Legal Bites June 2023 – Monthly Legal GK Update

Here are Legal Bites June 2023 monthly GK updates. The notable happenings of the months were related to RBI's Financial Stability Report, the Fintech Centre of Google, the New Prison Act of UP, the validity of stamp paper and so on. We have covered all the happenings in the gist so that it helps the readers to remember all legal and current updates about June 2023 most efficiently and easily.

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Key Articles: Legal Bites June 2023

1. Bard of Blood: Stigmatised Blood Drives

2. Demystifying India's CBFC and Cinematograph Act: A Comprehensive Overview

3. Humane Approach to Street Dog Issues

4. Gyanvapi Mosque: Exploring the Splendour of History and Controversy

Legal Bites June 2023: Monthly Legal Updates

1. RBI launches “Antardrishti”:

On 1st June 2023, a financial inclusion dashboard was launched by the Reserve Bank of India named “Antardrishti”, which is intended to record relevant data and evaluate the development of financial inclusion in India.

2. Financial Stability Report released by RBI

On 2nd June, RBI released the 27th issue of the Financial Stability Report (FSR). This is a comprehensive analysis of the Sub-Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC). The major theme covered relates to the various risks that can impact financial stability and the resilience that the Indian financial system must possess.

3. Green initiatives taken by Indian NAVY

On 3rd June, the Indian navy initiated the use of solar power with a cumulative capacity of 15.87MW which is furthering its objectives with regard to Govt of India’s ‘Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM)’ mission. This has been done by the Indian Navy in collaboration with the IISc (Bengaluru).

4. PSUs not exempted from Competition Act

On 3rd June, the Hon’ble Supreme Court while deciding the case of Coal India Limited, held that the government departments fall within the purview of the Competition Act and hence, they cannot be exempted on the grounds that they perform sovereign functions as their functions do not fall within the same.

5. Draft Payment Security Norms released by RBI

On 5th June, RBI released the ‘Draft Payment Security Norms’ for the payment operators. This step has been taken to further guarantee the cyber security of payments that are thus made digitally by users all around the country. Several robust mechanisms have been included in these norms for the efficient functioning of the payments digitally.

6. RBI Bulletin released data regarding UPI topping retail transactions

On 7th June, as per the RBI Bulletin, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions contributed to approximately 90% of retail digital transactions made overall, and the same shall continue for the next five years. The same was at a low of 75.6% as of March end. This in itself has been a huge development as per RBI.

7. SC Clarifies the scope of Judicial Review

On 7th June, the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Indian Oil Corporation & Ors. v. Ajit Kumar Singh & Anr., held that the evidence pertaining to disciplinary proceedings cannot be reevaluated by the Court and the Court will only intervene if it intends to evaluate the decision-making process of such disciplinary proceedings.

8. Selection of TCS as a partner in TPS (Teacher Pension Scheme)

On 8th June, the Teachers' Pension Scheme in Eng, Wales selected TCS to be their partner for the purpose of materialising their aim of administering and enhancing the experience of the customers of the said scheme. The same shall include accurate administration of pension records, payment of benefits, effective scheme finance management, proactive member engagement etc.

9. Nudity is not obscene by default

On 8th June, the Kerala High Court while deciding a criminal case for posting a video wherein the Children were painting on their mother’s seminude body, while invoking the principle of body autonomy, held that woman’s naked body should not always be regarded as sexual or obscene.

10. Management of digital content at DIKSHA by Airtel

On 9th June, DIC (Digital India Corporation) has chosen Bharti Airtel for the purpose of managing all their content and Cloud for their portal for digital education which is DIKSHA. This shall make Airtel responsible for all the management of the said portal incusing end-to-end communications. DIKSHA Portal was set in the years 2-17 for giving a boost to digital education.

11. Maintenance can be sought by Muslim Woman Post-Divorce

On 10th June, the Bombay High Court dismissed an application filed by the husband challenging the increment of maintenance to his ex-wife, stating that the wife is entitled to maintenance under the Domestic Violence Act, 2005.

12. Haj Pilgrimage comes within purview of Religious Practice.

On 10th June, Delhi High Court while granting a stay on the "Consolidated List of Allocation of Haj quota for Haj-2023" issued by the Union Government, held that the Haj Pilgrimage falls within the ambit of religious practice and is protected under Article 25 of the Constitution of India.

13. Fintech Centre of Google to be opened in GIFT City

On 10th June as announced by Google, Gujarat International Finance Tech-City (GIFT City) shall witness the establishment of a global fintech operations centre for the purpose of enhancing its investment in India so as to harness the country’s technological capabilities.-

14. Social Media should not be used to malign judicial officers

On11th June, Hon’ble Supreme Court while dismissing the plea against the order passed by the MP High Court sentencing ten days’ jail to a person for posing false corruption allegations against the judge of the district court, held that social media should not be used as a platform to malign the image of judicial officers.

15. RBI to come up with new guidelines for fraudulent account classification

On 11th June, in light of the recent order passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court wherein it was held that natural justice is supposed to be provided to the borrower before he is declared as fraud, the RBI has decided to up with a revised guideline on fraudulent account classification for ensuring appropriate classification of accounts.

16. GeM Portal transactions crossed Rs. 50,000 crore in the first quarter of 2023

On 11th June, GeM which stands for the Government e-Marketplace led to establishing and facilitating a remarkable bench of transactions by it which has crossed Rs. 50,000 crore in the first quarter of 2023. This limit is an achievement in itself since it is about 1.5 times more than it was last year at about the same time.

17. Suo Moto cognizance of the lack of toilets for female advocates.

On 12th June, Hon’ble Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the report highlighting the lack of female toilets in Ooty Court and directed a detailed report to be submitted from the administration of Madras High Court.

18. Plea for urgent hearing against Rs. 2000 note exchange refused:

On 12th June, the Hon’ble Supreme Court while refusing the plea for urgent hearing against the notification enabling the exchange without any identity proof, held that there is no urgency in the matter and the court should not be considered as a public platform.

19. Stay on operations of Bike Taxis in Delhi

On 12th June, the Hon’ble Supreme Court stayed the order passed by Delhi High Court allowing the operations of bike taxis in Delhi without aggregator licenses owing to high-risk factors and the absence of insurance cover in case any accident takes place through the same.

20. Invocation of AFSPA rejected

On 13th June, the refused the invocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) while defending its prosecution in the matter pertaining to cutting of trees, and held that the present case does not fall within the purview of AFSPA. The court further held that cutting down the trees on rented land was beyond the authority of the Army.

21. Defamation complaint over “Lingayat CM” comment dismissed

On 13th June, a Special Court in Bengaluru dismissed a defamation complaint against the Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddharamaiah for his comment “Lingayat chief minister” while he was contesting for assembly elections. The Court held that the statement was intended against Basavraj Bommai, the former CM of Karnataka, and not the Lingayat community as a whole.

22. Face identification via Adhaar used by 47 entities as per Government

On 13th June, data published by the government revealed that about 47 entities in total are using the face identification feature via Adhaar. In June such transactions touched an all-time high of about 10.6 million.

23. Plea of urgent hearing against Uttarakhand Mahapanchayat refused

On 14th June, Hon’ble Supreme Court refused the plea for an urgent hearing against the Uttarakhand Mahapanchayat considering it a “short-circuiting” the judicial process and directing the petitioner to move the plea before the Uttarakhand High Court first.

24. Bail Order of Preeti Chandra Stayed

On 14th June, the Hon’ble Supreme Court stayed the order passed by Delhi High Court granting bail to Preeti Chandra, wife of Sanjay Chandra, the promoter of Unitech, in the matter pertaining to money laundering.

25. LODR Norms relating to KMP modified

On 14th June, the Share Exchange Board of India inserted regulation 26A pertaining to filing the positions of KMP and their continuation as a Director of the Company. As per the new regulations, the position of CEO, CFO, MD etc. shall be filled within three months.

26. Digitisation of investor service requests, and complaints by RTAs to be made by SEBI

On 15th June, it has been decided by SEBI to establish such a mechanism that shall assist in providing a mechanism for investor service requests, and complaints by RTAs in an online mode in order to make the process more efficient, quick and less complex. This would further assist in maintaining a database of all the service requests that are thus made in a particular period of time.

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27. Compensation to the author for the delay in printing books

On 15th June, the Ernakulum District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission passed an order directing the printing press to provide compensation to the author for the delay caused due to its inability to ensure timely printing of books.

28. Medical Counseling Commission to extend the benefit of third-gender status

On 16th June, the Telangana High Court directed Medical Counseling Commission to extend the benefit of third-gender status to the trans-gender candidates in NEET PG 2023, in addition to “Scheduled Caste” status.

29. Validity of Stamp Paper

On 16th June, the Hon’ble Supreme Court held that stamp paper has no validity. However, with regard to the claim of refund, the Hon’ble Court has prescribed a time period of six months.

30. Framework for direct mutual fund investment platforms introduced by SEBI

On 16th June, a regulatory platform has been released by the financial regulator SEBI for online investment platforms in order to further enunciate e investments in commission-free mutual fund (MF) schemes. The idea behind this is to bring clarity with regard to the obligations of such platforms while opening different ways for monetising their business and revenue.

31. SEBI to process requests through RTAs

On 17th June, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) directed Registrar and Transfer Agents (RTAs) to process investors’ service requests and complaints through online mode with a view to digitising the processing of requests.

32. New Disclosure Rules introduced by SEBI

On 17th June, SEBI introduced a comprehensive new set of rules that have been imposed on the top 100 listed entities for now and are expected to be rolled out for all the companies soon. These rules have mandated for the companies to confirm market rumours that are reported in the mainstream media from October 1. Cyber security incidents are also to be disclosed by such companies as per SEBI.

33. IIFL Securities banned for 2 years by SEBI for on boarding new clients

On 17th June, SEBI reasoned misuse of client funds to be the reason for banning IIFL Securities from onboarding any new clients for the next 2 years. IIFL was reported to have been practising the mixing of funds of the clients with its own funds.

34. Payment of Rs.7 Lakh made by ZEE for settling case with SEBI

On 18th June, ZEE settled its case with SEBI where it had been alleged to have made grave violations of the securities laws. The same was in relation to the investigation undertaken by SEBI of ZEE between January 1, 2019, to December 26, 2019, in order to ascertain any possible violations that might have been done, of its insider trading and takeover rules.

35. EROS International barred by SEBI from the Securities Market

On 18th June, SEBI has barred Eros International Media and four others -- including executive vice chairman and managing director Sunil Lulla and chief executive officer Pradeep Dwivedi from the securities market. The reason behind this is the diversion of funds and financial misreporting conducted by the said entity and involved people.

36. Framework for disposal of undertaking by a listed entity introduced by SEBI

On 18th June, SEBI introduced a stricter framework for the disposal of undertaking by a listed entity. Owing to this, the public shareholders are now going to have a say with regard to the decision-making of a listed company relating to the sale or disposal of an undertaking. The same has been done in order to facilitate the strengthening of the minority shareholders and also for strengthening the framework of slump sales that is executed outside the Scheme of Arrangement.

37. AIF Portfolio assets can now be valued as per standardisation owing to SEBI’s new introduction

On 19th June, the Manager and key management personnel of the Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) have now been made responsible by SEBI for the purpose of appointing an independent valuer of assets. This valuer of the asset shall further ascertain a true and fair valuation with regard to investments made in AIF schemes.

38. Fee payment by Demand Drafts is now discontinued by SEBI

On 19th June, SEBI, it is stated that the fee that is charged for the purpose of requesting informal guidance about the applicability of rules shall now not be accepted by SEBI via the mode of Demand Drafts. Thus, now the fee of Rs. 25,000 that is made for this purpose shall have to be credited directly into the bank account by way of NEFT/RTGS/IMPS.

39. Right to Change One’s Name

On 20th June, the Delhi High Court while deciding the plea of changing surname due to caste atrocities held that the right to one’s identity is an inherent component of any individual’s right to life and personal liberty as provided under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

40. Strategic Partnership deal made between India and Egypt

On 20th June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi made a deal by signing a bilateral agreement for the purpose of maintaining a ‘strategic partnership’ between the two countries. The same was done while the Indian PM’s visit to Egypt where he was also given the title of “Order of the Nile” by President Al-Sisi, which is Egypt’s highest-ranking honour.

41. Necrophilia is not an Offence

On 21st June, the Karnataka High Court while acquitting the accused for the charge of “rape”, held that sexual intercourse with a woman’s dead body does not come within the purview of the rape punishable under Section 376 of IPC since there is no specific provision within the IPC prescribing the punishment for the same.

42. Birth and Death Registration by Adhaar are now allowed

On 21st June, the permission for Birth and Death Registration by Adhaar has been given by The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEiTY). Certain guidelines however have to be followed by the governments at the State and Centre level for this purpose. Justification has to be made by them for using the same and this proposal shall then be forwarded to UIDAI.

43. Rajasthani Farmers to get house loans as per the cooperative scheme

On 21st June, it was ascertained that Cooperative Village Housing Scheme shall be providing Rajasthani Farmers with house loans to build houses in their agricultural fields. The amount of the loan can be upto a total of Rs. 50 lakh which shall be paid to them in three instalments by the banks.

44. New Prison Act of UP to rename prisons as ‘Reform Homes’

On 21st June, announced by UP CM that stress shall be laid on the formation of the new Prisons Act of the state and for the same purpose, it shall be noted that prisons shall now be referred to as 'Sudhaar Grah' (Reform Homes).

45. Report On Rape Victim Mangal Dosh.

On 22nd June, Hon’ble Supreme Court stayed the order passed by Allahabad High Court order seeking a report from the Astrology Department of Lucknow University on the rape victim’s mangal dosh. The said order was passed by Allahabad High Court after the accused of the rape, refused to marry the victim due to her Mangal Dosh.

46. Largest Ramayan Temple construction started in Bihar

On 22nd June, construction for the world’s largest Ramayan temple” in Bihar’s East Champaran district started. The temple is projected to be a three-storeyed temple and is estimated to be ready by the year 2025. The target is to make the temple taller than the 12th-century Angkor Wat temple complex at Cambodia.

47. Rs 942 crore demand notice against HDFC Life Insurance Company

On 23rd June, the Central Board of Indirect Tax and Customs (CBIC) through its investigative wing issued a show cause-cum-demand notice for wrongly availing the input tax credit without the underlying supply of services against HDFC Life Insurance Company and has demanded an amount of Rs 942.18 crore pertaining to the same.

48. ‘Blue Pansy’ chosen as the state butterfly by Jammu and Kashmir

On 23rd June, Junonia Orithya which is also called the Blue Pansy butterfly has been chosen to be the butterfly of the state for Jammu and Kashmir. The idea for doing the same is to increase sensitivity towards the preservation of biodiversity in the state.

49. India is no more a part of the UNSG report on the impact of armed conflict on children

On 24th June, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has taken the step of removing India from UNSG report on impact of armed conflict on children. This is solely due to the numerous steps that have been and are being currently taken by India for the purpose of protecting children.

50. QS World Rankings released

On 27th June, QS world rankings were released. Various new factors were used this year for calculating the ranks such as sustainability commitment, emphasis on graduate employability, and increased international research collaboration. Some of the Indian institutes included in the ranking are IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Guwahati, IIT Roorkee, Indian Institute of Science, University of Delhi, Anna University, IIT Indore, University of Madras, and IIT BHU Varanasi.

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