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FOR DRAFT OF CONTENTION

FACTS OF THE CASE

Most of the time the crucial riot records like phone records, official
movements and phone logs are destroyed in an attempt to get away from the
punishment. The state is never held liable and the public servants who are
responsible go scot free. The new bill i.e. Prevention of communal and targeted
violence takes care of this, as the prosecution of the public servant would happen
automatically after 30 days. There is no need for special requests for the
prosecution of these corrupted public servants.

This bill was first drafted in 2005 and since then there has been 49
amendments. The bill is accused of being draconian, discriminatory and damaging
as the BJP leaders feel that this bill, if passed could indeed harm the inter-
community relationship. The UPA is also accused of making the bill to fulfill its
political agenda by gaining the support from the minorities of any state within the
union of India.
The word minority is regarded to be a relative term. Biharis constitute
linguistic minority in the state of Maharashtra but they are in dominant in the state
of Bihar. The similar is the case with Hindus in the state of Punjab, Jammu and
Kashmir where they are regarded to be religious minority. The bill defines non-
dominant group as religious/linguistic/SC&ST in any state within the union of
India. The bill doesnt hold any particular group to be responsible to commit any
hate-based targeted violence attacks.
The bill is further accused of damaging the federal structure of india as most
of the people believe that according to the bill most of the rights vests with the
central government. Chief justice of India JS Verma says that we have to find out
what is missing in the present laws of India instead of making new ones. The bill is
concerned with ensuring that when a non-dominant group is under act, the officers
of the state must not be allowed to get biased and be impartial. The state appoints
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public officials to prevent the communal riots from happening, or if happened,
from spreading. Most of the time these public officials fail in their duty or act in a
biased manner and the communal violence spreads quickly. This is the main reason
why a state fails in stopping the communal violence.
Whenever common people cry for justice, junior officers are punished and
the higher public officials are left free, which is also a problem as there are
possibilities that the higher public officials would again fail in their duties. The
draft enforces legal duties on the state to provide rescue, relief, rehabilitation,
compensation and restitution to the victims. The bill also takes care of providing
compensation to the victims within 30 days from the incident

The charge made by the opposition that the bill may violate the federal
structure of India, is not true as all the powers and duties of investigation,
prosecution and trial remain with the state government. Experts have figured out
the main reason for the bill to make such a huge controversy is because of the term
communal used in the title.












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ISSUES DISCUSSED

Whenever a situation arises, political parties see to it that they gain full
advantage from it. Prevention of communal and targeted violence bill is no
exception. The opposition party has raised so many issues regarding the bill. This
bill has created huge controversies. The National Advisory Committee has now
made 49 amendments to the original draft, after protests led by certain quarters of
the government.

The following issues have been discussed in the present case:

a) If any public servant is found tampering with the riots records such as
phone transactions, official movements and vehicle logbooks, he/she wont
get any immunity from the state and the sanction to prosecute will be
deemed granted.

b) Whenever there is hate based violence against any non-dominant group,
the accountability of the state is enhanced by prevention of communal and
targeted violence bill.

c) The bill doesnt use the term minority. Instead it commonly uses the
term non-dominant that has raised huge debates within the political
system of India.

d) The bill defines non-dominant group as religious/linguistic/SC&ST in any
state within the union of India. The bill doesnt hold any particular group
to be responsible to commit any hate-based targeted violence attacks.

e) Since there are many void areas within the laws of India, the prevention
of communal violence bills takes care of this and makes it complete.

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f) The bill is concerned with ensuring that when a non-dominant group is
under act, the officers of the state must not be allowed to get biased and be
impartial.

g) The draft enforces legal duties on the state to provide rescue, relief,
rehabilitation, compensation and restitution to the victims.

h) The bill provides states that compensation would be provided to the
victims within 30 days from the incident.

i) All this suggests that the bill may violate the federal structure of India but
it is not so as all the powers and duties of investigation, prosecution and
trial remain with the state government.














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PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

There are seven problems related to the case that have been identified. They are as
follows:

a) The word non-dominant is frequently used in the bill, which includes
religious or linguistic minorities in any state in the union of India. The
provisions apply only when the offence is targeted in nature and is
knowingly committed against a non- dominant group. This raises a serious
problem regarding the hate based crime against the dominant group in the
society. Though it is quite rare in nature, it can still happen. (For e.g.: the
riots of Ahmedabad in 1714AD, 1715AD, 1716AD, 1750AD, 1969AD,
were hate based violence on dominant groups).

b) The bill is creating huge controversies. Experts say that the name of the bill
(it has got the term communal in the title) itself is creating tensions
between the communities.

c) The state always posts public officials to prevent the communal riots from
happening, or if happened, from spreading. Most of the time these public
officials fail in their duty or act in a biased manner and the communal
violence spreads quickly. This is the main reason why a state fails in
stopping the communal violence.

d) Whenever common people cry for justice, junior officers are punished and
the higher public officials are left free, which is also a problem as there are
possibilities that the higher public officials would again fail in their duties.

e) The bill in order to be implemented requires a smooth relationship between
the center and the state governments which in many cases are different
parties. Therefore it would be difficult to implement as both the parties
would wash their hands off their liability.

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f) Whenever there are riots there is a duty of the state to provide relief, rescue
rehabilitation, compensation and restitution to the victims which in reality is
far from the truth. Right now the compensation depends on the whims of
the politicians.

g) There are questions raised by the common people as well as the opposition
party that this bill would violate Indias federal structure as most of the
powers are vested in the hands of the central government. Many provisions
of the bill are brought into force after the central government passes the
dates for different provisions. Thus the implementation would depend on
the relationship between the Centre and the state.
















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ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS

The solutions for all the problems identified are given in a sequential manner

a) The provisions of the bill apply only when the offence is targeted in nature
and is knowingly committed against a non- dominant group. Therefore this
bill mainly focuses on the non-dominant groups in a region. As the bill
ignores the state of the dominant groups in the society there is a need for an
amendment in the bill which takes care of the crimes against both the
dominant and the non-dominant groups.

The bill is named Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence
Bill, 2011 which does not specify the violence or crimes against any
particular sector of the society in its name, therefore it should also include
provisions for protection of the dominant society in a state.

b) There is a widespread controversy and discussion on the term Communal
proposed in the bill. There is a suggestion from eminent personalities
associated with the bill that as it focuses on the hate crimes against non
dominant groups in the society the bill should be renamed as Hate Crimes
Bill. The main idea of the bill is to make sure different kinds of minorities-
the non dominant groups do not become victims of targeted violence.

Therefore there is no need to insert the word communal in the bill as it
should not focus on the non dominant religious minorities but all those
minorities which become a target of hate crimes and violence.

c) The State government shall appoint its officers as a competent authority
which shall take all such steps as may be necessary to ensure harmony. It
does not only give power to the state officials who in most of the cases are
directly or indirectly involved in the offence but also does not define the
extent of their power which may easily be abused.

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The public officials act in a biased way as they are directly or
indirectly abetting the crimes. Therefore there should be a stringent check on
the methods and policies applied by the police force at the time of the
violence and should be held responsible for dereliction of any duty.

If any rioting activity takes place in any area, then the nearest police
station and the authorities in charge of that zone should be held responsible,
while the senior officers should be held vicariously liable. The
consequences may include immediate suspension and even dishonorable
discharge from their post depending on the gravity of their role in failing to
suppress or prevent the riots.

d) After the riots have taken place there is a lot of hue and cry over the non-
performance of the duty by the police forces and other competent
authorities. Most of the time there is a strong pressure on the police force to
act in a certain way as they are directed by the local politicians and other
influential persons.

The latest amendment proposes that if there is no response to a request
for sanction for prosecution of a public servant within 30 days the sanction
for prosecution would be deemed granted.

In order for successful implementation of the bill the vicarious
liability should extend to the ministers making them answerable on account
of abuse of power by their inferiors. The sentence should include grave and
exemplary punishments including removal from office usually where
political power houses are involved in the role of an offender, imprisonment
or fines are not good enough as a deterrent punishment. In addition to the
prescribed consequences there should be expulsion from contesting or voting
in the elections, addressing any public gathering or making known his views
to any large number of people through any medium. The time limit for such
punishments should not be less than seven years.

e) As the bill requires complete co-operation between the centre and state
governments it is very difficult to fix the liability for the violence. Therefore
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for implementation of the bill the accountability should be based on the
discretion of the judiciary. As the state is in the better position to control and
suppress the riots most of the accountability should be charged to the state
government and the centre should be held vicariously liable. Any riots case
should be dealt by a Special Investigation Team which should forward its
report to the Supreme Court within 2 years from the commencement of the
riots.

f) The compensation, relief and rehabilitation right now is based on the
discretion of the state government. The amount of compensation in most of
the cases does not reach to the victims due to widespread corruption in the
distribution system. The local politicians extract the compensation amount
and if at all it reaches to the victim the amount gets reduced by a significant
margin.

g) The common people and the opposition should try to understand that the
powers and duties of investigation, prosecution and trial remain with the
state government. Thus the bill doesnt harm the federal fabric of India.













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BEST ALTERNATIVE

Politics in India has never been a fair play. Political powerhouses do not shy
away from anything in order to feed their vote banks including disruption of peace
and creating a chaos that ruins the lives of innocent. This hatred for one another is
instigated by people who use uneducated poverty stricken people to achieve their
selfish motives.
As it is commonly observed that no riots against a particular community is
possible without a strong political hand in it. The competent authority fails to act as
they are merely puppets in the hands of the political powerhouses. The Bill is
opposed by the political parties precisely for the reason that it holds officers
responsible for their acts and omissions and negligent behavior or willful failure in
controlling riots. By this the Officers would not listen to their political bosses; else
they could face prosecution if they are complicit. This would address a major
problem and Organizing, instigating and abetting communal violence will not be
easy.
The bill caters the need of having public servants accountable for dereliction
of their duties. Thus there is a need for a strong public and political influence with
an object to bring justice and create a safer environment. The perpetrators of riots
irrespective of their social stature need to be objectively punished so as to deter
others from following the suit. Not the least, one must not forget that prevention of
communal violence in also a social responsibility of each one of us.
.






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TB: A BANE OF THE WELL-HEELED
TOO

FACTS OF THE CASE
The article lays emphasis on the constricting grasp, Tuberculosis, (or infamously
known as TB), has on the privileged section too, as it has on the destitute one. For
instance, Aloke Prajapati, a software company employee, a lively man, got himself
checked-up after complaints of quick exhaustion and recurring fever, discovered
that he was suffering from TB of lymph nodes. His first reaction was of abhorrence
and then was left aghast. He thought, TB was not a disease to have affected a man
of his stature. It was only a disease of the "poverty and malnutrition stricken.
Thats what a majority of people of middle and upper-middle class carry a delusion
of. They think that TB is a disease which they are not vulnerable to. TB alone
wasnt a pest for our nation, that it bought its numerous forms with it. Today TB
affects primarily lungs, stomach, skin, eyes etc. Another instance shows this-
Chitrita, a boutique owner, realized she was suffering from stomach TB, in
succession to fever and loose-motions.
The facts speak up for themselves. 2 million new TB cases are reported every year.
2 deaths occur every 3 minutes from the disease, in India. On an average 20 new
pulmonary and 10 extra pulmonary cases come up in a month, as was quoted by
Dr. Praveen Pandey, pulmonologist at Noidas Fortis hospital.

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ISSUES DISCUSSED
In the discussion, it was found out that numerous issues were thrown light in by the
author of the article. The following are the ones inferred by the team-
TB was well-thought-out to be a disease of the poor and the under-privileged
ones now is also knocking the doors of the affluent sections of the society.
The above mentioned instances are freshly impervious to our first issue.
Quoting the Co-chairperson of the STOP TB Partnership Group, TB
affects people across all socio-economic strata in India. No group is
exempt. This gives us a dint of what threat does TB pose before us.

According to the studies, the number of TB cases has grown up to a
hollering number of 2 million. The rate of deaths caused by TB is a much
perplexing figure, that is, 2 deaths every 3 minutes. While even high-end
hospitals receive 20 new pulmonary and 10 extra pulmonary cases come up
in a month, on an average. TB is now not only pulmonary but also extra-
pulmonary, as it affects skin, eyes, stomach etc. The numbers reveal how
fast TB is narrowing its clutch on the citizens of India.

People from the affluent sections of the society, suffering from TB, cannot
find an apt reason for the infection. They guess, and, are right at it, that,
improper diet and irregular working hours might have made them vulnerable
to this disease. But the doctors state other reasons too, such as, stress,
obesity, hypertension, or an erratic lifestyle can lessen the bodys natural
immunity to fight the disease.

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PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

The issues were thoroughly discussed, and a lone problem was found out.
The problem was pertinent to the awareness and accurate diagnosis of the disease.
The people can barely believe that TB will affect their class. Adding to their ill-
awareness, their lifestyle is causing tiredness, obesity etc. which is lowering their
natural immunity, which could have kept the disease at bay. Also the disease, has
been posing a threat to everyone as the TB germ carries through air. The article
itself suggests that accurate diagnosis remains a major weak link in TB control in
India. Either the tests are not sensitive enough or, are outdated. The swelling
number of cases of TB is making treatment of multi-drug resistant strains of the
disease a Herculean task.

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ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS

There are a few solutions to this problem, which we were able to deduce out of the
article by our reasoning. These solutions might fit in accordance to the problems
and issues in the article.
Peoples lifestyle is a major factor that is affecting their immunity and hence
making them susceptible to the deadly disease. They need to improvise upon
their diet, suffuse some exercise in their busy life. They also need not avoid
any ailment and should have it checked-up, as it may result into TB.

The medical facilities in our nation are not proficient enough to combat TB a
need for cutting-edge technology has been felt by the experts of the field.
Government has been doing some commendable work on exterminating this
evil from lives of people but it needs to work on a larger scale and along
with providing free medication, it should also work upon raising awareness
regarding every minuscule detail about this menace.
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BEST ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION WITH
JUSTIFICATION

The best solution we could surmise out of our entire discussion was none
other than the precautionary measures to be taken by people. People, as suggested
in the solutions above, need to work upon their lifestyle and formulate their routine
in such a way that they can maintain equilibrium between their work and health.
With following a proper diet, it also is required that an exercise regime is infused
in the routine.















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CONTRIBUTION OF WORK

The first case i.e. Draft of contention is analyzed by Prahlad Chitharanjan
and Rahul Chaturvedi. A primary discussion was conducted between both the team
members. A rough draft was prepared which was constantly worked upon and was
formulated into a final draft. Mr. Prahlad thoroughly sketched out the facts, issues
discussed in the case and some of the problems which arose from the communal
violence bill. Mr. Rahul prepared the alternative solutions for the problems and
intensely debated upon the best possible solution for the given case.


The second case i.e. TB: A bane of the well-heeled too has been
thoroughly read by Arpita Bishnoi and Rajdeep Singh Chouhan. Firstly an
intensive discussion was carried out between both the team members. Next, both
the team members jotted down some points as a rough draft and was compiled and
analyzed. Later Ms. Bishnoi prepared a basic draft for the report, with the help of
which Mr. Chouhan prepared the final report.