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Chandrachud said that the aspirational goal of rule of law does not depend on the constitution or legislation, but on the political culture and the habits of its citizens. He also said that the rule of law is a defense against oppressive structures such as patriarchy, casteism and ableism. This is about the news article given here. So in this discussion, we are going to see about the concept of rule of law. First of all, what is rule of law? In simple words, it means that no man is above the law. It also means that every person is subjected to the jurisdiction of ordinary courts of law irrespective of their position and rank in the society. Rule of law secures a non-orbitrary form of government and more generally prevents the arbitrary use of power. Now let's look at the origin of this concept. The origin of the concept dates back to centuries back. Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle discussed the concept of rule of law around 350 BC itself. In the modern world, the originator of the concept of rule of law was Sir Edmund Cook, the Chief Justice in James I reign. He only introduced for the first time that King is under God and also the law. Britain had been able to conquer many parts of the world because of following this principle subsequently. But the most famous exposition of the concept of rule of law was given by Professor Albert Wendt Dicey in his book, The Law of the Constitution. According to Dicey's theory, rule of law has three pillars and these pillars are based on the concept that a government should be based on principles of law and not of men. Now coming to the three pillars, it includes firstly, supremacy of law. It means that the law rules over all people including the persons administering the law. In other words, a man should only be punished for their distinct breach of law and not for anything else. So, the person cannot be punished by the government. According to its wishes, it can be done only according to the established law. This is all with respect to the first pillar. Now coming to the second pillar, equality before law. According to this pillar, every man irrespective of his rank or position is subjected to the ordinary law and jurisdiction of the courts present in the country. Now coming to the third pillar, predominance of legal spirit. Through this pillar, Dicey asserted that the courts of law and not the written constitution is the ultimate protector of an individual's fundamental right. This is all with respect to the three pillars of Dicey's exposition. Now coming to India specific information. See, constitution of India is framed on the basis of popular notion of rule of law. But the Indian concept of rule of law recognized only two fundamental components of the rule of law given by Dicey. Those two recognized principles are supremacy of law and equality before law. The third concept is left out because in India, constitution itself protects the fundamental rights of individuals and there is only supremacy of the constitution. Now talking about the provisions of rule of law in the constitution. Under the Indian constitution, the rule of law is incorporated in many of its provisions. For example, the object of achieving equality, liberty and justice are reflected in the preamble to the Indian constitution. Article 14 guarantees right to equality before law and equal protection of law. Article 15, 16 and 23 further strengthened the ideal of equality by incorporating protective discrimination as a means of ensuring equality among equals. This is all with respect to the discussion regarding the rule of law principle. In this discussion, we have seen about the three pillars of rule of law and also about the India's specific information on the concept of rule of law. With this, let's move on to the next article discussion. Let's take a look at this FAQ article. It talks about the Collegium system. Why is the Collegium system suddenly in the news? Recently on 30th September, the meeting of the Collegium was called for, but the meeting did not take place. It was first postponed and later closed without any deliberation. This is the context in which this article is written. So what we are going to do today is, we are going to learn all about the Collegium system. We are going to see first what the Collegium system is, then we are going to see the evolution of the Collegium system, that is, we will see how the Collegium system came into existence. After that, we will see the issues with the Collegium system. Finally, we will see how the appointments for the higher judiciary are made in other countries. This is the plan for today's discussion. This discussion is very important for your main examination, so kindly pay attention. Before getting into the discussion, I have highlighted here the syllabus relevant to this discussion. Please go through it. Let us start by seeing what the Collegium is. One of the important features of a modern democracy is rule of law, which we have already discussed today. To ensure rule of law and independent judiciary is a necessity. The Collegium system is brought upon to ensure the independence of Indian judiciary and to prevent the interference of the executive in judicial appointments. Note that it is through the Collegium system, the appointment of the higher judiciary is made in India. See, in our country, we have two types of Collegium. One is the Supreme Court Collegium and the other is the High Court Collegium. So what is the difference between these two types of Collegium? The difference between them lies in their composition. The Supreme Court Collegium is headed by Chief Justice of India and it comprises of four other senior most judges of the court, whereas a High Court Collegium is led by its Chief Justice and four other senior most judges of that court itself. But the names recommended for appointment by a High Court Collegium reaches the government only after the approval by the Chief Justice of India and the Supreme Court Collegium. After recommendation of names by the Collegium, the government has very little role to play. The government can raise objections and seek clarification regarding the Collegium's choices. But if the Collegium reiterates the same names, the government is bound to appoint them as judges. This is how the Collegium system prevents the interference of the executive in judicial appointments and ensures the independence of the judiciary. Just note here that Indian Collegium system is not mentioned in the Constitution. Article 217 of the Indian Constitution provides the procedure to appoint judges in the High Court. Whereas Article 124 deals with the appointment of the Chief Justice of India and other judges of the Supreme Court. These articles state that the President appoints judges after consultation with the Chief Justice of India. The article also says that the President is deemed to consult the Chief Justice of India in all judicial appointments other than the Chief Justice himself. If you carefully notice the wording here, there is no mention of the term Collegium. Also note that the Collegium system did not come into being due to law made by the Parliament. Then how did the Collegium system came into being? Actually, the Collegium system came into being due to a series of Supreme Court judgments. These judgments are popularly called as the Judges Cases. First, let us see about the First Judges case. First judges are the SP Gupta case happened in 1982. In this case, the Supreme Court held that consultation does not mean concurrence and it only implies exchange of views. This gave an upper hand to the Executive regarding the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary. This interpretation was misused by the Executive of that time. Our former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had appointed judges who were politically motivated. This move of the Executive was criticized both by the public and the judiciary. The Supreme Court later in the Subash Sharma vs Union of India case held that judicial appointments are not solely the executive's domain but the judiciary also has an equal say in it. This was done to prevent politically motivated judicial appointments. Then came the Supreme Court advocates on records association versus Union of India case. This case is popularly known as the Second Judges case of 1993. In this case, the Supreme Court of India overruled its earlier verdict. See, in this judgment, the court reversed its earlier ruling and changed the meaning of the word consultation to concurrence. That is, it is mandatory for the President to accept the recommendation made by the judiciary. Through this judgment, the Supreme Court reduced the Executive's role to minimum and held that the judiciary had primacy in judicial appointments. It also added that the recommendation should be made by the CJAI in consultation with his two senior colleagues. So, basically the Second Judges case introduced the Collegium system in India. Then came the Third Judges case of 1998. In this judgment, it held that the recommendation should be made by the Chief Justice of India and four senior most colleagues of him or her. It also held that even if two judges gave an adverse opinion, the Chief Justice of India should not send the recommendation to the government. And this judgment ultimately resulted in the present form of the Collegium which is in practice ever since. This is how the Collegium system came into being in India. So, the Collegium system came into existence to protect and preserve the independence of the judiciary. But is it without any issues? See, actually the Collegium system has some issues associated with it. Now, let us see them one by one. First major issue is the Collegium system's opaqueness and lack of accountability. See, lack of information about the appointment of judges including the criteria based on which the judges make their choice. This is not made available to the public. This lack of transparency reduces the credibility of the Collegium system itself. Second major issue is the lack of diversity in the appointments made by the Collegium. Let me brief you all upon this issue. See, the appointments made by the judiciary are largely male, upper-caste, former practicing lawyers. Judges of the subordinate judiciary are often ignored in appointments. See, between mid-1985 and mid-2010, of the 127 Supreme Court judges appointed, only four were women. Also, in the same period, only four judges were from non-Hindu background. This lack of representation in the upper judiciary is due to the opaque nature of appointment made by the Collegium system. The third major issue is the way in which the system came into existence. The Collegium system, as we saw, is an extra-constitutional body that was brought into existence due to the judgments of the Supreme Court. The procedure in which the Collegium system came into being makes it unaccountable to the public. Practically, there is nobody to ask questions about the functioning of the Collegium. This is all with respect to the third major issue. Finally, let us come to the recent issue. At the start of the discussion, I mentioned that the Collegium is in use because the meeting of the Collegium that was supposed to take place on 30th September did not happen, right? The issue was our Chief Justice Lalith wanted to circulate files related to some recommendations for the appointment to the Supreme Court. But Justice Chandrachud and Justice Abdul Nasir, who are part of the Collegium, did not favor any decision through circulation of files. Rather, they preferred deliberations in person. It was due to this differing opinion the meeting did not take place. But why did this issue arise in the first place? The issue came up because there is no set mode of decision-making. There is no clarity regarding whether decisions are to be made by personal deliberations or by circulation of files or by adopting both means as per convenience. This lack of clarity is also a major issue with the Collegium system. See, these are some of the major issues associated with the Collegium system. Finally, before concluding our discussion, let us see briefly about the judicial appointments made in the other countries. First, let us take UK. See, when there is a vacancy, the Lord Chancellor forms an Independent Selection Commission. The Commission consists of the President of the Supreme Court, another UK judge and representatives of judicial appointment bodies of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This Independent Selection Committee consults and give recommendation to the Lord Chancellor. Once the Chancellor accepts the recommendation, he sends the name to the Prime Minister, who then sends the name to the Queen for Ascent. This is how judicial appointments are made in the UK. Now, let us know how judicial appointments to the top court are made in the US. See, unlike our country, where the judicial appointments are insulated from the executive and the legislature, in the US, the President and the Senate play a major role in the judicial appointments. The only criteria for being made a judge of the Supreme Court of the US is good behavior. The President of the US first nominates his appointee to the top court. After that, the President's decision has to be ratified by the Senate after close scrutiny and debate. This is how appointments are made for the upper judiciary in the US. This is all regarding this discussion. Through this discussion, we came to know about what is meant by the term Collegium, issues associated with it, and finally, how appointments to the higher judiciary are made in other countries. With this information, let's now move on to the next article. See this article found in today's magazine. It says that the Kalinga War inspired a war poem, a Parani, known as Kalingath Parani. This war was fought between Choda Ganga of Eastern Ganga dynasty and Kulothunga Chola of the Chola dynasty. In this article discussion, we are going to see about the Eastern Ganga dynasty and their artistic importances. First of all, know that Eastern Ganga dynasty ruled the areas which comprises of the areas of Kalinga. Kalinga corresponds to present day Northern Telangana, North Eastern Andhra Pradesh, most of Odisha, and a portion of Madhya Pradesh. See, Kalinga was ruled by many empires earlier. It includes Nanda dynasty, Magadan empire, Maurian empire, etc. Among them, the rulers of the Eastern Ganga dynasty were the most famous ones. The dynasty began its rule in the mid-11th century CE. See, earlier dynasties of the Eastern Gangas ruled the Orisa from 8th century. But Vajrahastha III, who assumed the title of Tri-Kalinga Deepath, which means the ruler of three Kalingas in 1028, was probably the first to rule all three divisions of Kalinga. His son, Raja Raja Devendra Varman, strengthened the dynasty by marrying a Chola princess, Raja Sundari. Their son, Ananta Varman Choda Ganga, was the most renowned and prominent ruler of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. He ruled from the mouth of Ganges river in the north to the mouth of Godavari river in the south. He ruled from 1077 to 1150 CE. See, he demonstrated his ability as a ruler by ruling Odisha for almost 70 years. And he is the central responsible figure for the firm establishment of the Eastern Ganga dynasty, which ruled Odisha until 1435 CE. See, the rulers of Eastern Ganga dynasty were great patrons of religion and the arts. The temples of the Ganga period were among the masterpieces of the Hindu architecture. Prominent examples include Puri Jagannath temple and Konarksan temple. They both are located in the present day Odisha. In this discussion, we are going to see about Puri Jagannath temple. See, the main shrine was built by Ananta Varman of the Choda Ganga dynasty during the 12th century. See, it was built by him to rival the height of the Brikadeeshwarar temple in Tanjavur, built by the great Raja Raja Cholan in the 11th century. Choda Ganga began the construction, but it was completed only by Ananga Bhima Deva III. With this basics, let us see about the architecture of the temple. See, the temple encompasses the features of Odisha school of architecture. Let us see some of its features now. Make note of the terms which I am going to tell. They can be asked in the prelims examination. The Shikara in the Odisha school is known as Rekaduvela. They were almost vertical roofs which suddenly curved inwards sharply towards the very top. The Mandab is known as Jagmogan in this region. The ground plan of the main temple is predominantly square. Temples here are surrounded by a boundary wall as in Dravidian style of temple architecture. This is all or some of the facts of the temple architecture of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. With this, we have come to the end of this discussion. Through this discussion, we have covered the basics of the Eastern Ganga dynasty and also about their temple architecture. With this, let us move on to the next article discussion. See this image here. From this itself, you would have found what this article is about. Yeah, it is about the Nilakurinji that are blooming on a vast area on the Kallipara Hills at Santanpara in Idiqui district, Kerala. Using this opportunity, we are going to know more about the Nilakurinji plant. See, Kurunjisha Shraab that is also called as Nilakurinji. See, this Shraab grows in the Shola forests of the western gods in South India. Its botanical name is Strobilantas Kuntiyana. The plant is named after the famous Kunti river which flows through Kerala's Silent Valley National Park. As you already know, Kurunji plant belongs to the genus Strobilantas and was first identified in the 19th century. See, this genus has about 250 species. Out of that, around 46 species are found in India. Now, coming to the characteristics of the plant. First of all, let us see the physical characteristics. See, Kurunji grows to a height of 30 to 60 cm and it is found at an altitude of 1300 to 2400 meters. The Kurunji flower is a bright blue-colored bell-shaped one. Secondly, the plant is a perineal monocarpic one. Don't worry if you don't know the term. I will explain it to you. See, among plants, there are annuals and perineals. Annual plants complete their life cycle in one year. They grow from the seed, bloom, produce seeds and die in one year. But perineals, they live for more than two years and they usually flower every year and set seeds. Here, there are certain cases where some perineal flowers only once in their lifetime set seeds and die. The next generation of the plants are established from these seeds and the cycle is repeated. Such plants are known as monocarpic. This is opposed to polycarpic plants that flower and set seeds many times during its lifetime. Monocarpic plants flower only after attaining maturity. The time taken by different species may differ in this respect. For example, bamboos. They are monocarpic plants which take more than 40 years to mature and flower. Now, coming to nilakurinji, it takes 12 years to flower. This doesn't mean that all plants in the genus strobilanthus take 12 years to flower. Strobilanthus cuspidatus takes 7 years to flower. So, it depends upon the species. Finally, from this, we can say that kurinji is a perineal plant because it lives more than 2 years and it is monocarpic because it flowers only once in its lifetime. The next characteristic of nilakurinji is gregarious flowering. This means that the plants only flower together once every few years. This phenomenon is observed in bamboos also. See these images here. Then you will understand the gregarious flowering of kurinji. See, plants that grow for number of years flower gregariously, set seed and then die are called as Pleisticeals. These are all some of the characteristics of kurinji. Now, coming to the news article. As we already saw, kurinji flowers are blooming on the Kalipara Hills Kerala. Experts say that the flowers that are on the bloom now belongs to the strobilanthus kuntiana variety. Along with this variety, five other types of nilakurinji flowers have been identified from the hill ranges surrounding the Kalipara Hills. It is also found that the bloom reported at Kalipara belongs to the gregarious flowering which is nothing but massive flowering at once. As per the article, the nilakurinji population is found in Kalipara Hills can be considered as one of the biggest of the species after the protected area of Munnar. This is all with respect to the nilakurinji flower. With this, let's move on to the next article discussion. Take a look at this article. It talks about the protests against the Tunisian president. It also says that protesters are asking for accountability from the president for the economic crisis the country is facing now. This is all about the article. Now, take a look at this question. It was asked in prilams this year. Look at the fourth pair. Today's article exactly deals with what is given in this pair. Note that due to the violent protests in the July of 2021, the Tunisian parliament was suspended by the current president of Tunisia. This is also what the question says. To answer questions of this kind, you have to note down about the countries which are mentioned in the newspaper frequently. Also, you have to refer to the atlas to locate the exact location of the country. Along with it, frequent revision can help you answer these types of questions. Today, page 12 of the Chennai edition of the Hindu reports about Gambia. Now, your job is to find where Gambia is located and what's the issue involving India has happened there. With this, we have come to the end of the news article discussion. Now, moving on to prilams practice question discussion. Today, we have taken two different questions for our prilams question discussion. Now, coming to the first question. It is a two statement question. The question asked for the correct statements. The question is regarding Konark San temple. Coming to the statement one. Konark San temple was built by Anantavarma Chodaganga during the 13th century CE. This statement is incorrect because Konark temple was built by King Narasimha Devavan in 1244 CE to worship Surya, the sun god. I'm going to give you few additional facts regarding Konark San temple. See, Konark was chosen as its place of construction because it has been described as the holy seat of Surya in various ancient texts. The inside of Konark temple is as glorious and magnificent as it is made to be. Its architecture has all the defining elements of the Kalinga architecture, which includes Shikara, Jagmogan, Nathya Mandir and Vimana. Several legends mentioned that the architecture of the Konark Surya Mandir is so accurate and intricate that the day's first light will fill on the image of Surya in the sanctum sanctorium of the temple, which is also known as Garbagriha. So, statement one is incorrect. Now, coming to the second statement. It is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in India. This statement is absolutely correct. It was added in the UNESCO Heritage Site under the cultural sites category in the year 1984. So, statement two is correct. So, the correct answer for this question is option B2 only. Moving on to the second question. This question is about the Nilakurinji flower, which we have seen in today's discussion. The question asked for the incorrect statement. Coming to the first statement, Nilakurinji can only be seen in Western Ghats. This statement is incorrect because, besides Western Ghats, Nilakurinji can also be seen in Shavara Hills in the Eastern Ghats. It normally occurs at an altitude of 1,300 to 2,400 meters. Pay attention here. Nilakurinji is endemic to the Southern Western Ghats and higher reaches of the Eastern Ghats. So, statement one is incorrect. Now, coming to the second statement. Kurinji exhibits monocarpi and gregarious flowering. We have seen about monocarpi and gregarious flowering deeply not today's discussion. From our discussion itself, statement two is correct. The question asked for the incorrect statement. So, the correct answer for this question is option A1 only. Displayed here is the quiz question for you. Interested aspirants can post the right answer in the comment section. Main practice question is displayed here. Interested aspirants can write the answers and post it in the comment section. With this, we have come to the end of our discussion. If you have liked our video, please hit the like button, do comment and share it with your friends. Thank you for listening.