THE LEAFLET BULLETIN
The Leaflet
An independent platform for cutting-edge, progressive, legal, and political opinion.
“ENCRYPTION safeguards the personal security of billions of people and the national security of countries around the world.”
The opening statement on the About page of the Global Encryption Coalition (‘GEC’), which consists of 180 members from among civil society organisations, companies and individuals, captures the essence of encryption.
Once considered a wartime necessity, encryption has steadily become the technological backbone for secure online communications, digital privacy and protection of national critical information infrastructure (‘CII’).
Indeed, it is crucial to protect data at a time when data breaches are only increasing. For instance, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (‘CERT-In’), a nodal executive agency which monitors cyber security incidents in India, has reported a steady increase in data breaches since 2017, in a response to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
Hate crimes against minorities: ‘Where have we reached in the name of religion?’, asks Supreme Court
THE Supreme Court has directed the Delhi Police Commissioner, Director General Police of Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand to take suo motu against those indulging in hate speeches. The Court also warned the erring officers of the contempt of court proceedings against them if they fail to act against the offenders.
“We feel that this Court is charged with the duty to protect the fundamental rights and also preserve the constitutional values and the secular democratic character of the nation and in particular, the rule of law”, the bench comprising Justice K.M. Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy observed.
The bench added that such action would be taken irrespective of the religion that the maker of the speech or the person who committed such act belonged to, so that the secular character of Bharat as envisaged by the Preamble, is preserved and protected.
A division bench of the Supreme Court scheduled for November 21 the hearing of petitions challenging the cancellation and non-renewal of registration under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (‘FCRA’) of about 6,000 non-government organisations (‘NGOs’) by the Union Home Ministry. This, in spite of the counsel for the petitioners and the respondent requesting the court to dispose of the petitions, filed in January.
The bench, comprising Justices K.M. Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy, was hearing the case of Global Peace Initiative & Anr. versus Union of India.
Senior advocate Sanjay R. Hegde, representing the petitioners, submitted to the court that most of the issues raised in the petitions were covered by the Supreme Court’s judgment in Noel Harper versus Union of India, delivered in April.
In Noel Harper, the Supreme Court had upheld the 2020 amendment to the FCRA that circumscribes the ability of NGOs to raise and avail of foreign funds, and dismissed challenges to the same.
Recommended by LinkedIn
ON Thursday, in Gautam Navlakha versus National Investigation Agency and Anr., a division bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justices K.M. Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy, permitted the parties to inspect Navlakha’s medical reports sent by Jaslok Hospital, where he was taken for urgent medical examinations.
Seventy-year old journalist and human rights activist Navlakha, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case, is charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and is awaiting trial.
Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, appearing for the National Investigation Agency (‘NIA’), submitted that it was mutually requested by both the parties for the matter to be heard on a later date, preferably November 2. Acknowledging the large volume of Navlakha’s medical reports from his medical examinations, including the colonoscopy examination, the court directed an inspection of the report in the meantime.
The matter was posted for further hearing on November 9.
What are Social Impact Investments?
SOCIAL Impact Investments (‘SII’) are investments that generate positive measurable social or environmental benefits along with financial returns. SIIs aim to finance organisations that address one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. SIIs can be in the form of traditional investments, blended financing investments, or investments through innovative pay-for-success models such as social impact bonds and development impact bonds.
According to the Global Impact Investing Network, the global market size of impact investing was USD 715 billion as of June 2020. In India, the concept of SIIs gained traction only in recent years. According to the Impact Investors Council’s 2021 report, India attracted approximately USD 6.8 billion in equity-based SIIs in 2021, which is a 135 per cent increase over similar investments in 2020.
O horror, horror, horror! Tongue nor heart
Cannot conceive nor name thee! …….
Confusion now hath made his masterpiece!
These lines from Macbeth were my first thoughts on learning that the Supreme Court had ‘suspended’ the Bombay high court order discharging G.N. Saibaba thereby continuing his detention, effectively declared illegal by the high court. There are several reasons for these thoughts, one of them being that the suspension order in a case of discharge by the SC is unprecedented and, to the best of my knowledge, not supported by any previous order of the top court. Is this the beginning of another new abnormal?
Background of the case against Saibaba
For the present, I confine myself only to the case of Saibaba. While investigating alleged terrorist offences, the residence of Saibaba was searched by the police on or about September 9, 2013. The search party seized a CD, DVD, pen drive, papers and so on. Saibaba was arrested on May 9, 2014, after about eight months. The police did not demonstrate any urgency in arresting him.