for BAC and discuss the proceedings of the House. However, the BJP government in the state does not want to follow the constitutional process. So, we came together to form a strategy for the session,” Patole told ANI.

    Meanwhile, the political scenario of Maharashtra is fluid as Sharad Pawar lost his party name and symbol.

    Veteran politician Sharad Pawar said on Saturday the Election Commission’s decision to recognise the group led by his nephew Ajit Pawar as the ‘real’ Nationalist Congress Party was “not in accordance with law.”

    Sharad Pawar moved the Supreme Court, challenging the decision of the ECI to officially recognise the Ajit Pawar faction as the real NCP and the use of party symbols.

    The Supreme Court on Monday ordered that the interim order by the Election Commission of India (ECI) that allowed veteran leader Sharad Pawar to use ‘Nationalist Congress Party–Sharad Chandra Pawar’ would continue till further orders.

    On February 6, the poll panel, while applying the test of majority in the legislative wing, ruled that Ajit Pawar’s faction was the ‘real’ NCP and permitted the faction to use the ‘clock’ symbol for the party.

    In its order, the Election Commission noted that the total number of NCP MLAs in the Maharashtra State Assembly stood at 81, and out of this, Ajit Pawar submitted affidavits of 57 MLAs in his support, while Sharad Pawar had only 28 affidavits.

    Hence, the poll panel concluded that the Ajit Pawar faction enjoyed the majority support of the legislators and could lay claim to being the NCP. (ANI)

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  • Legal education to be taught in 12 Indian languages in over 1,000 colleges by next year

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  A national committee for developing regional languages in legal education has been constituted by the Bar Council of India (BCI), which will discuss teaching law in 12 Indian languages in over 1,000 colleges. The committee, chaired by Justice S A Bobde, retired Chief Justice of India, plans to roll out textbooks for law students in regional languages by the 2023-24 academic session.

    Manan Kumar Mishra, chairman of the Bar Council of India (BCI), said the committee would ensure publication of good legal textbooks in regional languages so that law institutions would not have any difficulty in imparting legal education in local languages.

    BCI rules already allow legal education in local languages, said Mishra, the working president of the panel. Chamu Krishna Shastry, Chairman, Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti, under the Union education ministry, said it is a historic step that will go a long way in shaping a legal education system rooted in Indian ethos as envisaged in the National Education Policy.

    He said there is not much study material in local languages for law students at present. “The need is to produce quality legal textbooks. There are some legal books in Hindi and Tamil, but not in other local languages,” Shastry, who is one of the members of the committee, told this newspaper. He said the focus this year is on producing good quality content and textbooks in local languages.

    Law colleges will then be requested to start using them from 2023-24. Other members on the panel include Justice L Narasimha Reddy; Prof M Jagadesh Kumar, chairman, UGC; Prof Ishwara Bhat, former Vice-Chancellor, National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) Kolkata and Karnataka Law University; Dr S Vaidhyasubramaniam, Vice-Chancellor, Sastra University, Tamil Nadu; and Dr Gopakumar Sharma, Joint Secretary, UGC.

    While local languages are used in the lower judiciary, in high courts and Supreme Court, the language is mainly English. “There will be pressure on courts to translate judgments in local languages. About 90% of people are denied justice because they don’t understand laws or comprehend judgments that impact their lives,” Shastry added.