
How legal reforms under Modi redefined women's safety
In 2012, the brutal Nirbhaya incident shocked the conscience of the nation. It also exposed the deep fissures in India's legal and administrative framework for women's safety. Inadequate policing, slow judicial response, outdated laws, and near-total absence of survivor support systems painted a bleak picture.
By 2014, India stood at a crossroads. Public outrage was loud, but the legal machinery remained sluggish. Fast-track courts were a concept, not a reality. There were no one-stop solutions and centres, no national women's helplines, no forensic support to fast-track investigation, and no dedicated funds to support such measures. Women's issues were viewed as social concerns and national priorities.
Modi Era: From Protection to Structural Empowerment
Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government of India has undertaken a paradigm shift—from a fragmented response to a mission-mode approach anchored in legal reform, institutional delivery, and dignity for every woman over the last 11 years of governance.
Legal Safety as National Commitment
The government initiated the establishment of Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) nationwide, and today, 745 such courts are operational, including 404 that exclusively deal with cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. In contrast to 2014, when One Stop Centres were non-existent, more than 820 districts now have fully functional OSCs providing legal assistance, police intervention, shelter, and counselling under one roof to any distressed women affected by violence.
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Hans India
13 minutes ago
- Hans India
With double engine sarkar, AP's development is galloping: Bandi
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Scroll.in
28 minutes ago
- Scroll.in
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Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday claimed that alleged 'illegal immigrants' can be 'pushed back' to Bangladesh even if their names are in the National Register of Citizens. 'If we are reasonably sure they are an illegal immigrant, we will push them back immediately,' the chief minister added. Assam published a National Register of Citizens in August 2019 with the aim of separating Indian citizens from undocumented immigrants living in the state. Residents had to prove that they or their ancestors had entered Assam before midnight on March 24, 1971, in order for them to be included in the list. More than 19 lakh persons, or 5.77% of the applicants, were left out of the final list. The NRC has not been notified by the Union government following objections by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government and Assamese nationalist groups, leading to questions about the validity of the register. In a social media post, Sarma said that the state had pushed back 19 'illegal immigrants' on Tuesday and will push back nine more on Wednesday. 'Many names were manipulatively and cleverly included in the NRC [National Register for Citizens],' he said. 'The way the NRC process was conducted has raised serious doubts and concerns.' The chief minister added that the presence of a name in the register alone was not 'enough to determine that someone is not an illegal immigrant'. Regardless of whether someone's name is listed in the NRC or not, if the administration determines someone to be an illegal infiltrator, they will be pushed back from Assam. #AssamFirst — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) June 11, 2025 This statement came four days after the Sarma claimed that the persons declared foreigners were being 'pushed back' to Bangladesh under a legal framework. On June 7, the chief minister said that the Supreme Court, while hearing the challenges to Section 6A of the 1955 Citizenship Act, had said that 'there is no legal requirement for the Assam government to always approach the judiciary in order to identify foreigners'. 'There exists an old law called the 'Immigrants Expulsion Order',' Sarma said. 'The Supreme Court has stated that this law is still in force. According to this law, the DC [district collector] has the authority to issue an order and permit immediate pushback.' In October, the Supreme Court had upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the 1955 Citizenship Act. Section 6A was introduced as a special provision under the Act when the Assam Accord was signed between the Union government and leaders of the Assam Movement in 1985. It allows foreigners who came to Assam between January 1, 1966, and March 25, 1971, to seek Indian citizenship. Indigenous groups in Assam have alleged that this provision in the Act had legalised infiltration by migrants from Bangladesh. On Monday, Sarma said that the Assam government had 'pushed back' 303 'foreigners' and will continue to do so under the 1950 Immigrants Expulsion from Assam Act. The deportations On May 31, the chief minister confirmed that Assam was 'pushing back' to Bangladesh persons who have been declared foreigners by the state's Foreigners Tribunals. Foreigners Tribunals in Assam are quasi-judicial bodies that adjudicate on matters of citizenship. However, the tribunals have been accused of arbitrariness and bias, and of declaring people foreigners on the basis of minor spelling mistakes, a lack of documents or lapses in memory. Sarma's May 31 statement had come against the backdrop of an increase in detentions of declared foreigners in Assam since May 23. Families say they have no information on their relatives' whereabouts. Some of them have identified their missing relatives in videos from Bangladesh, alleging they were forcibly sent across the border. Sarma had claimed that the process of pushing back foreigners was being taken as per the directives issued by the Supreme Court in February. On February 4, the court directed the state government to start the process of deporting foreign nationals being held in the state's detention centres immediately.


Hindustan Times
30 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Govt plans to amend fee regulation act to spike exorbitant hikes, fudging, by schools
MUMBAI: With complaints pouring in about the exorbitant fee hikes by private schools, the state government has decided to amend the Maharashtra Education Institutions (Regulation of Fee) Act, 2011. It is expected to do away with the provision that necessitates complaints by a minimum of 25% of parents for action to be taken, and will also introduce an area-wise fee structure based on the operating cost of the schools. The amendments are expected to be on the lines of a fee regulation act existing in neighbouring Gujarat. Maharashtra's existing fee regulation act has a provision for a fee hike of up to 15% every two years which is in accordance with the infrastructure upgrade by school managements. Individual complaints about fee hikes have been reaching the government but they do not make it to the divisional fee regulatory committee under retired district-level judges. 'Since bringing 25% of parents together to sign a petition is a difficult task, the complaints do not reach the committees,' said an official from the school education department. 'Besides, parents are wary of raising a voice against school managements for fear of the negative repercussions on the prospects of their children.' The government is now considering doing away with the condition to enable even individual parents to register complaints against fee hikes. The school education department, which has constituted a committee of education and legal experts, has studied the provisions of the Gujarat Self-Financed Schools (Regulation of Fees) Act, 2017. 'The Gujarat Act has fee slabs varying from area to area depending on the operation cost, demand-supply and cost of living,' said the official. 'It also has a robust mechanism for grievance redressal at the local level. The committee has recommended the adoption of the provisions in Gujarat, which will suit Maharashtra on account of the glaring per capita income gap between rural and urban areas.' The officer said that the amended law would have a robust system of assessment of the cost of infrastructure cited by school managements while fixing or raising fees. 'A fee hike will be allowed only after it has been vetted through this mechanism,' he said. 'Currently, school managements propose the fee and the hikes by inflating the cost of the infrastructure upgradation and the facilities given to the students.' The officer said that though hike proposals were approved by the executive Parent-Teacher Associations, most of the times the representatives of these associations were the ones favouring school managements. School education minister Dadaji Bhuse, when asked, confirmed that amendments to the act were planned. He added that the department would take strict action on complaints by parents regarding fee hikes. The existing law is also applicable to government schools, apart from aided, partially aided, non-aided and self-financed schools, although the alleged violations are by the self-financed schools. There are more than 16,000 self-financed schools, largely in cities like Mumbai as well as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, whose numbers are rising every year. The Gujarat law regulates only self-financed schools but the Maharashtra government is likely to continue with its provision of covering all schools, including government schools. According to officials, government schools will also be allowed to hike their fees in proportion to the facilities given and upgradation of infrastructure. The amended law will also cover coaching classes, which are proposed to be regulated by a law expected to be enacted in the forthcoming monsoon session. A senior minister from the Mahayuti government alleged that the provisions of the law enacted in 2011 by the Congress-led government were never parent-friendly in order to safeguard the interest of education barons who were part of the government. Welcoming the government's proposal, Advocate Anubha Sahay, president of the India Wide Parents Association, said that parents had been demanding this for a long time. 'We fully support these amendments,' she said. Sahay also stressed the need for greater financial transparency in schools. 'The government must make it mandatory for schools to submit their audit reports every year,' she added. Speaking about issues with the earlier District Fee Regulation Committee (DFRC), she said that many judges had refused to participate due to inadequate facilities and lack of compensation. 'The government needs to seriously address these concerns,' she said. Citing legal precedent, Sahay pointed out that Gujarat's education regulation act had received approval from both the Gujarat high court and the Supreme Court. 'If our government follows that model, it will be a step in the right direction,' she said. Meanwhile, a representative of a city-based school management association said, 'We have not yet received any official draft, so we cannot comment formally. We are already submitting our audit reports to the Charity Commissioner every year, and we are open to sharing them with the education department too.' However, the representative cautioned against provisions that could allow the misuse of regulations. 'If the government allows complaints based on a single person's grievance, there must be a clear definition of what constitutes a 'single person' in this context,' they said. 'Without such clarity, schools could face trouble from individuals trying to exploit the system.' (With inputs by Niraj Pandit)