Legislations

Statement 1 is correct. Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act confers the status of ‘coparcener’ to a daughter. Coparcener is a person who has a birthright to parental property.
Statement 2 is correct. This Act applies (a) to any person, who is a Hindu by religion in any of its forms or developments, including a Virashaiva, a Lingayat or a follower of the Brahmo, Prarthana or Arya Samaj, (b) to any person who is a Buddhist, Jaina or Sikh by religion, and (c) to any other person who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew by religion.
The Supreme Court recently held that the Hindu Succession Act 1956 amended in 2005, which gives daughters equal rights to ancestral property, will have a retrospective effect

All of the above are legal provisions mandating minimum age standards for marriages in India.
-In 2019, the Delhi high court had also sought the government’s response to a plea that proposed a uniform age for marriage for both men and women.
-The Union Ministry for Women and Child Development recently set up a task force to examine matters pertaining to age of motherhood, imperatives of lowering Maternal Mortality Ratio and the improvement of nutritional levels among women.
The Section 5(iii) of The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, sets 18 years as the minimum age for the bride and 21 years as the minimum age for the groom.
The Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 prescribe 18 and 21 years as the minimum age of consent for marriage for women and men respectively.

Both statements are correct. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 provides for:
-Non-discrimination against a Transgender Person in educational institutions, employment, healthcare services etc.
-Recognition of identity of Transgender Persons and to confer upon them right to self-perceived gender identity.
-Provision of right of Residence with parents and immediate family members.
-Provision for formulation of welfare schemes and programmes for education, social security and health of Transgender Persons.
– A transgender person may make an application to the District Magistrate for a certificate of identity, indicating the gender as ‘transgender’.
-The Act recognizes the offences against transgender persons such as forced or bonded labour, denial of use of public places, removal from household, and village; physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or economic abuse. Penalties for these offences vary between six months and two years, and a fine.
-Provision for National Council for Transgender Persons to advice, monitor and evaluate measures for the protection of their rights.

Statement 1 is correct. As per the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, a mentally-ill person shall have the right to make an advance directive that states how he wants to be treated for the illness during a mental health situation and who his nominated representative shall be.
Statement 2 is correct. The act provides that every person shall have the right to access mental health care and treatment from services run or funded by the government. The right to access mental health care includes affordable, good quality of and easy access to services.
# “Kiran” helpline number of Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry for mental health support, 1800-599-0019, to offer support in 13 languages.

To deal with child sexual abuse cases, the Government has brought in a
special law, namely, The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
The Act has come into force with effect from 14th November, 2012 along with the Rules
framed there under.
Provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act:
•The Act defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age and regards
the best interests and well-being of the child as being of paramount importance at
every stage, to ensure the healthy physical, emotional, intellectual and social
development of the child.
•It defines different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and nonpenetrative
assault, as well as sexual harassment and pornography, and deems a
sexual assault to be “aggravated” under certain circumstances, such as when the
abused child is mentally ill or when the abuse is committed by a person in a
position of trust or authority vis-à-vis the child, like a family member, police officer,
teacher, or doctor
•It also seeks to establish Special Courts for speedy trial of such offences. The Act
stipulates that a case of Child Sexual Abuse must be disposed of within one year
from the date the offence is reported.
•It also provides for relief and rehabilitation of the child, as soon as the complaint
is made. The Special Juvenile Police Unit or the local police are also required to
report the matter to the Child Welfare Committee within 24 hours of recording the
complaint, for long term rehabilitation of the child.
•It is gender neutral law, wherein the law takes cognizance of sexual crimes
committed against both girls and boys under the age of 18 years.
•It does not recognize consensual sexual acts among children or between a child
and an adult. Prosecutes any person (including a child) for engaging in a sexual act
with a child irrespective of whether the latter consented to it.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has published the rules
stating the rights of Good Samaritans:
– They shall be treated respectfully without any discrimination on the grounds of religion,
nationality, caste or sex.
– No police officer or any other person shall compel a Good Samaritan to disclose his/her
name, identity, address or any such other personal details. However, he may voluntarily
choose to disclose the same.
– Every public and private hospital shall publish a charter in Hindi, English and vernacular
language, at the entrance or other conspicuous location, and on their website, stating the
rights of Good Samaritans under the Act and the rules made thereunder.
– If a person has voluntarily agreed to become a witness in the case in which he has acted
as a Good Samaritan, he shall be examined in accordance with the provisions of this rule,
for which detailed guidelines and process has been mentioned in the rules.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Information Technology Act 2000 regulates cyber activities in India and provides for offences in cyber domain does not provide for explicit prohibition on Gambling or Betting.
Statement 2 is correct. The Public Gambling Act 1867, as it stands makes a distinction between games of chance and games of skill. The act does not apply to any game of mere skill wherever played.
# Fantasy cricket is a game of skill as ruled by the Punjab & Haryana High Court (2017) and
the Bombay High Court (2019) further upheld by the Supreme Court.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Information Technology Act 2000 regulates
cyber activities in India and provides for offences in cyber domain does not provide for
explicit prohibition on Gambling or Betting.
Statement 2 is correct. The Public Gambling Act 1867, as it stands makes a distinction
between games of chance and games of skill. The act does not apply to any game of mere
skill wherever played.
# Fantasy cricket is a game of skill as ruled by the Punjab & Haryana High Court (2017) and
the Bombay High Court (2019) further upheld by the Supreme Court.

Statement 1 is correct. The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 defines
“child” means a person who, if a male, has not completed twenty-one years of age, and if a
female, has not completed eighteen years of age; “child marriage” means a marriage to
which either of the contracting parties is a child.
Statement 2 is incorrect. It treats underage marriages as valid, but voidable. An
underage marriage is valid as long as the minors involved in the marriage want it to remain
valid.
The petition for such action may be filed at any time but before the child filing the petition
completes two years of attaining majority.
The PCMA also treats those underage marriages as void or having no legal validity, where
they involve trafficking, enticement, fraud and deceit.

Statement 1 is correct. Section 19 of the Cable Television Networks
(Regulation) Act 1995 gives the power to prohibit a broadcast in the public interest if the
programme is “likely to promote, on grounds of religion, race, language, caste or community
or any other ground whatsoever, disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will
between different religious, racial, linguistic or regional groups or castes or communities or
which is likely to disturb the public tranquility”.
Statement 2 is correct. The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 requires and
provides a mechanism for registration of all cable operators. The Act empowers the
central government to appoint a registering authority to review applications and grant
registrations.
Article 3 states that no person shall operate a cable television network unless he is
registered as a cable operator under this Act.

Essential Commodities listed under the Schedule of the Essential

Commodities Act are:

Drugs (meaning assigned to it in clause (b) of section 3 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act,

1940);

-fertilizer, whether inorganic, organic or mixed;

-foodstuffs, including edible oilseeds and oils;

-hank yarn made wholly from cotton;

-petroleum and petroleum products;

-raw jute HI jute textiles;

-seeds of food-crops and seeds of fruits and vegetables; seeds of cattle fodder; jute seeds

and cotton seed.

# On March 13, the Union consumer affairs ministry had declared face masks and hand

sanitisers as essential commodities till June 30 to boost supply and prevent hoarding of these

items in its fight to check the spread of coronavirus.

Option 1 is correct. Fraudulently or dishonestly making use of the

electronic signature, password or any other unique identification feature of any other

person is a punishable offence under Section 66C of the IT Act.

Option 2 is correct. Cyber terrorism threatening the unity, integrity, security or sovereignty

of India or to strike terror in the people or any section of the people is a punishable offence

under Section 66F of IT Act.

Option 3 is incorrect. Section 66A of the erstwhile IT Act provide for punishment for sending

offensive messages through communication service, etc.

Section 66A has been struck down by Supreme Court’s Order dated 24th March, 2015 in

the Shreya Singhal vs. Union of India, 2015.

The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 empowers the central government to

designate certain commodities as essential commodities. The central government may

regulate or prohibit the production, supply, distribution, trade, and commerce of such

essential commodities.

Statement 1 is correct. The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 provides that

the central government may regulate the supply of certain food items including cereals,

pulses, potatoes, onions, edible oilseeds, and oils, only under extraordinary circumstances.

These include: (i) war, (ii) famine, (iii) extraordinary price rise and (iv) natural calamity of

grave nature.

Statement 2 is correct. The bill requires that imposition of any stock limit on agricultural

produce must be based on price rise. A stock limit may be imposed only if there is: (i) a

100% increase in retail price of horticultural produce; and (ii) a 50% increase in the retail

price of non-perishable agricultural food items.

The increase will be calculated over the price prevailing immediately preceding twelve

months, or the average retail price of the last five years, whichever is lower.

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition

and Redressal) Act, 2013 provides protection to an ‘aggrieved woman’; a woman who

alleges to have been subjected to any act of sexual harassment. It covers every woman at

the work place (whether employed or not).

Statement 1 is correct. The act provides that every employer is required to constitute an

‘Internal Complaints Committee’ at all offices and branches with staff strength of 10 or

more employees. The Complaints Committees have the powers of civil courts for gathering

evidence.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The act provides protection to domestic workers (means a woman

who is employed to do the household work in any household for remuneration whether in

cash or kind).

Statement 3 is correct. The act provides that if the Internal Committee or the Local

Committee arrives at a conclusion that the allegation against the respondent is malicious

or the aggrieved woman or any other person making the complaint has made the complaint

knowing it to be false, it may recommend for penalty against the complainant.

The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 empowers the central government to designate certain commodities (such as food items, fertilizers, and petroleum products) as essential commodities.

The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020 provides that the central government may regulate the supply of certain food items including cereals, pulses, potatoes, onions, edible oilseeds, and oils, only under extraordinary circumstances. These include war, famine, extraordinary price rise and natural calamity of grave nature.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The proposed Maharashtra Government ‘Shakti law’ involves two bills — the Maharashtra Shakti Criminal Law (Maharashtra Amendment) Act, 2020, and the Special Court and Machinery for Implementation of Maharashtra Shakti Criminal Law, 2020.

The draft legislation seeks amendments to the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act to include new offences, increase punishments and speedier investigations and trials.

Statement 2 is correct. Stringent punishment, including the death penalty and heavy fines on the perpetrators is a key feature of the draft bill. The perpetrators will be punished with imprisonment for life for not less than ten years but may extend to the remainder of natural life or with death in cases characterised as ‘heinous’.

The draft bill also incorporates provisions with respect to social media. Threatening and intimidating women on social media will be an offence with a maximum punishment of two years and a Rs 1 lakh fine.

Statement 1 is correct. Masks (2 ply & 3 ply surgical marks, N95 marks) and Hand sanitizers were added in the list of Essential commodities under the Essential Commodities Act for the period up to 30.6.2020 to ensure their availability and stop hoarding / short supply.

Statement 2 is correct. As a part of Economic response to COVID 19 to ameliorate the hardships faced by the poor due to economic disruption caused by COVID 19, the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), a special package which included provision of one kg per family of NFSA beneficiaries, of pulses like moong, tur, chana and urad was approved.

Under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat package, a provision was made for supply of 2 kg of whole chana from Government buffer stocks per migrant worker family who were not covered under the National Food Security Act or were without ration card in the State / UT in which they were stranded.

The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was introduced in Lok Sabha on July 15, 2019. The Bill seeks to amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 to provide for road safety.

The Act provides for grant of licenses and permits related to motor vehicles, standards for motor vehicles, and penalties for violation of these provisions.

Compensation for road victims: The central government will develop a scheme for cashless treatment of road accident victims during golden hour.

 The Bill defines golden hour as the time period of up to one hour following a traumatic injury, during which the likelihood of preventing death through prompt medical care is the highest.

 The central government may also make a scheme for providing interim relief to claimants seeking compensation under third party insurance.

 The Bill increases the minimum compensation for hit and run cases as follows: (i) in case of death, from Rs 25,000 to two lakh rupees, and (ii) in case of grievous injury, from Rs 12,500 to Rs 50,000.

Compulsory Insurance: The Bill requires the central government to constitute a Motor Vehicle Accident Fund, to provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users in India.

Good Samaritans: The Bill defines a good samaritan as a person who renders emergency medical or non-medical assistance to a victim at the scene of an accident.

 The assistance must have been (i) in good faith, (ii) voluntary, and (iii) without the expectation of any reward.

 Such a person will not be liable for any civil or criminal action for any injury to or death of an accident victim, caused due to their negligence in providing assistance to the victim.

Recall of Vehicles: The Bill allows the central government to order for recall of motor vehicles if a defect in the vehicle may cause damage to the environment, or the driver, or other road users.

Taxi aggregators: The Bill defines aggregators as digital intermediaries or market places which can be used by passengers to connect with a driver for transportation purposes (taxi services). These aggregators will be issued licenses by state further they must comply with the Information Technology Act, 2000.