Legal Current Affairs for 9 December 2025

Need of enforcing whip under 10th schedule
To prevent unprincipled defections: Before 1985, legislators frequently switched parties for personal gain (known as Aaya Ram–Gaya Ram politics).
This practice of alluring elected representatives with money, political office or other benefits is called “political horse trading.”
Ensure political stability: Frequent defections can lead to mid-term government collapse without fresh elections, betraying the voters’ mandate.
Promote party discipline: Parties need to function as cohesive units especially on major legislations (budgets, confidence votes, important bills).
Criticism of Whip
Weakening of Representative Democracy: Elected representatives cannot exercise their votes according to their own conciseness or the sentiments of their electorates.
Suppression of Dissent: Critics argue this effectively converts elected representatives into “rubber-stamps” of the party leadership, undermining the idea of deliberative debate.
Undermines the Fundamental Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a).
Failure to Prevent Instability: Whips have failed to curb defections, horse-trading and government collapses as seen in Maharashtra assembly (2022) for example.

Recently, Contonou (Benin’s largest city and seat of government) witnessed a failed coup attempt by a group of soldiers (Military Committee for Refoundation).
Political Features
Land boundaries – Niger, Nigeria ,Togo, and Burkina Faso (see map)
Maritime boundaries: To south, It has a coastline on the Bight of Benin (part of the Gulf of Guinea, Atlantic Ocean).
Geographical Features
Plateaus – Its sandy coastal area transitions to the La Terre de Barre Plateau.
Mountains – Atakora Mountains (northwest), a branch of the Togo Mountains.
Highest point: Mt. Sokbaro
Major rivers: Niger and Ouémé

Location: Situated on the Durbuk–Shyok–Daulat Beg Oldie (DS-DBO) Road in eastern Ladakh.
Road connects Leh to the high-altitude Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) military outpost near China border (LAC)
Features: 920-metre cut-and-cover tunnel built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
Significance: Provides all-weather connectivity in a region prone to heavy snowfall, avalanches, and extreme temperatures.

Headquarters: Vienna, Austria.
Established: in 1957 as an autonomous international organization within the UN.
Members: 180 (India is a member).
Mandate:It helps countries use nuclear technology safely and peacefully, provides technology transfer, promoting strict nuclear safety standards, and verifying that nuclear materials are not used for weapons.
Jurisdiction doesn’t include Military facilities; Non-NPT members (such India, Pakistan & Israel) are not obliged to place all their nuclear material under IAEA’s safeguard.
Recognition: Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (2005) for promoting peaceful nuclear use and global safety.

NATGRID is an attached office of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
It is an IT platform for the police and investigating agencies to securely access government and private databases in real time to counter terror.
Accessibility: 11 Central Agencies (IB, RAW, DRI, ED etc.) and State Police.
Superintendent of Police (SP) rank officers in States can access NATGRID.
Scope: allows access to driving license, Aadhaar registration, airline data, bank records, and also details of social media accounts which share posts on a particular issue.

About: The DGCA headquartered in New Delhi, is India’s apex regulatory body for civil aviation safety.
It functions as an attached office of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and is responsible for regulating air transport services, air safety, and airworthiness standards in India, in coordination with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
Role of DGCA:
Aviation Safety Regulator: Ensures air safety, flight operations safety, and airworthiness standards in India.
Licensing Authority: Issues licenses to pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, flight engineers, and air traffic controllers.
Regulation of Air Transport Services: Regulates scheduled and non-scheduled flights of Indian and foreign operators.
Accident Investigation & Prevention: Investigates aviation accidents and incidents and enforces preventive safety measures.
Environmental Regulation: Monitors aircraft noise and engine emissions as per ICAO Annex 16.
Legal and Policy Support: Updates Aircraft Rules, Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs) and supports new aviation laws.

About: The repo rate (Repurchase Agreement Rate) is the interest rate at which commercial banks borrow funds from the central bank.
Functioning: It helps banks meet short-term liquidity needs by borrowing funds, with securities provided as collateral and repurchased later at a higher price including interest.
Influence on Credit Costs: A higher repo rate raises loan costs and slows borrowing, while a lower repo rate lowers borrowing costs.
Role in Monetary Policy: The central bank uses the repo rate to control money supply, inflation, and economic growth.

Purpose of the Cess: The Bill establishes a special excise cess to create a stable, rule-based revenue stream for funding India’s national security and public health needs.
The proceeds of this cess will be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India.
The cess is imposed on the machinery installed or the processes undertaken (whether manual or hybrid) for manufacturing specified goods, and is applicable in addition to existing duties and taxes.
Goods Covered: Initially, the cess applies only to pan masala, but the Government is empowered to notify additional goods in the future.
The Government may increase the cess up to twice the existing rate in public interest, exempt certain persons or processes, and add new goods to the cess schedule.
The Bill introduces a capacity-linked monthly levy calculated using machine parameters such as maximum rated speed, pack weight or a flat monthly rate for manual process.

Dr B.R. Ambedkar: Born on 14th April 1891 at Mhow, Madhya Pradesh was a jurist, economist, social reformer, and the Chief Architect of the Indian Constitution.
Mahaparinirvan Diwas: The Mahaparinibbana Sutta records Lord Buddha’s Mahaparinirvana at 80 years.
6th December is observed as Mahaparinirvan Diwas to honour Dr B.R. Ambedkar, who founded Navayana Buddhism focused on social equality. His memorial is at Chaitya Bhoomi, Dadar (Mumbai).