13-Jan-2020: Private property is a human right; Supreme Court of India
A citizen’s right to own private property is a human right. The state cannot take possession of it without following due procedure and authority of law, the Supreme Court held in a judgment.
On 8 January 2020, the Supreme Court of India in its landmark decision of Vidya Devi v The State of Himachal Pradesh and Others held that the state could not be permitted to perfect its title over land by invoking the doctrine of adverse possession to usurp the property of its own citizens, without taking recourse to acquisition proceedings or following due procedure of law.
The state cannot trespass into the private property of a citizen and then claim ownership of the land in the name of ‘adverse possession’. Grabbing private land and then claiming it as its own makes the state an encroacher.
A welfare state cannot be permitted to take the plea of adverse possession, which allows a trespasser i.e. a person guilty of a tort, or even a crime, to gain legal title over such property for over 12 years. The State cannot be permitted to perfect its title over the land by invoking the doctrine of adverse possession to grab the property of its own citizens.
The Himachal Pradesh government forcibly took over four acres 52 years ago from Vidya Devi, a widow at Hamipur district to build a road in 1967. Justice Malhotra highlights how the state took advantage of Ms. Devi’s illiteracy and failed to pay her a compensation for 52 years.
Ms. Devi first learnt about her right for compensation in 2010 from her neighbours who had also lost their property to the road. Then, in her 70s, she did not lose time to march straight to the Himachal Pradesh High Court, accompanied by her daughter, to join her neighbours in their fight against the state. But the High Court asked her to file a civil suit in the lower court. Disappointed, Ms. Devi moved the Supreme Court.
Ordering the state to pay her ₹1 crore in compensation, the Supreme Court noted that in 1967, when the government forcibly took over Ms. Devi’s land, ‘right to private property was still a fundamental right’ under Article 31 of the Constitution. Property ceased to be a fundamental right with the 44th Constitution Amendment in 1978. Nevertheless, Article 300A required the state to follow due procedure and authority of law to deprive a person of his or her private property, the Supreme Court reminded the government.
10-Dec-2019: Drug Abuse Among Youths
A National Survey to collect State wise Data on Extent and Pattern of Substance Use was conducted in the country during the year 2018. The report presents major findings of the survey in terms of proportion of Indian population in the group of 10-75 years using various substances and those affected by substance use disorders. As per the report, prevalence in percentage and estimated number of individuals who are currently users of various psychoactive substances (as per the estimated population in 2018) is given below.
National Crime Record Bureau under the Ministry of Home Affairs have informed that a total number of 874, 750 and 778 people have died during 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively due to drug overdose in the country. Out of which, 543, 493 and 471 people between the age group of 14 and 45 have died during 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively.
The National survey was conducted to generate estimates for eight categories of psychoactive substances: Alcohol, Cannabis, Opioids, Cocaine, Amphetamine Type Stimulants (ATS), Sedatives, Inhalants and Hallucinogens. As per the report, Alcohol is the most common psychoactive substance used by Indians. After Alcohol, Cannabis and Opioids are the next commonly used substances in India.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has formulated and is implementing a National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR) for 2018-2025. The Plan aims at reduction of adverse consequences of drug abuse through a multi-pronged strategy. The activities under the NAPDDR, inter-alia, include awareness generation programmes in schools/colleges/Universities, workshops/seminars/with parents, community based peer led interactions intervention programmes for vulnerable adolescent and youth in the community, provisioning of treatment facilities and capacity building of service providers.
The Ministry also implements a “Central Sector Scheme of Assistance for Prevention of Alcoholism and Substance (Drug) Abuse” under which financial assistance is provided to eligible Non-Governmental Organizations based on the recommendations of State Governments/UT Administrations for running Integrated Rehabilitation Centres for Addicts to provide composite/integrated services for the rehabilitation of addicts including adolescents.
|
Substance |
Children & Adolescents (10-17 years) |
Adults (18-75 years) |
||
|
Prevalence (in %) |
Estimated no. of users |
Prevalence ( in %) |
Estimated no. of users |
|
|
Alcohol |
1.30 |
30,00,000 |
17.10 |
15,10,00,000 |
|
Cannabis |
0.90 |
20,00,000 |
3.30 |
2,90,00,000 |
|
Opioids |
1.80 |
40,00,000 |
2.10 |
1,90,00,000 |
|
Sedatives |
0.58 |
20,00,000 |
1.21 |
1,10,00,000 |
|
Inhalants |
1.17 |
30,00,000 |
0.58 |
60,00,000 |
|
Cocaine |
0.06 |
2,00,000 |
0.11 |
10,00,000 |
|
ATS |
0.18 |
4,00,000 |
0.18 |
20,00,000 |
|
Hallucinogens |
0.07 |
2,00,000 |
0.13 |
20,00,000 |
9-Oct-2019: Meghalaya excludes ‘unrepresented tribes’ from the provisions of Sixth Schedule
The Government of Meghalaya has decided to exclude ‘unrepresented tribes’ from the provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
The five minor tribes namely, Bodo-Kachari, Hajong, Koch, Mann, and Rabha are clubbed together as ‘unrepresented tribes’ for nomination in Meghalaya’s autonomous tribal councils. These minor tribes are indigenous to Meghalaya and have been living in the state much before its creation in 1972.
These tribal councils are in the names of Garo, Jaintia, and Khasi district councils, that form the State’s three major autonomous councils (predominantly the matrilineal communities).
On September 26, 2019, a sub-committee constituted by the State government had decided to recommend to the Standing Committee of Parliament for the removal of the word ‘unrepresented tribes’ from the Sixth Schedule. This move has excluded 5 minor tribes in the State.
The Sixth Schedule makes special provisions for the welfare and advancement of the Scheduled Tribes and the tribal areas residing in the parts or the whole of the four northeastern states namely, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura.
The proposed amendment will deprive some of these Scheduled Tribes of their constitutional rights to be represented in the autonomous district councils as of now, it will not be possible for them to get elected on the basis of adult suffrage.
Hajong Tribe: The Hajong are tribal people native to the Indian subcontinent mostly in the northeast Indian states and Bangladesh. The majority of them are settled in India. Hajongs are predominantly the rice farmers and perform endogamy. The Hajongs are Hindus and observe Hindu rites and customs.
Rabha Tribe: They are indigenous Mongoloid community of Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Myanmar, and Bangladesh, and the Indian states of Assam, Meghalaya and West Bengal. The language/dialect spoken by the Rabha people is mostly Rabha as well as Assamese. In Meghalaya, Rabhas are mostly found in Garo Hills districts.
Koch Tribe: They are a Tibeto-Burman ethnolinguistic group of Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal, and Bangladesh. Their language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman linguistic group. According to the census of 1881, Koch belong to a group of Bodo-Kachari people.
Bodo-Kachari: It is a generic term applied to a number of ethnic groups that are predominantly living in the Northeast Indian state of Assam. They generally speak Assamese and other Tibeto-Burman languages and have a shared ancestry.
28-Sep-2019: Meghalaya minor tribes fear exclusion from Sixth Schedule
Meghalaya in the process of deciding to exclude “unrepresented tribes” from the provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
Meghalaya is divided into autonomous councils in the names of the three major matrilineal communities — Garo, Khasi and Jaintia. The minority tribes include the Hajong, Koch, Rabha, Boro and Mann.
Parts or the whole of the four northeastern States — Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura — fall under the Sixth Schedule, which makes special provisions for “tribal areas”.
On September 26, a sub-committee constituted by the State government had decided to recommend to the Standing Committee of Parliament the removal of the word “unrepresented tribes” from the amended Sixth Schedule. Currently, members of such tribes are nominated to the autonomous district councils.
A joint delegation of organisations representing five “unrepresented tribes” had met Home Minister James A. Sangma to voice their concerns about the amendment. These groups were the Meghalaya Hajong Welfare Association (MHWA), Meghalaya Koch Association, Meghalaya Rabha Jatio Sewa Sangha, All Bodo Students’ Union, Bodo Sahitya Sabha, All Meghalaya Mann Welfare Society and All Rabha Students’ Union.