March 13, 2020

Topic:- Health

What is the news?

CM: Have ordered closing down of all schools and colleges till March 31 to mitigate apprehensions of Covid19. The ongoing school examinations will, however, continue. State machinery is working round the clock to prevent any outbreak of disease. Urge all Punjabis to avoid crowding at public places and take all necessary precautions.
Coronavirus: 3 more suspected cases in Amritsar.
With this, the number of suspected Covid patients in the Amritsar health facility has reached seven.

Context:-

The medical college has so far not received reports of other four suspected patients from the National Institute of Virology, Pune. Of the four, two had earlier tested positive in reports by AIIMS, New Delhi. But the authorities here sent the samples to the Pune institute for reconfirmation.

Important about Coronavirus:-

Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).

A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.

Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people.

Detailed investigations found that SARS-CoV was transmitted from civet cats to humans and MERS-CoV from dromedary camels to humans. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans.

Symptoms:-

Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.

Prevention:-

Standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.

(Source:- WHO and The Tribune)

Topic:- Judgement by High Court

Important in Mains Paper.

What is the news?

Property with no link to crime can’t be attached: HC on ED powers under PMLA.

What is the judgement?

IN A ruling regarding the Enforcement Directorate’s powers to attach properties under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that property with no direct or indirect link with the alleged criminal activity cannot be attached.
It also said that property obtained through a legitimate source cannot be attached on the ground that property obtained through criminal activity is not available.

Important:-

Property acquired prior to the commission of scheduled offence i.e. criminal activity or the introduction of PMLA cannot be attached unless property obtained or acquired from scheduled offence is held or taken outside the country
Taking note of a Delhi High Court judgment, the Bench asserted that if property derived or obtained from the scheduled offence was taken or held outside India, the property of equivalent value held in India or abroad may be attached irrespective of the date of purchase.

What is the background of this judgement?

The bench was hearing a case from Ludhiana, in which the accused are facing allegations of fraudulently availing VAT refund in February-March 2013 without actual export of goods.
The properties held by the accused in Ludhiana and Mohali were attached by the ED in 2017 and confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority in 2019 despite the fact that they were purchased in 1991 and 2012, respectively. Setting aside the Tribunal order by which the confirmation of provisional attachment was upheld, the court also said that the ED is bound to record reasons for attaching a property.

Complete case read from IE website:-

(Source:- Indian Express)

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