THE LEAFLET BULLETIN

Draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022 is intrusive, and inconsistent with digitisation

THE Union Government’s Department of Technology recently released the draft of the Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022 for the public with an invitation for comments from stakeholders.

The objective of the Bill, according to the proposed draft, is to consolidate and amend the laws pertaining to the “governing provision, development, expansion and operation” of telecommunication networks and infrastructure, which are important parts of public infrastructure, in addition to dealing with the assignment of spectrum to ensure the efficient management of the same.

According to the explanatory note released alongside the draft, the Bill was prepared by the Union Ministry of Communication for the replacement of the current legislation which govern telecommunication in India, including the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, the Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933 and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1950. Alongside repealing these statutes until new rules are formulated, the Bill shall also be amending certain provisions of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997.

Bhopal gas tragedy: Supreme Court to hear Union Government’s plea on additional damages to the victims

ON Tuesday, the Supreme Court constitution bench of Justices S.K Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, A.S Oka, Vikram Nath and J.K. Maheshwari agreed to hear a curative petition of the Union Government seeking additional damages for the Bhopal Gas tragedy from the Union Carbide Corporation (now owned by Dow Chemicals) and Union Carbide India Limited (‘UCIL’).

In the matter of Union of India & Ors versus Union Carbide Corporation & Ors., the Union Government, represented by newly-appointed Attorney General R Venkataramani, expressed that it is very keen to pursue this matter.

During the previous hearing on September 20, the court had asked the Union Government to clarify whether it wants to pursue the matter as the initial stand of the government was not clear. The Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, had asked for some time to get instructions on the same.

Dawoodi Bohra’s excommunication case: Supreme Court reserves order on referring the matter to a larger bench

ON Tuesday, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, in the case of Central Board of Dawoodi Bohra Community versus State of Maharashtra, reserved its order on referring the matter to a larger bench on the question of whether the practice of excommunication of members from the Dawoodi Bohra community is constitutional.

Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta submitted that either the matter can be reconsidered by the nine-judge bench, or the court could assist the nine-judge bench arising out of the Sabrimala shrine issue. According to Mehta, the question refers to religious freedom, and it should be referred to the larger nine-judge bench. He argued that, “The questions framed before the nine-judge bench are so generic that in answering every question, the Dawoodi Bohra judgment will come for consideration.” The nine-judge bench is set to deal with the scope of judicial review pertaining to a range of religious practices on account of the Supreme Court’s Sabrimala judgment of 2018.