UPSC Daily Quiz | 7 May 2024

Explanation:

•  In 1975, the Supreme Court in the case of Indira Gandhi v Raj Narain recognised that free and fair elections are a part of the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution of India, and any laws or policies that would violate this principle could be struck down.
•  Though free and fair elections have been placed on the highest constitutional pedestal, the Supreme Court has held that the rights to elect and be elected do not enjoy the same status.
•  For instance, a five-judge constitution Bench in 2006, in the case of Kuldip Nayar v. Union of India held that the right to vote (or the right to elect as it was called) is “pure and simple, a statutory right”. This means that voting is not a fundamental right and can be repealed.
•  Section 8 of the Representation of People Act of 1951 (RP Act) is titled “Disqualification on conviction for certain offences”. Suppose a person is convicted of any of the charges listed in the clause. In that instance, they will be barred from contesting elections to Parliament or state legislatures beginning with the date of conviction and continuing for six years following their release.

Explanation:

• Article 31C protects laws enacted to ensure the “material resources of the community” are distributed to serve the common good (Article 39(b)) and that wealth and the means of production are not “concentrated” to the “common detriment” (Article 39(c)).
•  Article 39 of the Constitution lists certain directive principles of state policy, which are meant to be guiding principles for the enactment of laws, but are not directly enforceable in any court of law.
• As per Article 31C, these particular directive principles (Articles 39(b) and 39(c)) cannot be challenged by invoking the right to equality (Article 14) or the rights under Article 19 (freedom of speech, right to assemble peacefully, etc). Hence, statement 2 is correct.
•  Article 31C was introduced by The Constitution (Twenty-fifth) Amendment Act, 1971. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• An eleven-judge bench overturned the Act, citing the now-repealed Article 31(2), which stated that the government could not acquire any property for public purposes under any law unless the law fixed compensation for the property or specified the principles on which compensation would be based.
•  In the Bank Nationalisation case, the court determined that the Banking Act did not adequately protect the ‘right to compensation’.

Explanation:

•  The UAE cabinet allocated 2 billion dirhams ($544.6 million) to repair residential damage caused by rain and storm, which submerged buildings and made roads and highways impassable.
•  Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Prime Minister and ruler of Dubai, announced the aid to help the country’s citizens deal with the consequences of the UAE’s biggest rainfall in 75 years.
•  Flooding caused havoc, destroying infrastructure, causing power outages, and disrupting daily life. Dubai Airport, the world’s busiest international airport, had substantial delays and cancellations owing to flooded runways.
• According to the health ministry, a limited number of persons in the UAE have had symptoms related to contaminated water following severe rains and floods.

Explanation:

•  The United Kingdom’s upper chamber of parliament approved a bill as part of the government’s strategy to deport unauthorised immigrants to Rwanda.
•  UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has repeatedly stressed the importance of halting the influx of tiny boats bringing migrants fleeing conflict, persecution, and instability in a variety of nations.
•  However, the idea to transfer migrants to Rwanda has sparked controversy, with the UK Supreme Court determining that the scheme was unconstitutional in November 2023.
•  Under the plan, unauthorised stowaways arriving in Britain via trucks or boats would be airlifted 6,400 km to Rwanda. Once there, individuals would be evaluated for future relocation.
•  The UK government paid its Rwandan counterpart millions of pounds to house and integrate refugees as part of the pilot initiative, which was set to last five years.

Explanation:

•  The United States has confirmed providing long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to Ukraine to aid its war effort against Russia.
•  According to manufacturer Lockheed Martin, “The ATACMS is a conventional surface-to-surface artillery weapon system capable of striking targets well beyond the range of existing Army cannons, rockets and other missiles.”
• ATACMS missiles are fired from the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) M270 platforms, which have the US and the United Kingdom earlier provided to Ukraine.