Current Affairs 18 February 2025

Content:

1. SC Puts Off Cases Challenging Places of Worship Act Amid Centre’s Delay
2. Parambikulam Reserve Adds 15 New Species to Its Biodiversity Checklist
3. Delhi Rocked by Second Strongest Earthquake in Three Decades
4. How Did a DDoS Attack Cripple Kaveri 2.0?
5. Constitutional Morality: The Origins and Nuances of the Concept

SC puts off cases challenging Places of Worship Act with Centre yet to file a response

Case Background

• The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 preserves the religious character of places of worship as they existed on August 15, 1947.
• The law prohibits the conversion of religious sites and bars litigation over their ownership, with the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute being the only exception.
• Several petitions have challenged the validity of the Act, arguing that it denies Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs the right to reclaim religious sites allegedly forcibly converted in the past.
• The case has been pending for over four years, with the Centre yet to file a response.

Relevance : GS 2(Judiciary ,Polity)

Supreme Court Proceedings & Delays

• The case was scheduled for hearing on February 12, 2024, but the SC adjourned it to April 2024 due to the Centre’s failure to submit a counter-affidavit.
• The SC has previously issued eight orders (October 2022–December 2024) directing the Centre to respond.
• The court dismissed fresh writ petitions where notices had not been issued but allowed applications raising new legal grounds.

Legal Issues Raised

(A) Arguments Supporting the Act

• The 1991 Act is described as a constitutional safeguard against communal disputes and retrogression.
• Petitioners argue that recent civil court orders mandating mosque surveys violate Section 3 (prohibits religious conversion) and Section 4 (mandates maintaining religious character as of 1947).

(B) Arguments Challenging the Act

• Opponents argue that the Act denies Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs the right to reclaim religious sites allegedly encroached upon by “fundamentalist invaders.”
• They claim the Act is unconstitutional for restricting the right to legal recourse under Article 14 (Right to Equality) and Article 25 (Freedom of Religion).
• On December 12, 2023, the SC barred lower courts from registering fresh suits aimed at reclaiming temples destroyed by Mughal rulers in the 16th century.

Constitutional & Judicial Implications

• The case involves fundamental constitutional questions on religious rights, historical claims, and judicial intervention.
• The Centre’s silence raises questions about its stance on balancing historical grievances with constitutional secularism.
• SC’s handling of the case may set a precedent for future disputes over religious sites and communal harmony.

Key Takeaways

• The Centre’s delay in filing a response has prolonged legal uncertainty.
• The SC is cautious about flooding of petitions and has streamlined its approach by focusing only on new legal grounds.
• The verdict in this case could have far-reaching socio-political and legal consequences.

Next Steps

• The Supreme Court will resume hearings in April 2024.
• The Centre is expected to finally submit its counter-affidavit, clarifying its legal position.
• The case could lead to judicial review of the 1991 Act’s constitutionality and influence future litigation over religious sites in India.

Parambikulam Reserve adds 15 new species to its biodiversity checklist

Overview of the Survey

• Conducted by:
  • Parambikulam Tiger Conservation Foundation
  • Travancore Nature History Society
  • Other non-governmental organisations
• Duration: February 6–9, 2025
• Location: Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, Palakkad district, Kerala
• Coverage: 11 base camps across diverse habitats of the reserve
• Objective: Document biodiversity and update the species checklist

Relevance : GS 3(Environment and Ecology)

Key Findings

Avian Biodiversity: 7 New Bird Species Identified

• Notable bird sightings:
  • Great Indian hornbill (Vulnerable species)
  • Ceylon frogmouth (Endemic to the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka)
  • Lesser fish eagle (Near Threatened)
  • Shaheen falcon (Indian subspecies of peregrine falcon)

Butterfly Diversity: 5 New Species Recorded

• Other notable butterfly species observed:
  • Five-bar swordtail
  • Spot swordtail
  • Southern birdwing (India’s largest butterfly)
  • Malabar banded swallowtail (Western Ghats endemic)
  • Sahyadri grass yellow
  • Nilgiri tiger
  • Southern blue oakleaf
  • Kanara swift
  • Black angle

Odonates (Dragonflies and Damselflies): 3 New Species Documented

• Total odonate species in the reserve now: 69
• Newly identified species:
  • Brown darner (Gynacantha dravida Lieftinck, 1960)
  • Parakeet darner (Gynacantha millardi Fraser, 1920)
  • Vestalis submontana Fraser, 1934

Significance of Findings

Indicator of Rich Biodiversity

• The addition of 15 new species highlights the ecological richness of the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve.
• Recording new species during the dry season suggests strong habitat resilience and environmental stability.

Conservation Implications

• The presence of species like the Great Indian hornbill, lion-tailed macaques, and Malabar banded swallowtail emphasizes the reserve’s role in protecting endemic and endangered species.
• The discovery of new odonates and butterflies underlines the need for microhabitat conservation within the reserve.

Strengthening Ecotourism & Research

• The survey’s findings can enhance ecotourism potential by showcasing the rich avifauna and butterfly diversity.
• Provides new avenues for ecological research, including pollinator studies and habitat management strategies.

Delhi rocked by second strongest earthquake in three decades

Magnitude & Impact:

• A 4.0-magnitude earthquake struck Delhi early Monday.
• Strongest since the 4.6-magnitude earthquake in 2007.
• Epicenter: Jheel Park, Dhaula Kuan.
• Affected areas: Delhi-NCR, including Noida, Ghaziabad, and Gurugram.
• The shallow depth (5 km) intensified surface impact.

Relevance : GS 1(Geography ), GS 3(Disaster Management)

Seismic Activity in Delhi:

• From 1993-2025, 446 earthquakes (magnitude 1.1 to 4.6) have been recorded within a 50-km radius.
• The strongest quake (M 4.6) was on November 25, 2007, around 6 km northwest of Monday’s quake.

Geological Factors & Causes:

• Normal faulting due to hydro-fracturing of underground rock formations.
• Delhi has underground aquifers, ancient rivers, and rivulets, which erode rock layers over time, triggering fractures and seismic activity.
• Key regional faults: Mahendranagar fault, Sohana fault.

Future Earthquake Risks:

• Highly unlikely to exceed magnitude 6, due to limited fault capacity.
• Shallow quakes (like this one) do not cause serious structural damage.
• Emphasis on earthquake-resistant buildings and retrofitting old structures to mitigate future risks.

How did a DDoS attack cripple Kaveri 2.0?

What Happened?

• Kaveri 2.0, Karnataka’s property registration portal, faced severe server outages in December 2024 – January 2025.
• Investigation revealed it was a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, not a technical glitch.
• Attackers flooded the system with fake database entries and excessive requests, disrupting services.

Relevance : GS 3(Internal Security , Cyber Safety)

Impact of the Attack

• 62 email accounts from 14 IP addresses were involved.
• In January 2025, 6.2 lakh requests were sent in two hours, overwhelming the system.
• Registrations dropped sharply on February 1 and 4.
• Portal was restored on February 5, but the incident exposed cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

What is a DDoS Attack?

• A DDoS attack overwhelms a target (server/network) with massive internet traffic, making it inaccessible.
• Unlike a DoS attack (single-source), DDoS uses multiple compromised systems (botnet).
• It doesn’t steal data but disrupts services, causing financial and reputational damage.
• Attackers often use it as a distraction for bigger cyber threats.

How Can Such Attacks Be Prevented?

• Traffic Filtering: Differentiating real users from malicious bots.
• Monitoring Tools: Identifying unusual traffic spikes in real-time.
• Rate Limiting: Restricting excessive user requests.
• Bot Detection: Using CAPTCHA and behavioral analysis.
• Cybersecurity Collaboration: Working with security agencies to track attackers.
• User Awareness: Preventing phishing-based account compromises.

Other Major DDoS Attacks

• X (formerly Twitter) Attack (August 2024):
  • Elon Musk reported a massive DDoS attack that caused disruptions before his conversation with Donald Trump.
• GitHub Attack (2015):
  • China-based botnet targeted censorship circumvention tools on GitHub using malicious JavaScript injections.

Takeaway

• The Kaveri 2.0 attack highlights the urgent need for robust cybersecurity measures, especially for government digital infrastructure.

Constitutional morality: the origins and nuances of the concept

Introduction

• Constitutional morality refers to a civic culture that respects constitutional forms, offices, and principles.
• It balances adherence to the Constitution with critique and reform.
• The concept has been increasingly invoked in judicial interpretations, particularly in landmark Supreme Court cases.

Judicial Usage in India

• The Supreme Court has used constitutional morality to interpret laws and adjudicate their constitutional validity.
• Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India (2018) – Decriminalization of homosexuality under Section 377 IPC.
• Joseph Shine v. Union of India (2018) – Decriminalization of adultery under Section 497 IPC.
• The concept is viewed as a counter to fluctuating public morality but also as a potentially “dangerous weapon.”

Origins of the Concept

• Coined by British historian George Grote in his work A History of Greece.
• Defined as a “paramount reverence for the forms of the constitution.”
• Emphasized adherence to constitutional processes, self-restraint, and civic culture.
• Highlighted that well-drafted constitutional rules alone cannot ensure the longevity of democracy.

Ambedkar’s Perspective

• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar invoked Grote’s idea in his speech on November 4, 1948.
• Stressed that constitutional morality is not an innate sentiment and must be cultivated.
• Warned that constitutional perversion is possible without altering its form, merely by changing administrative practices.
• Advocated self-restraint as essential for democratic stability.

Key Features of Constitutional Morality

• Non-transactional adherence: Respect for the Constitution should not be conditional on favorable outcomes.
• Commitment with critique: Encourages reform within the constitutional framework rather than blind adherence.
• Balances reverence and reform: Ensures stability while allowing space for constitutional evolution.
• Contrast with Constitutional Patriotism (Jürgen Habermas):
  • Constitutional morality focuses on procedure and process.
  • Constitutional patriotism emphasizes solidarity based on constitutional values.

Contemporary Relevance

• Essential in debates on free speech, civil liberties, women’s rights, and national security.
• Prevents democratic processes from being overtaken by populism or majoritarianism.
• Ensures that constitutional commitment does not lead to rigidity but allows for democratic adaptation.