Glimpse of laws passed in first 100 days of Modi Government 2.0

Recently NDA government completed its first 100 days of its second term on 7^th September 2019 and during this period several bold decisions were taken by the government. It is apposite to say that a lot more work is done during these first 100 days of the second term as compare to the first 100 days of the first tenure. BJP led NDA government was given a strong mandate by people thus there was a lot of pressure and at the same time a lot of expectations from the government and the way government operated in its 100 days it clearly shows its intention to meet all these expectations in its second term. One cannot deny that along with major hits there were misses which needs to be resolved in the upcoming days by the government. Several political leaders including mainstream opposition leaders patted down the government for achieving this milestone. During this period many major important decisions were taken by the government such as abrogation of Article 370, Triple Talaq, Mergers of Bank and many policies with regard to the water security, farmer upliftment was launched, etc. at the same government had to face criticism mainly for decrease in economy and GDP, however this blog will only focus on the legal aspect of work done by the government in its first 100 days.

One of the landmark decision taken by the government is with regard to the abrogation of Article 370. According to the government officials and leaders, this step was necessary so that the residents of J&K are able to avail the benefits of various scheme of the government at their doorsteps just like any other resident of any State and UT’s in India. As per the government, this will boost the local economy of the state. Various policies with regard to the socio-economic development of the state can now be easily implemented by the government. The senior leader of the government learned Home Minister has said that the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A is a big milestone for the unity and integrity of India.  Though many have claimed that action of government is arbitrary, unconstitutional and violates basic feature of federalism and many petitions have been filed before Hon’ble Supreme Court challenging the same. In fact, Pakistan has also miserably failed to raise this dispute before international forums. It is apposite to say that this is one of the daring and important decision with regard to the Kashmir. However, it will be interesting to see how the Hon’ble Supreme Court will see government actions.

To protect the rights of the married Muslim women government passed The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019. As per the objective of the bill, it can be said that the above-mentioned bill prohibit divorce by pronouncing talaq and as per the definition clause talaq is defined as talaq-e-biddat or any other similar form of talaq having the effect of instantaneous and irrevocable divorce pronounced by a Muslim husband. This bill makes a declaration of talaq a cognizable offense, attracting up to three years of imprisonment and fine.  It is also pertinent to mention here that like any other family law, Muslim women against whom talaq is declared is entitled to claim maintenance under this act. The government believes that this act will protect vulnerable married Muslim women.

In 2018 Hon’ble Supreme Court struck down section 377 of IPC by upholding privacy and nondiscrimination of LGBT persons. Thus it can be said that the government had done a commendable job by introducing this bill to protect the rights of transgender and their welfare.  Recently Lok Sabha on 05^th August 2019 passed The Transgender Person (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019. In short this bill layout the definition of the transgender and prohibits any kind of discrimination against a transgender person in relation to (i) education; (ii) employment; (iii) healthcare; (iv) access to, or enjoyment of goods, facilities, opportunities available to the public; (v) right to movement; (vi) right to reside, rent, or otherwise occupy property; (vii) opportunity to hold public or private office; and (viii) access to a government or private establishment in whose care or custody a transgender person is. However, there are many issues which are to be addressed by the appropriate authority for proper implementation of this bill, one of the issue is that this bill fails to clarify how the gender-specific laws under IPC or various other laws will be applied to a transgender person.

One of the important bill passed by the government with regard to the labor laws is the Code on Wages, 2019. According the government this bill amend and consolidate the laws relating to wages and bonus and replaces the following four laws (i) Payment of Wages Act, 1936, (ii) The Minimum Wages Act, 1948, (iii) The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, (iv) The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976. This code prohibits any kind of discrimination on grounds of gender and also prohibits employers from paying wages less than minimum wage as notified by the government from time to time.

Thus a lot of important bills were introduced by the government and around 30 bills were passed by the parliament in the first session after the constitution of Lok sabha. There are many other important amendments of various bills brought up by the government like the amendment under POSCO Act which provides for the death penalty for sexual assault on children. Amendment in UAPA which increase the power of security agency so as to take strict action against terrorism. Amendment in Motor Vehicle Act for an efficient and corruption-free transport system in the country but the amount of fine levied under this amendment are too high because of which many states are reluctant to implement this new amendment. It is humbly submitted here that there are many more amendments and bills were introduced by the government which has a huge impact on the present laws of the country, all these bills will be discussed later. Thus it can be said the government during its first 100 days had taken some very bold and important decisions and we can expect some more decisions from the government in the upcoming days, however, there are some areas which need clarifications form government.