Source: The Hindu, Live Mint and Indian Express
Major oil exporters of India till May 2019 when U.S. sanctions on Iran oil import started
Balukhand-Konark Wildlife Sanctuary
- The Odisha government has decided to use drones to locate about 4,000 spotted deer that lived in the Balukhand-Konark Wildlife Sanctuary, on the coast between Puri and Konark, before Cyclone Fani struck on May 3.
- The sanctuary with nearly 55 lakh trees was badly ravaged by the Cyclone Fani.
Project to use technology to study crop yield estimates
- In a bid to reduce the delay of crop insurance claim settlements and increase the accuracy of compensation due to farmers, a pilot project will test the use of technology to determine yield estimates at the panchayat level this summer.
- The new study, to be carried out in the kharif 2019, aims to directly estimate yields without using crop-cutting experiments (CCEs). The pilot project will focus on paddy, soybean, cotton, bajra, maize, sorghum and groundnut.
- Technologies to be used include satellite data, unmanned aerial vehicles, advanced intelligent crop simulation models, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. Final results are expected by February 2020.
Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX)
- After committing to evolving an arrangement to bypass dollar-based transactions to enable sanctions relief to continue for Iran, the EU announced the setting up of the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) on January 31.
- Promoted by the U.K., France and Germany and based in Paris, it is currently limited to pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, food and agricultural products. Eventually, it is to be extended to third countries and cover oil exports.
- Iran set up its counterpart body, the Special Trade and Finance Institute (STFI).
Efficient Fossil Fuel Pricing
- The International Monetary Fund estimates in a recent working paper that fossil fuel subsidies were $4.7 trillion in 2015 and estimated to be $5.2 trillion in 2017.
- It goes on to say that efficient fossil fuel pricing would have reduced global carbon emissions by 28%.
Mozambique
- Mozambique recently had two successive intense cyclones, Idai and Kenneth, with widespread devastation.
The U.K. Parliament became the first recently to declare a climate emergency
- UK Parliament passed an extraordinary measure: a national declaration of an Environment and Climate Emergency.
- The UK is the first national government to declare such an emergency.
- The decision marks a renewed sense of urgency in tackling climate change, following a visit to Parliament by teenage activist Greta Thunberg , the broadcast of David Attenborough’s documentary Climate Change: The Facts and 11 days of protest by environmental group Extinction Rebellion that paralysed parts of London.
What is a climate emergency?
- While there is no precise definition of what constitutes action to meet such an emergency, the move has been likened to putting the country on a “war footing”, with climate and the environment at the very centre of all government policy, rather than being on the fringe of political decisions.
- The UK are legally committed to a 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 (relative to their 1990 levels) and was recently recognised as one of just 18 developed economies that have driven down carbon dioxide emissions over the last decade.
Extinction Rebellion
- These are a group of protesters who took over the heart of the U.K. capital in a bid to focus global attention on rising temperatures and sea levels caused by greenhouse gas emissions.
FAQ ON ELECTION PETITION
What is an election petition?
- An Election petition is a means under law to challenge the election of a candidate in a Parliamentary, Assembly or local election.
Where can we file an election petition?
- Election petitions are filed in the High Court of the particular state in which the election was conducted.
- Therefore, only the High Courts have the original jurisdiction on deciding on election petitions.
- Such jurisdiction shall be exercised ordinarily by the Single Judge of the High Court and Chief Justice shall from time to time assign one or more Judges for that purpose.
Who can file an election petition?
- An election petition can be filed by any candidate, or an elector* relating to the election personally, to the authorized officer of the High Court.
- *An elector is a person who was entitled to vote at the election to which the election petition relates, whether he/she has voted at such election or not.
What is the limitation period of an election petition?
- An election petition calling in question an election shall be filed within the time period of forty-five days from the date of declaration of results.
What is the cost for filing an Election Petition?
- The petitioner shall have to deposit a sum of Rs. 2000/- in accordance with rules of the concerned High Court.
- However, the fees may vary according to the individual rules of a particular High Court.
What relief can be claimed by the petitioner in an election petition?
- A petitioner may, in addition to claiming that the election of a particular candidate is void, can also claim that he/she himself/herself has been duly elected.
- What are the grounds for filing an election petition or declaring an election void?
- The election of a particular candidate can be declared void under section 100 of the Representation of People Act, 1951, if the High Court is of the opinion that –
- a) that on the date of the election a returned candidate (a candidate who has been declared elected) was not qualified; or
- b) that some corrupt practice was committed by a returned candidate or his election agent; or
- c) that any nomination was improperly rejected; or
- d) that the result was materially affected.
What is the position in the Court of Law when more than one election petition is presented to the High Court in respect of the same election?
- Where more election petitions than one are presented to the High Court in respect of the same election, all of them shall be referred for trial to the same judge who may, in his discretion, try them separately or in one or more groups.
What is the timeline for a trial in an election petition?
- The Representation of Peoples Act recommends every election petition shall be tried as expeditiously as possible and as far as practicable for the interests of justice.
- Every endeavour, its suggests, should be made on the part of the High Court to conclude a trial for an election petition within six months from the date on which the election petition is presented to the High Court for trial.
What happens to the acts/activities done by an elected representative during the course of his/her membership, after his/her election is declared void?
- When the election of a candidate is declared void, any of his acts or proceedings in which that candidate has participated as a Member of Parliament or State Legislature, shall not be invalidated by reason of that order, nor shall such candidate be subjected to any liability or penalty on the ground of such participation.
How can an election petition be withdrawn?
- Any election petition may be withdrawn only by leave of the High Court.
- Where an application for withdrawal is made, notice thereof fixing a date for the hearing of the application shall be given to all other parties to the petition and shall be published in the official gazette.
How and when does an election petition abate?
- An election petition can abate only on the death of the sole petitioner or of several petitions.
Where should the High Court communicate its final orders as against an election petition?
- The High Court shall as soon as after the conclusion of the trial of an election petition, intimate the substance of the decision to the Election Commission of India and the Speaker of the House or Chairman of the State Legislature as the case may be.
Where can one appeal against an order of the High Court?
- An appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court on any question (whether of law and fact) from every order made by a High Court.
What is the limitation period for filing an appeal in the Supreme Court against an order of the High Court?
- Every appeal shall be preferred within a period of thirty days from the date of the order of the High Court.
- Supreme Court may entertain an appeal after the expiry of the said period of thirty days if it is satisfied that the appellant had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal within such period.
- https://adrindia.org/sites/default/files/FAQ%20on%20What%20is%20an%20election%20petition_English.pdf
