The rights of prisoners with disabilities
The article is in reference to the treatment being meted out to Dr. Saibaba of Delhi University who suffers from disability and is being kept in confinement for alleged links with Maoists. For more details Click Here.
So putting his case forward author questions that as a person with disabilities who requires constant assistance and support, what are the standard minimum rules that must temper the decision to take him into custody, in order that the treatment meted out to him is not construed as cruel, degrading and inhuman?
He gives following arguments for better treatment to persons with disabilities when in custody or imprisonment:
- The Veena Sethi case in the early 1980s brought to light the treatment of prisoners with mental illnesses and their prolonged incarceration for periods ranging from 16 to 30 years in custody.
- Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees Right to Life. This right is irrespective of offence for which the person has been apprehended or convicted. Meaning that you can't take away these rights in case of prisoners.
- Article 14 of the Constitution that sets out the substantive right to equality before law.The norm of substantive equality, well established through constitutional jurisprudence in India, speaks of the principle of equality that necessarily includes special treatment for persons who are vulnerable. The denial of special provisions, appropriate assistance and specialised health care access to a person with disabilities in custody, who uses a wheelchair and has special health care needs arising from chronic illness, comes firmly within the meaning of degrading, inhuman and cruel treatment in derogation of the state’s obligation under the UNCRPD.
India’s commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).Article 15(1) of the UNCRPD is immediately relevant: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Article 15(2) of the Convention places an obligation on the state to protect persons with disabilities from cruel degrading or inhuman treatment and punishment.
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities legislation that ought to set out these standards in clear and unequivocal terms has been ever in the making in India. The absence of specific legislation, however, need not deter us from the path of justice.
China on Monday set up a 10 billion Yuan ($1.6 billion) fund to take forward its ambitious “maritime silk road plan” to build ports and boost maritime connectivity with Southeast Asian and Indian Ocean littoral countries.
The 10 billion Yuan (around Rs.10,000 crore) fund will support infrastructure projects under the umbrella of the silk road plan.
The maritime silk road plan has become a key initiative of President Xi Jinping’s government, first mooted when the Chinese leader was on a high-profile trip to Southeast Asia in October.
Releasing first details of the plan last month, state media reported the project will prioritise building ports and infrastructure in strategically important littoral countries in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean region, including Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
China is also keen to set up free trade zones to link its coastal areas with countries in Southeast Asia and in the Indian Ocean, attempting to revive the ancient “maritime silk road” that connected China with the region. So far, countries ranging from India and Sri Lanka to Malaysia, Singapore and Gulf countries have been sounded out about the initiative.
A Sino-Russia strategic embrace likely
Russia is intensifying its shift towards China as Russia’s relations with the West have sunk to their post-Cold War low over the Ukraine crisis.
China has refused to condemn Russia’s takeover of Ukraine’s Crimea and has adopted what experts called “positive neutrality” over the conflict.
The two countries are expected to sign a “fantastic package” of more than 40 agreements when President Vladimir Putin travels to Shanghai on Tuesday for a two-day state visit and participation in a regional security summit.
Mr. Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, will oversee the start of joint war games in a sign of closer defence ties between the two countries.
Russia and China will undertake eight “strategic projects” in space, rocket engines, aviation and infrastructure.
Noting that Russia already supplies oil to China under a $60-billion deal, Mr. Putin said that the two countries “are steadily advancing towards building a strategic energy alliance.”
India slips three spots in ease of doing business
India continues to rank lowest in the World Bank’s ranking on the ease of ‘Doing Business’ for 2014.
India is now ranked at 134 against 131 in 2013. It is now placed lower than Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa.
Out of the 10 parameters, India improved its position regarding dealing with
- construction permits
- paying taxes
- starting a business,
- getting electricity,
- registering a property,
- getting credit,
- protecting investor,
- trading across borders
- resolving insolvency
- land acquisition,
- starting a business,
- taxation and
- contract enforcement\
Some miscellaneous gyaan on polity from articles:
- Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi is not the first Chief Minister to move to the seat of power at the Centre. The distinction goes to former Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, who, much to the surprise of everyone, got elevated to the post of Prime Minister in 1996.
- The Constitution allows a person, who enjoys the support of the majority of Lok Sabha MPs, to be sworn in as Prime Minister without being a member of either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. However, the person has to get elected to either House of Parliament within a span of six months.
- Under the law, a person cannot be a member of the Lok Sabha/ Rajya Sabha as well as the Legislative Assembly. The person has to give up his membership of one of the two within 14 days of the notification of the election result by the Election Commission. The same rule applies to a person who is elected from more than one Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly seat.
- A change in government at Centre is not a ground for removal of Governors to make way for others favoured by the new government…If the aggrieved person is able to demonstrate prima facie that his removal was either arbitrary, mala fide , capricious or whimsical, the court will call upon the Union Government to disclose to the court, the material upon which the President had taken the decision to withdraw the pleasure. If the Union Government does not disclose any reason, or if the reasons disclosed are found to be irrelevant, arbitrary, whimsical or mala fide , the court will interfere,” the Bench said.
Some more articles from yesterday's Newspaper:
The NaMo factor in the digital economy
Prime Minister-nominee Narendra Modi made a bold pitch for IT becoming the face of India, and, in the process, coined the Twitter-friendly phrase ‘India Talent (IT)’ + ‘Information Technology (IT)’ is equal to ‘India Tomorrow (IT)’.
Author points out the shortcomings in IT usage in country currently:
- inability to bring broadband penetration to a respectable level
- borderline negligent behaviour towards the start-up ecosystem
- e-commerce industry has grown only on the back of foreign capital
- UPA-led government viewed technology-aided economic growth through the narrow prisms of technological ‘solutionism’ — implementing technology for the sake of looking technology-savvy and hoping that growth will follow — and fear.
A new push to encrypt email, keeping messages free from government snooping, is gaining momentum.
One new email service promising “end-to-end” encryption launched on Friday, and others are being developed while major services such as Google Gmail and Yahoo Mail have stepped up security measures.
Encryption is a tool that can help dissident activists avoid detection in places like China or Iran, but the movement has also gained credence in the United States among those who want to stay clear of snooping from the NSA or other intelligence services.
Name of the email service: ProtonMail
What is encryption?
The translation of data into a secret code. Encryption is the most effective way to achieve data security. To read an encrypted file, you must have access to a secret key or password that enables you to decrypt it. Unencrypted data is called plain text ; encrypted data is referred to as cipher text.
There are two main types of encryption: asymmetric encryption (also called public-key encryption) and symmetric encryption.
Asymmetric encryption
Symmetric encryption
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