Passage 1
Days after the Supreme Court of India’s voluble judgment on the presidential orders, there has been considerable, and excellent, dissection of its validation of the removal of Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomy, and its cursory handling of Parliament’s demotion and division of the State to two Union Territories.
Much of the commentary has dealt with the judgment’s implications for the rest of the country, which are far-reaching. It undermines the rights of States vis-à-vis the Union even on critical issues such as statehood and division, grants the President far larger powers over States than earlier envisaged, and allows long-term political and territorial decisions to be made under limited-term emergency conditions such as President’s rule.
There are three other key elements which have, however, been less discussed: what the verdict means on the ground for Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, what it tells us about how the Court sees peace and security, and what it implies for the fundament of democracy in India. Back in 1953-55, the States Reorganization Commission held widespread public consultations during which villages expressed their preference for which unit to belong. This judgment negates even the right to consultation of the State’s elected representatives.
On the ground, the judgment has been met largely with silence that is ambiguous in Jammu, disappointed in Kargil, welcoming in Ladakh (with reservations), and ominous in the Valley.
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Passage 2
“The President has been informed about the Telecommunications Bill 2023. It is likely to be introduced in Lok Sabha on Monday, December 18,” a source told PTI. The Cabinet had cleared the bill in August. The draft Telecommunications Bill released in 2023 had proposed to bring over-the-top or the internet based calling and messaging apps under the definition of telecommunications to enhance users’ safety. The bill had also proposed to curb the power of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), on which industry players had raised concern. According to government officials, the issues around over-the-top players and Trai were resolved before it was cleared by the Cabinet.
The draft had proposed to ease some of the rules like refund of fees for licence, registration etc. in case a company surrenders its permit. The new bill proposes the government to be vested with the power to waive off entry fees, licence fee, penalty etc. in the interest of consumers, ensuring competition in the market, availability or continuity of telecom networks, and national security.
