Latest Court Verdicts
Right to Silence
- Supreme Court said that all accused have a right to silence and investigators cannot force them to speak up or admit guilt.
- Right to silence emanates from Article 20(3), which states that no one can be compelled to be a witness against himself.
- Protection limited only to criminal proceedings.
- Right is not available to a person who is being interrogated under Customs Act, 1962, or Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, since person is not “accused of an offence” and isn’t entitled to a lawyer.
- In Nandini Satpathy v. P.L. Dani case, SC stated that compelling a person to answer a question within limits of the police station may result in violation of Article 20(3).
Public Awareness & General Administration
Help road accident victims, get cash reward: TN CM Stalin
-
- Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin announced a new scheme, cash rewards and certificates for people who will help provide medical care facilities for road accident victims in the state.
- People who help those involved in a road accident and take them to a medical care facility within the golden hour period will be rewarded with a certificate of appreciation and a Rs.5,000 cash reward.
Note
- The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said that it has created a system for ‘Good Samaritans’ under which people who save the lives of road accident victims by transporting them to a hospital within the ‘golden hour’ after the accident will receive a financial reward of Rs 5,000.
- The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) announced in a letter to all state and union territory principals and transport secretaries that the programme will be in force from October 15, 2021, to March 31, 2026.
