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Dear Reader,
The Chief Justice of India's status as the 'master of the roster' is anchored on "historical precedents and constitutional conventions". However, it has raised public debate, especially since it came into sharp relief in 2018 when four senior judges of the Supreme Court of India went public on their perception that the then Chief Justice was indulging in selective allocation of benches in “sensitive” cases.
As part of its series marking '75 years of the Supreme Court', the Supreme Court Observer looks at whether the allocation of benches should be left entirely to the Chief Justice. It examines the rostering in the period between July 2022 to June 2024, during the tenures of Chief Justices U U Lalit and D Y Chandrachud, and makes a case for a publicly disclosed and articulated allocation rationale for bench composition. This will, it argues, "secure long-term procedural legitimacy" of the Supreme Court of India.
Climate change events – erratic rainfall, floods, and prolonged draughts – have rendered Odisha's agriculture unsustainable. This has induced a virtual exodus from the state to other parts of the country for livelihood – nearing a million by the 2011 census -- which has since steadily increased. One in every three rural households in Odisha has a migrant family member, according to the National Sample Survey.
Now, a government scheme for fish farming, launched in 2022, has raised hope for those who migrated in distress to return. The Scheme provides "subsidy for fish seeds, feed and nets, and supports setting up of small-scale fish-feed production units" and seeks to integrate 'fish entrepreneurship' with farming and livestock. This was targetted at a cluster of nine tribal-dominated districts, worst hit by climate extremes. This Scheme, The Migration Story reports from the districts, has begun to change lives and has the potential to induce the migrants in distant lands to return to their native land.
Accurately predicting the weather through climate modelling by simulating atmospheric, oceanic, and land processes is critical in policymaking. These models provide insights into global warming trends, potential extreme weather events, and rise in sea levels. However, The India Forum points out that the modelling and predictions are not without their uncertainty and limitations in long-term projections, caused by the complexities of climate systems and human activity. Nonetheless, models remain crucial for guiding climate action, even as they continue to evolve and improve.
And, in the last two decades, India has made significant progress in preventing child marriages – reducing the rate from 47.4 per cent in 2005-06 to 23.3 per cent in 2019-20. However, it is still far away from a happy story. UNICEF reports that "one in three of the world’s child brides live in India”, anointing India with the dubious distinction of being home to the largest number of child brides globally. Over half of the girls and women in India who are married in childhood live in five states: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh.
Be that as it may, forced marriages in India are reversible and annullable by law up to two years after the victims turn 18. However, as Article 14 finds, disputes on how to divide assets – such as land and jewellery that may have changed hands -- and the abysmal awareness among legal practitioners and victims on their rights under the law has meant that the bondage could last a lifetime for most.
For more such stories from the grantees this week, please read on.
Warmly,
Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF
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