‘Shariat courts and fatwas have no legal status’: Supreme Court
As per the Supreme Court, Shariat courts, issuing fatwa and order against a person who has not submitted himself before it, has no sanction of law and has no legal status. The court held that no religion is permitted to violate anyone’s fundamental rights.
The apex court noted that in some cases, orders were being passed by these courts which infringe human rights and punish innocent persons. It held that no religion, including Islam, allows punishing the innocent and ordered that no ‘Darul Qaza’ should give judgment which curbs rights of a person who is not before it. As per SC, Islamic judges, who interpret religious law, could only give verdict when individuals submitted voluntarily to them and their orders otherwise fatwas are not legally binding.
In India around 150 million Muslims follow their own laws governing family life and other personal matters such as marriage and divorce, with Sharia courts used to adjudicate on such issues.
Typhoon Neoguri: Super typhoon moving towards Japan
A super typhoon named Neoguri was advancing north for Japan on July 7, 2014, set to lash the southern Okinawa archipelagoes with heavy rain and powerful winds before making landfall on Kyushu, Japan’s westernmost main island. The typhoon was already heading at more than 250 km an hour (150 mph) and may become more powerful as it advances north. But it was not expected to be as intense as Typhoon Haiyan, which killed thousands in the Philippines in 2013. Typhoon Neoguri, is known as “Florita” in Philippines. It is the 8th named storm and the second typhoon of the yearly typhoon season and is a large and powerful tropical cyclone affecting Okinawa, Japan.
Rangarajan panel suggests new Poverty Line: Rs.47 per day in urban, Rs. 32 in rural areas
Brushing aside the Tendulkar Committee report on poverty estimation, a Committee headed by former RBI governor C Rangarajan has said that the number of poor in India was much higher in 2011-12 at 29.5% of the population, which means that 3 out of 10 persons are poor.
As per the report submitted by C Rangarajan Committee:
- Persons spending below Rs. 47 a day in cities should be considered poor, much above the Rs. 33/day mark suggested by the Suresh Tendulkar Committee.
- Poverty stood at 38.2% in 2009-10 and reduced to 29.5% in 2011-12. This is in contrast with the Tendulkar report as per which poverty was at 29.8% in 2009-10 and decreased to 21.9% in 2011-12.
- A person spending less than Rs. 1,407 a month (Rs. 47/day) should be considered poor in cities, as against the Tendulkar panel’s suggestion of Rs. 1,000 a month (Rs.33/day).
- A person spending less than Rs. 972 a month (Rs. 32/day) should be considered poor in villages which is again a variance with Tendulkar committee’s suggestion of Rs. 816 a month (Rs. 27/day).
- The number of poor in India was estimated at 36.3 crore in 2011-12, down from 45.4 crore in 2009-10. However, as per Tendulkar panel, the number of poor was 35.4 crore in 2009-10 and 26.9 crore in 2011-12.
Background:
Government set up the Rangarajan Committee in 2013 to review the Tendulkar Committee methodology for estimating poverty and clear the ambiguity over the number of poor in the country. It was a done in a response to the severe criticism of Planning Commission estimates on poverty based on Tendulkar panel report in September 2011 when in an affidavit to the Supreme Court it was stated that households with per capita consumption of more than Rs. 33 in urban areas and Rs. 27 in rural areas would not be considered poor.
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