Political Manifestos and Legal/Judicial Reforms – Then and Now

With the first phase of elections currently underway, political parties have been in a last-minute rush to release manifestos ostensibly before hotly contested states go to the polls. As with every other ‘interest group’, promises targeting the legal community and the judicial community, as well as larger issues surrounding reform of laws, are given pride of place in manifestos. .This article takes a closer look at these promises through a comparison of manifestos of parties which are likely to play a crucial role in these elections. In examining each party’s vision for legal and judicial reform – we can get a better idea of what awaits the legal community, in the coming months..As a useful exercise in being aware of the limitations of promises made in manifestos, it may be prudent to examine the status of some legal reforms promised by the Indian National Congress in its manifesto for the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. In doing so, we can analyse the virtue of relying on manifestos to act as a true blueprint of the Government’s agenda..Table 1: Brief Analysis of the Status of Promises made by the Indian National Congress in 2009 .PromiseStatusAlong the lines of NREGA, enact a National Food Security ActYesEnsure that the Bill for reserving 33% of the seats in the Lok Sabha and the State legislatures is passed in the 15th Lok Sabha and that the elections to the 16th Lok Sabha are held on the basis of one-third reservation for womenNoEnsuring equality of opportunity and full participation of persons with disabilities beginning with a comprehensive review of laws and programmes with shortcomings noticed in their implementation to be removedNo, though the ‘Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill’ has been introduced in the Rajya Sabha.Introduce a moderate goods and services tax (GST)NoPursue judicial reforms to ensure timely completion of the hearing and disposal of casesThe language used in the manifesto is vague and makes it difficult to assess the outcome of the implementation of reforms under this head.Accelerate the process of police reforms: Promise of diverse police force/effective recruitment/professional training/institutionalise accountability of police/clear distinction between political executive and police.Inadequate implementation of police reforms.All controls on the free movement of farm commodities and processing of agricultural products and all regulations that depress incomes of farmers will be systematically eliminated.One major initiative was the delisting of fruits and vegetables from the APMC Act in Congress-ruled States in 2014. However, a large-scale reform of the agri-value chain from production to sale/processing has not taken place to the extent indicated by the manifesto.Ensuring democratic, autonomous and professional functioning of co-operatives by enacting appropriate laws, including making a Constitutional provision for the same.In accordance with the manifesto, The Constitution (111 Amendment) Bill was passed in 2011 and given effect to on 12 January, 2012. The text of the Amendment can be viewed here. Broadly, the Amendment creates Article 43B in Part IV of the Constitution to further the development of co-operatives. The implementation of the recommendations of the Sachar Committee is already under way and an Equal Opportunity Commission will be established by law.On 21 February, 2014, the Union Cabinet passed a proposal of for constitution of an Equal Opportunities Commission.The Sachar Committee recommendations are been implemented and the status of the implementation is available here, in a document dated 5 March , 2014..Though the Government was not entirely successful in keeping to its promises as detailed in the manifesto, other crucial legal reforms were undertaken albeit often provoked by crisis-like situations. Notable instances include reforms relating to the laws that punish violence against women, sexual harassment, creating the Lokpal institution, the Land Acquisition Act, the Companies Act and so on..With this background, here is a brief comparison of the legal and judicial reforms promised by each of the major national political parties, as well as the upstart Aam Aadmi Party..TABLE 2: Legal and Judicial Reforms Promised by Major Political Parties – 2014 General Elections .No.SubjectAAPBJPINC1. New LawsNew Jan Lokpal Bill / Swaraj Bill to devolve power to Gram Sabhas and Mohalla Sabhas/ Right to HealthcareRights of the Persons with Disabilities bill/ National Health Assurance Mission/ explore all possibilities within the framework of the Constitution to facilitate the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya/Ram Setu/ Legal framework to protect and promote cow and its progenyLaw to ensure that consensual sexual relations between adults of the same-sex, are not criminalised/ Right to Health / Right to Pension/ Right to Homestead or Housing/ Right to Social Security/ Right to Dignity and humane working conditions/Right to Entrepreneurship / Communal Violence Bill / Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2013/ Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill/ The Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill / Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organisations Bill / Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill / The Public Procurement Bill / Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill / Judicial Appointments Bill / Bill to set up a National Environmental Appraisal and Monitoring Authority2. Reform of LawsSimplify procedural laws like Cr.P.C., Evidence, etc. / Government procedureReform the criminal justice system to make dispensation of justice simpler, quicker and more effective/ periodically review and refine/ scrap outdated laws/ simplify complex legislations – converge overlapping legislation/ establish institutional mechanism to periodically review laws/APMC Act/ Labour lawsStrengthen the legal and institutional framework to protect children/Amend the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act/ Regulatory Reform Task Force for a review of all regulatory processes of central government ministries with the intent of repealing unnecessary processes, streamlining the regulatory structures and improving ease of doing business in India/Reform the Apprentice Act, 1961, to encourage more firms to hire apprentices3. Tax Laws/ PolicySimple, progressive tax structure / increase tax to GDP ratio/ no routine tax amnesty / bring back black moneyBring back black money/ non adversarial, conducive tax environment / rationalize and simplify the tax regime/ GST/ overhaul dispute resolution mechanismsGST/DTC/will avoid unpredictable risk of retrospective taxation/clear policy on tax treatment of foreign firms and M&A transactions – ensuring that taxes are paid by multinational/ foreign entities in the jurisdiction in which the profits are earned/Waive all taxes, Central and State that go into exported products.4. Labour Laws/ PolicyReduction in contract labour/ strict implementation of labour welfare provisions / social security for unorganised sectorHarmonious relationship between labour and the industry/ review outdated labour lawsCommitted to the strictest implementation of Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act /enforcement of minimum wage laws/strengthening collective bargaining/all migrant workers to be covered under Aadhar within one year5. Gender Justice33% reservation for women/ Strong push in favour of gender justice33% reservation for women/ Aim to enhance the number of women in the Bar as well as Bench / push in favour of women’s rightsEnsure attention to rights of the transgender community/ 33% reservation for women/ 30% of all funds flowing into Panchayats and Nagarpalikas for development of women and children / push in favour of women’s rights6. Reservation PolicyYes – in favour of. States that those who have already received will move to back of queue for reservation/ Change religion-based reservation since Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims sufferWords “affirmative action” do not appear in Manifesto. “Reservation” appears in context of women’s reservation – 33%.Committed to finding a way forward for introducing reservation in education and employment for economically weaker sections of all communities without in any way affecting existing reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes/committed to creating national consensus on affirmative action for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the private sector./ address the conditions of backward minorities by aiming to provide them reservation in educational institutions and in government employment.7. Anti-Terror LawsReview and reform laws like AFSPARevive anti-terror mechanism/ strengthen the role of NIA and put a system in place for swift and fair trial of terror related cases/ Reform the National Security Counciln/a8. Government ActioBring the CBI under the administrative control of the Lokpal so that the investigative machinery is made independent of the Government/ no ideology – economy to be run on principles of fairness and transparencyCentre-state relations/fiscal autonomy of states/Evolve a PPP model/strengthen gram sabha/e-governance/ Ensure effective implementation of the Right to Education, Right to Food Security Act/Review, amend and strengthen the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 2012 and Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS)/FDI where needed except in multi-brand retail/inter-linking of rivers where feasible/national energy policyGlobally competitive economic climate/business-friendly environment – no aversion to foreign investment/ transparent, better-regulated PPP model/encourage FDI in labour intensive sectors/ higher education system opened to overseas investment/ strengthen implementation of Right to Education/ Implement Administrative Reforms Commission reforms/ FSLRC recommendations/ review of subsidies/ States to bear some fiscal burden of implementing flagship programs/ Improving India’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ ranking/expand scope of National Commission for Protection of Child Right/implement Sachar Committee recommendations9. Courts/LitigantsInstitute adequate number of Gram Nyayalayas/ Double courts at level of subordinate judiciarySpecial courts to stop black-marketing/ Double courts at level of subordinate judiciary/ Increase ADR though Lok Adalats and Tribunals/ National Litigation policy/Reduce Govt litigation/ Special IPR courtsImplement strategy for legal and judicial reform that will enhance quality, responsiveness and timeliness of the judicial system/promote Gram Nyayalayas10. Judges – appointment Judicial Appointment Commission, at national and state levelHigh priority to address issue of appointment and filling in vacancies. National Judicial Commission, at higher level Judicial Commission for appointment of judges11. Judges – otherMandatory requirement to disclose assets of judgesReduce the gender gap in Judiciary.Make the higher and lower judiciaries truly representative of the diversity of our society, especially with respect to gender, caste, religion and region / enact Judicial Accountability Bill 12. Judicial StrengthDouble judicial strength at level of subordinate judiciary Double judicial strength at level of subordinate judiciaryn/a13. Fast-track courtsFast-track courts at all levels of JudiciaryFast-track courts for certain commercial laws/ Extend fast-track courts at all levels of Judiciary Due consideration to expanding use of fast-track courts.14. Judicial InfrastructureImprove infrastructure, including through computerisationCreate fund for modernization of courts/initiate computerisation/networking of all courtsFast-Track Courts with ‘in-camera’ proceedings facilities in State headquarters and in regional centres to address crimes against women. 15. Legal – othern/aNational network of specialized universities having expertise in Forensics, Arbitration, IPR, International Law, etc./develop India into a Global Hub for Arbitration and LPO/Simplify legal language/make legal information easily accessible Strengthen legal aid/ Establish a cadre of public defenders who will assist indigent litigants16. Police ReformImplementation of SC judgment on police reform / accountability of police to Gram or Mohalla Sabha/ Refusal to register FIR to be criminal offence / Police custody power to be removed – judicial custody only/ law & order and investigation to be handled by separate wings/ recruitment in fair manner/ improve working conditionsTraining/capacity-building/modernisation/network police-stations/strengthen investigations/modernise prison system/marine policing/community policingcyber-crime prevention/ working conditionsEnsure that at least 25% of the total police officers, sub-inspectors and constables at every police station in the country will be women, over the next five years / number of women police stations in the country goes up from 500 to 2000 in the next five years/ modernise police/ensure police are well-trained and sensitive to needs of citizens/highest priority for reforms including those suggested by Judiciary17. TransparencyAll public interaction areas of police stations to be videographed/ interrogations to be videographedn/an/a18. Electoral ReformEC to be appointed by multi-member commission not Govt. / First-past-the-post to be substituted by proportional representation system / right-to-reject and right-to-recall to be introduced / lower age limit of contesting elections to 21 from 25/ Campaign finance reform/ political parties under RTITo eliminate criminals / evolve method of holding Assembly-LS elections simultaneously / revising expenditure limitsStrengthening the legal and judicial framework for disqualifying those convicted of specified crimes, disqualifying persons convicted of crimes against women and weaker sections and disqualifying those who subvert the integrity of the electoral process / special monitoring system for timely disposal of all cases involving elections, transparency in financing of political activities and in expanding state funding for elections