| Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day's biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Agri Ministry denies RTI query on farm law consultations, claiming it is sub-judice The Agriculture Ministry has denied a Right to Information (RTI) request for details on pre-legislative consultations on the farm reform laws, saying the matter is sub judice. In its response, the Ministry cited the clause from the RTI Act that exempts information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by a court of law or whose disclosure would amount to contempt of court. This comes after an earlier response claiming that the Ministry did not have any record of such consultations. RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj had filed her request on December 11, asking for specific details regarding stakeholder consultations held before the Centre promulgated three ordinances on agricultural reforms in June. Within the 30-day period given to respond, two Central Public Information Officers in the agricultural marketing divisions of the Ministry disposed of her request, saying that they did not have any record of such consultations. The Hindu had reported this on January 12, a day after the Ministry told the Supreme Court that farm unions were "peddling an erroneous notion" that no consultations were held. On January 13, Bhardwaj received a fresh response from a CPIO who had previously passed on the request. "It is informed that the information being sought for has been challenged in various Hon'ble High Courts as well as Hon'ble Supreme Court of India. As such being a sub-judice matter it may not be feasible at this moment to provide information under Section 8(1)(b) of RTI Act, 2005," said the CPIO, adding that the delay in providing a reply is due to the Covid-19 situation. Bhardwaj has appealed the denial of information, pointing out that the law does not allow for exemption merely on the grounds that a matter is sub-judice. The CPIO has failed to show that any court has forbidden the disclosure of the information, she said. "The government is filing an affidavit in court claiming that consultations have happened. But then at the same time, they are denying us any information about these consultations, on the grounds that it is sub-judice. It's absolutely absurd," she said. Meanwhile, the Congress today held an online press conference where it charged the Narendra Modi government with misleading the court and the nation. The government's affidavit filed in the Supreme Court on January 11 claiming that due consultations were made before bringing in the three farm laws is an attempt to "prevaricate, distort, misrepresent and mislead", the Congress said, with party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi pointing out that the government's affidavit is at variance to an RTI reply given by them. Adultery can't be decriminalised for armed forces, govt. tells SC The Supreme Court on Wednesday admitted a petition filed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) seeking to exempt armed forces personnel from the ambit of a Constitution Bench judgment of 2018 that decriminalised adultery. A three-judge Bench led by Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman said the plea had to be considered by a Constitution Bench because the original verdict, striking down Section 497 (adultery) of the Indian Penal Code, was pronounced by a five-judge Bench in September 2018. The court referred the case to the Chief Justice of India to pass appropriate orders to form a five-judge Bench to clarify the impact of the 2018 judgment on the armed forces. The government said in the petition that personnel of the Army, Navy and the Air Force were a "distinct class". They were governed by special legislations, the Army Act, the Navy Act, and the Air Force Act. Adultery amounted to an unbecoming conduct and a violation of discipline under these three Acts. These special laws imposed restrictions on the fundamental rights of the personnel, who function in a peculiar situation requiring utmost discipline. The three laws were protected by Article 33 of the Constitution, which allowed the government to modify the fundamental rights of the armed forces personnel. The judgment of 2018 created "instability", it said, because it allowed a peronnel charged with carrying on an adulterous or illicit relationship to take cover under the judgment. Discipline necessary for the performance of duty, crucial for national safety, would break down and the provisions of the Acts should be allowed to continue to govern the personnel as a "distinct class", irrespective of the 2018 judgment, the petition argued. Publication of notice under Special Marriage Act optional; mandatory notice invades privacy: Allahabad HC In a significant judgment affecting interfaith couples seeking to get married under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, the Allahabad High Court has ruled that it would be optional and not mandatory for them to publish a notice about their intended marriage. The provision for mandatory publication of notice, derived through "simplistic reading" of the particular law, "would invade the fundamental rights of liberty and privacy, including within its sphere freedom to choose for marriage without interference from state and non-state actors, of the persons concerned," the court said in a judgment delivered on January 12. Since the matter relates to protection of fundamental rights of a large number of persons, the judge directed the senior registrar of the court to send a copy of the order to U.P. Chief Secretary. The same is to be communicated "to all the marriage officers in the State and other concerned authorities as expeditiously as possible". Justice Vivek Chaudhary mandated that while giving notice under Section 5 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, it shall be optional for the parties to the intended marriage to make a request in writing to the marriage officer to publish or not to publish a notice under Section 6 and follow the procedure of objections as prescribed under the Act. "In case they do not make such a request for publication of notice in writing, while giving notice under Section 5 of the Act, the Marriage Officer shall not publish any such notice or entertain objections to the intended marriage and proceed with the solemnisation of the marriage," the court said. The requirement of publication of notice under Section 6 and inviting or entertaining objections under Section 7 can only be read as directory in nature, to be given effect only on request of parties to the intended marriage and not otherwise, the court observed in a 47-page judgment. Govt defers polio immunisation programme The National Polio immunisation programme, as part of which children in the age group of 0-5 years are administered polio drops, has been deferred "till further notice" by the Centre citing "unforeseen activities". The National Immunisation Day (NID), commonly known as Pulse Polio Immunisation programme, was scheduled for January 17 across India. The Union Health Ministry has communicated the decision to defer the polio immunisation programme to all states through a letter on January 9. "This is to inform that due to unforeseen activities, it is decided to postpone the scheduled Polio NID (National Immunisation Day) round from January 17, 2021 till further notice," stated the letter sent to the Principal Secretary in the Health department of all states.  File photo for representation. Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan had said on January 8 that polio immunisation will be carried out on January 17. The country will launch its Covid-19 vaccination drive from January 16. HAL to make 83 jets for IAF in biggest indigenous defence deal In what is effectively the largest procurement deal for an indigenous defence product, the Cabinet Committee on Security which met on Wednesday approved the procurement of 83 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) MK-1A for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The aircraft will be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). "The CCS chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today approved the largest indigenous defence procurement deal, worth about ₹48,000 crore, to strengthen IAF's fleet of homegrown fighter jet LCA-Tejas," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in a tweet. This deal will be a game changer for self-reliance in Indian defence manufacturing, he added.  A Light Combat Aircraft performs during Aero-India 2019 at IAF station in Yelahanka, Bengaluru on February 22, 2019. The indigenous content of LCA-Tejas is 50% in MK-1A variant, and it will be further enhanced to 60%, Singh said. The first LCA MK-1A is expected to roll out in 2023-24, after which HAL plans to ramp up the production rate to 16 aircraft per year. U.S. House of Representatives opens Donald Trump impeachment session The Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday opened debate on a historic second impeachment of President Donald Trump over his supporters' attack of the Capitol that left five dead. Lawmakers in the lower chamber are expected to vote for impeachment around 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday (1.30 a.m. IST on Thursday), marking the formal opening of proceedings against Trump. Trump is on the verge of being impeached for a second time in the unprecedented House vote, a week after he encouraged a mob of loyalists to "fight like hell" against election results just before they stormed the U.S. Capitol in a deadly siege. While Trump's first impeachment in 2019 brought no Republican votes in the House, a small but significant number of leaders and lawmakers are breaking with the party to join Democrats, saying Trump violated his oath to protect and defend U.S. democracy.  A member of the National Guard is given a weapon before Democrats begin debating one article of impeachment against U.S. President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on January 13, 2021. "If inviting a mob to insurrection against your own government is not an impeachable event, then what is?" said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a drafter of the article of impeachment. Trump, who would become the only U.S. President twice impeached, faces a single charge of "incitement of insurrection." At least five Republican lawmakers, including third-ranking House GOP leader Liz Cheney of Wyoming, announced they would vote to impeach Trump, cleaving the Republican leadership, and the party itself. "The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack," Cheney said in a statement. "There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution." Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 1,05,10,294 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 1,51,768. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. | 
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