Current Affairs - Bills and Acts

The Madras High Court declared Section 77-A of the Registration Act, 1908 unconstitutional, citing concerns about the excessive quasi-judicial power it granted to District Registrars. Introduced through a 2022 State amendment, Section 77-A allowed District Registrars to cancel property documents registered through fraud or forged revenue records. The court found this provision problematic due to the lack of judicial expertise among Registrars and the potential for bias, which could lead to significant hardship and damage to property owners.

Project Tiger was launched in India on April 1, 1973, to promote the conservation of tigers. Initially, the project covered nine tiger reserves spanning 18,278 square kilometres. Since then, the initiative has expanded significantly, and India now has 55 tiger reserves covering more than 78,735 square kilometres, nearly 2.4% of the country's geographical area. The project was instrumental in increasing awareness and implementing measures to protect the tiger population in India, which stood at 3,682 in 2022, accounting for about 75% of the global wild tiger population.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) was officially constituted on December 31, 2008, through the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, passed by the Indian Parliament. The establishment of the NIA followed the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, underscoring the need for a specialized agency to handle terrorism and related offences, thus playing a pivotal role in India's counter-terrorism efforts.

The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) will come into effect from July 1, 2024. This law replaces the Indian Evidence Act and introduces provisions for electronic and digital records, expanding the scope of evidence that can be presented in court. Recently enacted three new criminal laws Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) are set to take effect from 1st July 2024, replacing the colonial-era Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and Indian Evidence Act. It aims to modernize the judicial process by allowing for the electronic recording of oral evidence and enhancing protections for victims, particularly in cases of offences like rape. The enactment marks a significant shift from colonial-era laws towards a justice system tailored to Indian needs and priorities.

The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act was enacted in India in the year 1999, and it came into effect in 2003. This legislation was crucial for establishing the framework to protect and promote products with unique geographical origins and qualities. The first product in India to receive a Geographical Indication (GI) tag under this law was Darjeeling tea in 2004, marking a significant milestone in India's efforts to safeguard its traditional products and enhance their market recognition based on their geographical identity.