News in Short (15-April-2024)

Sulthan Bathery

Syllabus: GS1/ History and Culture

Context

• Kerala BJP Chief demands renaming Sulthan Bathery in Wayanad to Ganapathivattam.

About

• Sulthan Bathery is a municipal town in Wayanad district of Kerala.
• It was earlier known as Ganapathi Vattam. The name was after a Ganesha temple built during the Vijayanagar period.
  • The temple was constructed by Jains who migrated to Wayanad from areas in present-day Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in the 13th century.

 History of “Sultan Bathery”

• The town’s name was changed after Tipu Sultan’s invasion of the Malabar region in 1700. 
• He used the temple as a battery or store for ammunition and artillery in Ganapathi Vattam. 
• This led to the British recording Ganapathi Vattam as “Tipu Sultan’s Battery”, and the name survived as Sulthan Bathery.

Source: IE

Curative Petition

Syllabus: GS2/Polity and Governance

Context

• Recently, the Supreme Court of India has provided significant relief to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) by setting aside its 2021 judgement.

About the Curative Petition

• It is a concept that originated in India and is used as a last resort to seek justice from the Supreme Court.
• It is a rare legal remedy for those who believe they have been wronged by the court’s decision.

Origin:

• A curative writ jurisdiction as a layer of appeal against a Supreme Court decision is not prescribed in the Constitution.
• It is a judicial innovation, designed for correcting ‘grave injustices’ in a ruling of the country’s top court.
• The concept of a curative petition was first introduced by the Supreme Court of India in the case of Rupa Ashok Hurra vs Ashok Hurra and Anr (2002).

Procedure for Filing:

• A curative jurisdiction can only be filed after a review plea has already been dismissed by the Supreme Court.
• It must be first circulated to a Bench of three senior-most judges, and the judges who passed the concerned judgement, if available.
• If the majority of the judges on this Bench agree that the matter needs hearing, then it would be sent to the same Bench (as far as possible) which passed the judgement affecting the petition.

Source: IE

Methanol

Syllabus: GS2/Health

Context

• The United States has recalled several lots of hand sanitisers and aloe gel due to toxic methanol content, citing health risks like nausea, coma, and even death. 

About

• People who may come in contact with such toxic methanol content hand sanitisers are vulnerable to several side effects including “nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, coma, seizures, permanent blindness, permanent damage to the central nervous system, or death.
• Methanol is the simplest alcohol (CH3OH) known as methyl alcohol.
• It is a chemical building block for several everyday products, including plastics, paints, car parts and construction materials.
• Methanol also is a clean energy resource used to fuel cars, trucks, buses, ships, fuel cells, boilers and cook stoves.

Source: LM

Adjudicating Authority Under PMLA

Syllabus: GS3/Money-Laundering and Its Prevention

Context

• The Adjudicating Authority under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) confirmed the attachment of assets belonging to the Congress party-promoted National Herald newspaper.

About

• The PMLA forms the core of the legal framework to combat money laundering. PMLA and the Rules notified there under came into force in 2005 . 
• Section 5 of the PMLA provides for the attachment of any property that is suspected to have been acquired with the proceeds of crime in a case of any offence that is listed in the schedule of the law. 
• This provisional attachment order is valid for a period of 180 days. 
• It must be confirmed within this time by an Adjudicating Authority appointed by the central government, failing which the property is automatically released from attachment.
  • Because the initial attachment is provisional, the accused can continue to enjoy the property until the Adjudicating Authority confirms the attachment — after which the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has the power to claim possession.

Source: IE