| 1. Who will be Himachal CM? High command to decide but… |  | - The battle for the CM post has intensified within the Himachal Pradesh Congress. After winning Himachal Pradesh, the Congress called a meeting of its MLAs on Friday, practically to decide that the high command would take the final call on the CM candidate. But the meeting saw muscle flexing by CM aspirants. There are at least three of them.
- Pratibha Singh’s supporters are pressuring the high command through observers to name the Himachal Congress president the next CM. They kept shouting slogans in her support through the day on Friday.
- Royal connection: Pratibha Singh is the wife of Virbhadra Singh, the Congress's tallest leader in Himachal until his death last year. She is a Lok Sabha MP from Mandi, and belongs to a former royal family. She did not contest the election but led the Congress campaign in the assembly polls.
- Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu is a strong challenger, and is said to have the support of a majority of the MLAs. He is the former Himachal Congress president.
- Mukesh Agnihotri, the third contender, is the leader of the Congress legislature party and hence the Leader of Opposition in the outgoing assembly.
- Eyes on observers: To settle the issue, three central observers including Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Congress’s general secretary in-charge of Himachal Rajeev Shukla held meetings with the MLAs. They will submit their report to the high command after which a final decision would be made about the chief ministerial face.
- Meanwhile, the Congress observers met Governor Rajender Vishawnath Arlekar on Friday and presented the letter to him to stake claim to form the government. But the central observers were not accompanied by any senior leader of the state. Updates here
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| 2. ‘No public gaze into selection process of judges’ |  | A secret process- The Supreme Court on Friday refused public gaze through RTI into the secret process of selection of constitutional court judges by the CJI-led Collegium and dismissed a petition that sought reasons behind the Collegium's alleged change of mind to rescind its purported December 2018 decision to elevate two HC chief justices.
Only the final decision…- “Whatever is discussed (in the Collegium meetings) shall not be in the public domain. As per the Supreme Court Collegium Resolution of October 3, 2017, only the final resolution and the final decision is required to be uploaded on the Supreme Court’s website,” said a bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar.
The plea- Petitioner Anjali Bhardwaj had challenged the SC’s refusal to give details of the December 12, 2018 meeting, saying no final decision was taken.
- Then-Collegium member Justice Madan B Lokur told media that a decision to elevate two high court CJs was taken in that meeting, but was rescinded in the January 10, 2019 meeting citing “additional material”. Justice Lokur retired on December 30, 2018.
SC says- Justice Shah, at present a member of the five-judge SC Collegium, said, “In the subsequent Collegium resolution dated January 10, 2019, it is specifically mentioned that in the earlier meeting held on December 12, 2018 though some decisions were taken but ultimately the consultation was not completed and concluded and therefore, the agenda items were adjourned (for further deliberations).”
- “Therefore, as no final decision was taken (on December 12, 2018) which culminated into a final resolution drawn and signed by all the members of the collegium, the same was not required to be disclosed in the public domain and that too under the RTI Act,” the bench said while dismissing Bhardwaj’s plea.
Meanwhile…- Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said in the Lok Sabha that there is no proposal “at this juncture” to bring an All-India Judicial Service to select judges of lower courts “in view of the existing divergence of opinion amongst stakeholders”.
- The government has been pushing for an all-India judicial service on the lines of IAS and IPS to select judges or judicial officers for subordinate courts.
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| 3. Will BJP’s dream project on UCC see light of day? |  | - A controversial private member’s Bill that seeks to pave way for a panel to prepare a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) which shall apply across the country was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, by an MP of the BJP, leading to uproar among Opposition parties.
Why timing is important- It came a day after BJP recorded a sweeping victory in Gujarat Assembly polls but lost to the Congress in Himachal Pradesh. In both states, the saffron party raked up the decades-old UCC controversy ahead of the election.
What happened in Parliament- BJP MP from Rajasthan Kirodi Lal Meena on Friday moved for leave to introduce the Bill. Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar called for division and the motion for introduction was passed with 63 votes in favour and 23 against it, even as Opposition members from Congress, CPI, CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress protested and sought the Bill's withdrawal.
First time moved- In the past, ‘The Uniform Civil Code in India Bill, 2020’ was listed for introduction but it was not moved in the Upper House. Being moved means the Bill would eventually come up for debate on a future date.
Bad record- Private member's bills are those introduced in the Parliament by members who are not ministers. According to PRS Legislative Research's data, only 14 private member bills have become laws since the first Lok Sabha in 1952, of which the last one happened in 1970.
On marriageable age- Meanwhile, in what can be see as an encouraging move towards UCC, the Supreme Court has sought the Union government's response on a petition filed by National Commission for Women seeking enforcement of uniform marriageable age for Muslim girls. The Commission said that as Muslim personal law remains uncodified, girls are often married on attainment of puberty or after attaining the age of 15, even though marrying a minor (below 18-year age) is an offence under POCSO and Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.
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| 4. Cyclone Mandous keeps millions on toes |  | Incessant rain, strong winds- Northern coastal Tamil Nadu witnessed continuous rainfall due to Cyclone Mandous. Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram and Villupuram have been put on alert.
- Tamil Nadu has shut schools and colleges in 12 districts including Chennai.
- The India Meteorological Department (IMD) estimated the maximum wind speed to cross 85 kmph as it issued a red alert.
Sphere of influence- Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh are in the main cyclone zone along the eastern coast. The good news was that the cyclonic storm was reported losing its strength as it approached the coast on Friday evening.
- Some parts of Maharashtra might receive unseasonal rainfall in the next 48 hours due to Cyclone Mandous in the Bay of Bengal.
- Puducherry experienced heavy rains with strong winds.
Response teams at work- Tamil Nadu has deployed several teams of disaster response force. CM MK Stalin and Disaster Management Minister KKSSR Ramachandran held rounds of meetings with senior officials at the State Emergency Operation Centre at Chepauk, reviewing preparedness to deal with Cyclone Mandous.
- Ten teams of NDRF and Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Response Force have been deployed in south coastal districts.
Flights cancelled- At least 16 flights were cancelled at the Chennai airport due to bad weather on account of Cyclone Mandous. Three of them were international flights. "Passengers are requested to check with the concerned airline(s) for further updates," tweeted Chennai International Airport.
Harrowing time at Tirupati- Devotees visiting Tirupati Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala had a tough time during darshan and in commuting to hotels. Heavy rain battered Tirumala, with low-lying areas witnessing waterlogging.
Trains affected- Chennai Division of Southern Railway has announced that suburban trains in Chennai may be cancelled/rescheduled if necessary to prevent untoward incidents. Watch here
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| 6. Why SC wants amendments to Hindu Succession Act |  | Terming denial of share in a scheduled tribe (ST) father’s property to his daughters a violation of right to equality, the Supreme Court on Friday strongly advocated amendments to the Hindu Succession Act, to bestow tribal daughters with the same succession rights as the sons in a father’s property. The existing law- The Orissa High Court had delivered a verdict denying a tribal woman a share in the compensation money from acquisition of land belonging to her father on the ground that the Hindu Succession Act (HSA) does not apply to ST communities.
SC observes…- Although a bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar upheld the HC judgment, it said this appeared to discriminate between a non-tribal daughter and a tribal daughter. “There may not be any justification to deny the right of survivorship so far as the female member of the tribal is concerned," the bench said.
Intestate succession- “When a daughter belonging to the non-tribal community is entitled to an equal share in the property of the father, there is no reason to deny such a right to the daughter of a tribal father,” it said, adding, “A female tribal is entitled to parity with male tribal in intestate succession.”
- An intestate succession kicks in where the owner dies without writing a will specifying a division of his self-earned property.
Time for a change- Writing the judgment, Justice Shah said it was a matter of serious concern that daughters of ST communities are denied equal property rights even more than 70 years after the Constitution came into force, and under which the right to equality is guaranteed and enjoys a prominence in the democratic set up of the country.
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| 7. A project of ‘public importance’ at the cost of nature |  | - The Bombay High Court on Friday permitted the National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL) to cut nearly 22,000 mangrove trees in the city and neighbouring districts of Palghar and Thane for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project.
‘Total freeze’- As per a 2018 order of the high court, there exists a “total freeze” on the destruction of mangroves across the state and permission has to be sought from the court each time an authority wishes to fell mangroves for any public project.
A challenge- In a petition filed in 2020, NHSRCL had assured the court it would plant five times the total mangrove trees that were earlier proposed to be felled.
- It was opposed by ‘Bombay Environmental Action Group’, an NGO, on the ground that no study was undertaken about the survival rate of saplings to be planted as a compensatory measure and the Environmental Impact Assessment report for felling trees was not provided.
- The NHSRCL had denied the objections and claimed that it had availed required approvals for the felling of trees for the project of “public importance” and would compensate the loss by planting saplings.
Why important- Mangroves provide natural protection to nearby populated areas by preventing soil erosion and absorbing storm surge impacts during extreme weather events. Their dense roots help bind and build soil. They are home to many species of plants, animals, birds, reptiles, etc, which play a crucial role in ensuring balance in nature. Experts often opine that deforestation in mangroves cannot be adequately compensated through planting trees.
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| 8. Basketball star exchanged for ‘merchant of death’ |  | An unusual exchange- In a prisoner-exchange deal, the US and Russia swapped a basketball star for an arms dealer, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia claiming to have mediated the deal.
- US basketball player Brittney Griner had been lodged in a Russian jail since February this year.
- Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout had been held in an American prison for the past 12 years.
The star- Russia had arrested Griner at a Moscow airport for possessing cannabis oil. She was shifted to a penal colony in November by Russia.
- A frequent visitor in Russia to play in the Russian Premier League during the American off-season, she was arrested this time after customs officials found cartridges containing cannabis or hashish oil in her luggage.
- She was charged for smuggling, and sentenced to nine-year jail in early August.
‘Merchant of death’- Bout came to be known as the ‘merchant of death’ after a British minister’s speech in the UN in 2003. Bout allegedly sold arms to warlords and rogue governments, becoming one of the world's most wanted men.
- The US arrested him from Thailand in a sting operation in 2008. He was tried on the charges of terrorism and conspiring to kill American citizens. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
How it happened- Anxious to bring Griner back to the US, the US proposed a prisoner exchange in July, knowing that Russia had long sought Bout's release from the American prison.
- Long-drawn back-channel talks happened before two private planes brought Griner and Bout to Abu Dhabi airport, before flying them home.
Mediation?- Saudi Arabia and the UAE put out a joint-statement saying Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman played a leading role in mediation efforts, along with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
- The White House, however, rejected the claim saying, "The only countries that negotiated this deal were the United States and Russia."
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| 9. Why is the US so concerned about China’s space programme? |  | The US is closely monitoring Chinese activities that potentially threaten American assets in space as debris rapidly accumulates in low-Earth orbit, the head of US military operations in space said on Friday. ASAT tests- Commander of US Space Command Army Gen. James Dickinson also cheered the overwhelming passage in the United Nations of a resolution, asking countries not to conduct direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) tests that create vast fields of space debris, which endanger satellites and space stations.
- Even tiny shards of metal can pose a danger and the number of objects is growing rampantly.
- Of the four countries that have conducted such ASAT tests, the United States was the only one that voted in favour, while China and Russia voted no and India abstained.
US Space Command- The Space Command is now tracking more than 48,000 in near-Earth orbit, including satellites, telescopes, space stations and pieces of debris of all sizes, up from 25,000 just three years ago, Dickinson said.
Chinese activities- China in 2003 became the third government to send an astronaut into orbit on its own after the former Soviet Union and the US. Its program has advanced steadily since.
- The Chinese space program drew rare international criticism after it conducted an unannounced test in 2007 in which it used a missile to blow up a defunct Chinese satellite, creating debris that continues to pose a hazard.
America's concern- Beijing believes that “space is a very important piece to not only their economic or the global economic environment, but also the military environment, so we continue to watch that very closely as they continue to increase capabilities,” Dickinson said.
- With US-China tensions high over Taiwan, the South China Sea, trade and technology, space is increasingly becoming a potential flash point.
- Russia's invasion of Ukraine has further showed space to be a “contested domain that must be protected. It's a role that we at US Space Command take very seriously,” he said.
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