Comprehensive News Analysis - 06 May 2017

Context:

• Post Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad incident of unruly behaviour, India has proposed a flying ban of two months and up to two years and beyond for any unruly passengers reported on domestic flights in the country.=

New Draft Rules: making India the first country in the world to have a no fly list based on safety.

• The ministry of civil aviation has proposed three levels of unruly passengers under its proposed draft Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR):
• Level I: passengers indulging in disruptive behaviour such as physical gestures, verbal harassment, unruly inebriation and other such activities
• Level II: passengers indulging in physical abuse like pushing, kicking, hitting, grabbing, inappropriate touching or sexual harassment are likely to be booked.
• Level III: Those indulging in life threatening behaviour like damage to aircraft operating system, physical violence such as choking, eye gouging murderous assault or actual breach of the flight crew among others. Punishment for Level III a ban on flying with the airline on which the act has been committed for at least two years.
• If security agencies put any passenger’s name on a nofly list he or she too will be banned from boarding flights by all airlines.
• The ban made by one airline is not binding on the other. If a passenger is banned by one airline then it will be left to other domestic airlines to decide on whether they want to fly such a passenger or not.
• International Airlines: foreign airlines can implement India’s no-fly list, provided if the Rights of Carriage Act of the international airlines also has similar provisions in it.

Two-level Committee to handle the complaint:

• Level- 1: Internal committee at the airline level headed by a retired District and Session Judge.
• Level-2: an appeal at the government-level headed by retired Judge of a high court.

Context:

A PIL petition was filed on the basis of a 2007 newspaper report alleging that orphanages in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, run by NGOs as well as government institutions, were reportedly involved in systematic sexual abuse of children.

Directions issued by Supreme Court:

• Set up a database of children living in orphanages and child care institutions to ensure their safety and welfare.
• Centre, States and union territories (UTs) to complete the registration of all child care institutions by year-end. The court said the registration process should also include a database of all children in need of care and protection and update it every month.
• ‘Ensure privacy’– It asked the authorities concerned to ensure confidentiality and privacy in maintaining the database.
• Alternative option like adoption and foster care should be seriously considered.
• It is imperative that the Union government and the governments of States and UTs must concentrate on rehabilitation and social re-integration of children in need of care and protection.
• Skill development – It said Centre’s schemes such as skill development and vocational training must be taken advantage of keeping in mind the need to rehabilitate such children.
• Inspection Committees– States and UTs to set up ‘Inspection Committees’ before July 31 to conduct regular inspections of child care institutions and prepare reports of such inspections so that the living conditions of kids there undergo positive changes.
• Prepare individual child care plans.
• The process of conducting a social audit must be taken up in right earnest by the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights as well as by each State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights.