From anti-conversion to Aadhaar-Voter ID linking; here are 2021's significant bills

2021 witnessed the passage of very crucial legislation despite the fact that sessions of Parliament, as well as state Legislatures, were curtailed due to the pandemic. This includes the controversial anti-conversion bills in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Moreover, the Parliament legislated on key electoral reforms by allowing the linking of Aadhaar to Voter ID and creating more opportunities for persons turning 18 to register as voters. It also cleared a bill to redefine the relationship between the Centre and the Delhi government, a move that was vehemently opposed by AAP. 

Here are the key bills of 2021: 

• Stringent anti-conversion bill in UP, Karnataka, MP & Gujarat

As per some organizations, 'Love Jihad' refers to inter-religious marriages where the woman converts to Islam either by force or guile in order to marry a Muslim man. While Union MoS Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy informed the Parliament that no such case has been reported so far, BJP-ruled states have enacted stringent laws outlawing religious conversion solely for the purpose of marriage. For instance, the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Bill, 2021 cleared on February 25 makes such form of conversion a non-bailable offence besides stipulating a punishment of up to 10 years in jail and a hefty fine.

Stricter penalties will apply as far as conversion of minors and women belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is concerned. Besides this, mass conversions shall be punishable with a jail term of 3-10 years and a fine of Rs.50,000 on the organizations conducting it. If someone wants to convert to another religion, he/she has to submit an application to the District Magistrate two months in advance. 

On March 8, the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021 was passed by the state Assembly incorporating stiff punishments similar to the aforesaid UP bill. On the same lines, the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed on April 1 mandating punishment for any person who offers a "better lifestyle, divine blessings or otherwise" in lieu of conversion. However, the Gujarat High Court stayed many sections of this bill to protect interfaith couples from unnecessary harassment. In December, the Karnataka Assembly also cleared a similar law amid protest from the opposition.

• Assam Cattle Preservation Bill

On August 13, the Assam Assembly cleared the Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021 by voice vote as Congress, AIUDF and CPI(M) walked out following the state government's refusal to refer it to a Select Committee. It is aimed at preserving bulls, bullocks, cows, heifers, calves, male and female buffaloes and buffalo calves by regulating their slaughter, consumption and illegal transportation. To begin with this, this bill states that no person can slaughter any cattle unless the registered Veterinary Officer under the Animal and Husbandry Department certifies that the cattle are fit for slaughter.

Such a certificate will be issued only if the cattle (except cow) is over 14 years of age or the cattle (except cow, heifer, or calf) has become permanently incapacitated from work or breeding or the cattle are suffering from an incurable or contagious disease. While such cattle will be slaughtered only in a duly licensed slaughterhouse, the state government can permit the slaughter of cattle other than a cow, heifer, or calf on the premises of a place of worship for "religious purposes". Moreover, no person can sell or buy beef or beef products except at places permitted by the competent authority.

No such permission will be granted in areas predominantly inhabited by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and other non-beef eating communities or within a radius of 5 km of any religious institution belonging to the Hindu religion. Also, a police inspector not below the rank of Sub-inspector or veterinary officer has the power to enter, inspect and search any premises where an offence under the Act is likely to be committed and detain a suspect. A person guilty of offences under this law will face imprisonment of 3-8 years and with a fine of Rs.3-5 lakh or both. 

• The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021 which introduces measures for strengthening child protection was cleared by Rajya Sabha on July 28. It stipulates that 'serious offences' will also include offences for which maximum punishment is imprisonment of more than seven years, and minimum punishment is not prescribed or is less than seven years. Most importantly, it empowers the District Magistrate including the Additional District Magistrate to authorize orders of adoption, in order to address issues of delay in adoption.

This provision has been opposed by Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on the ground that power has been centralized without adequate checks and balances. The bill also states that appeals on the orders of adoption may be preferred to the Divisional Commissioner who shall try to dispose of the same within a period of 4 weeks. The bill also incorporates provisions relating to educational qualifications for the members and eligibility conditions for the selection of the Child Welfare Committee.

• The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021

The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 was enacted to supplement the provisions of the Constitution pertaining to the Legislative Assembly and a Council of Ministers for Delhi. In judgments dated July 4, 2018, and February 14, 2019, the Supreme Court interpreted the provisions of Article 239AA of the Constitution relating to the structure of governance in the National Capital Territory. Thus, the Centre sought to amend the law to give effect to the interpretation made by the apex court in the aforesaid judgments and to promote harmonious relations between the legislature and the executive. 

On March 24, the Rajya Sabha passed the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 amid a walkout from opposition parties including Congress, SP, BJD, RJD and YSRCP. This legislation mandates that the term 'Government' in the context of legislation to be passed by the Delhi Assembly shall mean the 'Lieutenant Governor'. It adds that the rules made by the Legislative Assembly will be consistent with the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Lok Sabha.

Furthermore, it clarifies that the Legislative Assembly cannot make rules to consider matters of the day-to-day administration of Delhi and conduct any probe into administrative decisions. All such rules made before the enactment of this bill have been declared null and void. In another clause, the bill mentions that the opinion of the L-G must be obtained on certain matters before taking any executive action on the decisions of Ministers.

• The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2021

This bill was necessitated after the Supreme Court's verdict in the Maratha reservation case pronounced on May 5. A 5-judge bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, L Nageswara Rao, S Abdul Nazeer, Hemant Gupta, and S Ravindra Bhat unanimously aside the quota for Marathas in educational institutions and public employment. In its 3:2 majority verdict, it held that the 102nd Constitution amendment gives exclusive power to the Centre to identify and declare OBCs as only the President can notify the list.

However, the Centre stressed that it was not against states and Union Territories having their separate list of backward classes.  On July 1, the apex court dismissed the Union government's petition seeking a review of this judgment. In a rare show of unity, both Houses of Parliament unanimously cleared the aforesaid legislation in August which amended Articles 338B, 342A and 366 of the Constitution to restore the power of states to have their own lists of OBCs. This came after concerns were raised by leaders belonging to the OBC community across the political spectrum. 

• Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments (Amendment) Bill, 2021

Amid the high-profile bills, one legislation that went relatively unnoticed is an amendment to the Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act. The DMK government led by MK Stalin legislated the "right to sit" for employees working in shops and establishments in Tamil Nadu. Similar to the law enacted by Kerala in 2019, this bill passed on September 13 makes it mandatory for every establishment to make suitable seating arrangements for all employees so that they can avoid ‘on their toes’ situations throughout the working hours.

Explaining the rationale for this bill, the TN government stated, "Persons employed in shops and establishments in the State are made to stand throughout their duty time resulting in varied health issues. Considering the plight of the employees who are on their toes throughout their duty time, it is felt necessary to provide seating facility to all the employees of the shops and establishments. The subject of providing seating facility to the employees was placed in the State Labour Advisory Board Meeting held on September 4, 2019, and the same was unanimously approved by the members of the Board." 

• Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021

This bill amended the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Representation of the People Act, 1951. For instance, Section 23 of the 1950 Act has been amended to empower the Electoral Registration Officer to ask voters to furnish their Aadhaar number to curb the menace of the same individual being enrolled as a voter in more than one constituency. While the Election Commission of India had taken up the linking of Voter ID with Aadhaar in 2015 itself, it aborted the exercise after the Supreme Court restricted the use of the Aadhaar.

The bill clarified that no application for inclusion of name in the electoral roll shall be denied and no entries in the electoral roll shall be deleted for the inability of an individual to furnish the Aadhaar number as long as he submits an alternate document. Moreover, it replaced the term 'wife' with 'spouse' in Section 60 of the 1951 Act to enable a woman Army Officer's husband to register as a service voter. The bill also amended Section 14 of the 1950 Act to stipulate April 1, July 1 and October 1 apart from January 1 as qualifying dates for young persons to register as voters. 

As only an individual who has turned 18 as of January 1 of the year in which the election was eligible to enroll in the voter's list, this deprived several persons of a chance to take part in the electoral exercise. Additionally, Section 160 of the 1951 Act has been altered to enable the ECI to requisition any premises needed for the purpose of polling stations, counting, storage of ballot boxes, voting machines and poll-related material, accommodation for security forces and polling personnel. This bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament by a voice vote. 

• The Madhya Pradesh Damage to Public and Property Recovery Bill, 2021 

On December 23, the state Assembly passed the Madhya Pradesh Damage to Public and Private Property Recovery Bill, 2021 without any debate. Thus, Madhya Pradesh became the third BJP-ruled state after Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to pass this kind of law. Basically, it provides for the recovery of losses from people and organizations responsible for damaging public and private property during protests. It puts the onus of proving innocence on the accused in a trial if the prosecution establishes in proving that public property was damaged in a direct action in which the accused participated. 

Moreover, district magistrates and revenue officers have been given the power to initiate recoveries and decide on the final amount of a claim. Unlike the UP and Haryana legislation, it empowers the tribunals to recover twice the cost of damage, with interest. Speaking in the state Assembly, MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra revealed that this law will also be used against criminals who use explosives and mafia in gambling, liquor, land, forest and mining.