Static Quiz 15 April 2024

Zonal Council: They are statutory (and not the constitutional) bodies. They are established by an Act of the Parliament i.e. States Reorganisation Act of 1956. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
o The act divided the country into five zones- Northern, Central, Eastern, Western and Southern and provided a zonal council for each zone.
o Composition –
▪ Chairman – The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of each of these Councils. Hence statement 2 is correct.
▪ Vice-Chairman – The Chief Ministers of the States included in each zone act as Vice-Chairmam of the Zonal Council for that zone by rotation, each holding office for a period of one year at a time.
▪ Members- Chief Minister and two other Ministers as nominated by the Governor from each of the States and two members from Union Territories included in the zone.

These are advisory bodies that make recommendations with regard to any matter of common interest in the field of economic and social planning between the Centre and States border disputes, linguistic minorities, inter-State transport or matters connected with the reorganisation of States.

Constitutional Provisions for Upliftment of the Schedule Caste:

Article 338 of the constitution of India deals with this commission:
It provides for a National Commission for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes with duties to investigate and monitor all matters relating to safeguards provided for them, to inquire into specific complaints and to participate and advise on the planning process of their socio-economic development etc.

• Article 15(4) refers to the special provisions for their advancement.
• Article 16(4A) speaks of “reservation in matters of promotion to any class or classes of posts in the services under the State in favour of SCs/STs, which are not adequately represented in the services under the State’.
• Article 17 abolishes Untouchability.
• Article 46 requires the State ‘to promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and to protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.
• Article 335 provides that the claims of the members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes shall be taken into consideration, consistently with the maintenance of efficiency of administration, in the making of appointments to services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State.
• Article 330 and Article 332 of the Constitution respectively provide for reservation of seats in favour of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People and in the legislative assemblies of the States.
• Under Part IX relating to the Panchayats and Part IXA of the Constitution relating to the Municipalities, reservation for SC and ST in local bodies has been envisaged and provided.

The Protection of Human Rights Act (1993) also provides for the establishment of Human Rights Court in every district for the speedy trial of violation of human rights. These courts can be set up by the state government only with the concurrence of the Chief Justice of the High Court of that state. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
For every Human Rights Court, the state government specifies a public prosecutor or appoints an advocate (who has practiced for seven years) as a special public prosecutor.

Sessions Court of the district concerned is considered as the Human Rights Court. Hence statement 2 is correct.

Both the statements are correct.

NCRB was set-up in 1986 to function as a repository of information on crime and criminals so as to assist the investigators in linking crime to the perpetrators based on the recommendations of the Tandon Committee to the National Police Commission (1977-1981) and the MHA’s Task force (1985).

The Bureau has also been entrusted to maintain National Database of Sexual Offenders (NDSO) and has also been designated as the Central Nodal Agency to manage technical and operational functions of the ‘Online Cyber-Crime Reporting Portal’ through which any citizen can lodge a complaint as an evidence of crime related to child pornography, rape/gang rape. NCRB also compiles and publishes National Crime Statistics i.e. Crime in India, Accidental Deaths & Suicides and also Prison Statistics

Law Commission of India: The Law Commission of India is a non-constitutional, non-statutory body constituted by the Government of India from time to time. It is an executive body established by an order of the Government of India.

The Law Commission, on a reference made to it by the Central Government or suo-motu, undertake research in law and review of existing laws in India for making reforms therein and enacting new legislations. It also undertakes studies and research for bringing reforms in the justice delivery systems for elimination of delay in procedures, speedy disposal of cases, reduction in cost of litigation etc.
• The tenure of the Commission is three years. It is usually re-constituted after every three
years.

The Law Commission of India is an advisory body to the government for legal reforms in India. The recommendations of the Law Commission is not binding upon the government.