Indian Polity: February 2023 UPSC Current Affairs | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

e-Courts Integrated Mission Mode Project

Why in News?

The Government of India has launched the e-Courts Integrated Mission Mode Project in the country for computerization of District and subordinate courts with the objective of improving access to justice using technology.

What is e-Courts Integrated Mission Mode Project?

About & Implementation

• As part of the National e-Governance Plan, the project is under implementation since 2007 for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) development of the Indian Judiciary
• e-Courts project is being implemented in association with e-Committee Supreme Court of India and the Department of Justice.

Phases

• Phase I: It was implemented during 2011-2015.
• Phase II: It was started in 2015 under which various District & Subordinate courts have been computerised.

What are the Initiatives Taken Under the Project?

• Improvisation of Network: Under the Wide Area Network (WAN) Project, connectivity has been provided to 99.4% of total Court Complexes across India with an improved bandwidth speed.
• Open-Source Software: Case Information Software (CIS) is based on Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) which has been developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC).
• NJDG Database: National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) is a database of orders, judgments, and cases, created as an online platform under the eCourts Project.
  • It provides information relating to judicial proceedings/decisions of all computerized district and subordinate courts.
• Access to Case Status Information: Open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) have been introduced in 2020 to allow Central and State Governments and institutional litigants including local bodies to access NJDG data to improve pendency monitoring and compliance.
• 7 platforms have been created to provide real-time information on case status, cause lists, judgements, etc. to lawyers/Litigants.
• In addition, Electronic Case Management Tools (ECMT) have been created with Mobile Apps for lawyers and judges.
  • Virtual Courts: 21 Virtual Courts in 17 States/UTs have been operationalized to handle traffic challan cases.
• More than 2.40 crore cases have been handled by 21 virtual courts.
• Video-Conferencing (VC): Video-conferencing (VC) facilities have also been enabled between court complexes and corresponding jails.
• The Supreme Court emerged as a global leader by conducting lakhs of hearings.
• E-filing: New e-filing system has been rolled out for the electronic filing of legal papers with upgraded features. As of 2022, a total of 19 High Courts have adopted the model rules of e-Filing.
• Regarding Summons: National Service and Tracking of Electronic Processes (NSTEP) has been launched for technology enabled process serving and issuing of summons.
• It has currently been implemented in 28 States/ UTs.
• User-friendly Portal: A new “Judgment Search” portal has been started with several user-friendly features. This facility is being provided free of cost to everyone.
• Creating Awareness: Towards creating widespread awareness and familiarization of eFiling and eCourts services, manuals and brochures have been made available in English, Hindi and 11 regional languages for the use of lawyers.

What’s New about Phase III?

Phase III of the e-Courts Project:

• Draft Vision Document for e-Courts Project Phase III has been finalized and approved by eCommittee, Supreme Court of India.
• It mentions a judicial system that is more affordable, accessible, cost-effective, predictable, reliable, and transparent for every individual who seeks justice or is part of the delivery of justice in India.

Phase III Mentions Various New Features:

• Digital and Paperless Courts aimed at bringing court proceedings under a digital format in a court;
• Online Court focussing on eliminating the presence of litigants or lawyers in the court;
• Expansion of the scope of Virtual Courts beyond adjudication of Traffic Violations;
• Use of emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its subsets like Optical Character Recognition (OCR) etc for analysis of case pendency, forecasting future litigation, etc.

What are the Related Concerns and Solutions?

Foreigners Cannot Be Legal Guardians: Delhi HC

Why in News?

The Delhi High Court has ruled that a foreigner cannot claim the right to be appointed as the legal guardian of a person with disabilities or the protection guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution, as available to Indian citizens.

What are Major Points Related to the Issue?

• The concerned foreigner challenged the validity of certain rules and regulations prescribed by the National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Rules, 2001, allow only Indian citizens to be guardian of a person
• The High Court ruled that the Act does not specify the essential qualifications that a guardian must possess, leaving it to be determined by rules and regulations that may be framed.
• However, the High Court directed the Local Level Committee to examine and evaluate the circumstances.
• The Committee may consider the appointment of an Indian citizen as a statutory guardian.

What are Fundamental Rights Available for Only Indian Citizens?

• Article 15: This article prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.
• Article 16: This article guarantees equality of opportunity in matters of public employment.
  • It ensures that no citizen shall be discriminated against on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, or residence.
• Article 19: This article provides for six freedoms, namely, freedom of speech and expression, assembly, association, movement, residence, and profession.
• Article 29: This article protects the interests of minority groups by ensuring that they have the right to conserve their distinct language, script, and culture.
• Article 30: This article provides minority communities with the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice

The Missing Deputy Speaker

Why in News?

Supreme Court sought response from Centre on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that contends that not electing a Deputy Speaker to the 17^th (present) Lok Sabha, since 2019, is “against the letter and spirit of the Constitution".

• The post has also been lying vacant in the five state Assemblies including Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand.

What are the Constitutional Provisions?

• Article 93 says that the House of the People (Lok Sabha) shall, as soon as may be, choose two members to be Speaker and Deputy Speaker so often as the offices become vacant. However, it does not provide a specific time frame.
• Article 178 contains the corresponding position for Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of a state.

What are the Different Viewpoints on the Matter?

Experts

• Experts point out that both Articles 93 and 178 use the word “shall”, indicating that the election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker is mandatory under the Constitution.

Union Government

• Government argues that there is no “immediate requirement” for a Deputy Speaker as “bills are being passed and discussions are being held” as normal in the House.
• Further, there is a panel of nine members selected from different parties who can act as chairpersons to assist the Speaker to run the House.

Can the Judiciary Intervene in the Matter?

• Article 122 says, “The validity of any proceedings in Parliament shall not be called in question on the ground of any alleged irregularity of procedure.”
• Courts usually don’t intervene in the procedural conduct of Parliament. However, Experts argue that the courts do have jurisdiction to at least inquire into why there has been no election to the post of Deputy Speaker since the Constitution does envisage an election “as soon as may be".

What are the Provisions Regarding Deputy Speaker?

Election

• In Lok Sabha, the election of Deputy Speaker is governed by Rule 8 of The Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha.
• The Deputy Speaker is elected by the Lok Sabha from amongst its members right after the election of the Speaker. The date of election of the Deputy Speaker is fixed by the Speaker.

Time Frame

• The election of the Deputy Speaker usually takes place in the second session and is generally not delayed further in the absence of genuine and unavoidable constraints.
• Term of Office and Removal
• Like the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker remains in office usually for the entire duration of the House (5 years).
• The Deputy Speaker may vacate his/her office earlier in any of the following three cases:
  • If he ceases to be a member of the Lok Sabha.
  • If he resigns by writing to the Speaker.
  • If he is removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all the then members of the Lok Sabha. Such a resolution can be moved only after giving 14 days’ advance notice.

Position of the Deputy Speaker

• Under article 95 The Deputy Speaker performs the duties of the Speaker’s office when it is vacant and acts as the Speaker when the latter is absent from the sitting of the House. In both the cases, he assumes all the powers of the Speaker.
• Deputy Speaker is not subordinate to the Speaker. He is directly responsible to the House. Consequently, if either of them wishes to resign, they must submit their resignation to the House which implies that Speaker gives resignation to deputy Speaker.

What is the Need of Deputy Speaker?

• Maintains Continuity: Deputy Speaker maintains continuity of the office whenever speaker is absent or the office becomes vacant.
• Represents The House: If Speaker resigns, he/she tenders resignation to Deputy Speaker.
• If the post of Deputy Speaker is vacant the Secretary-General receives the letter of resignation and informs the House about it. The resignation is notified in the Gazette and the Bulletin, as per the Rules for Presiding Officers of Lok Sabha.
• Strengthens the Opposition: Since 2011, convention has been to offer the position of deputy Speaker to Opposition party.
• Though Constitutionally, Deputy speaker can be from Opposition or Majority party.

International Intellectual Property Index 2023

Why in News?

Recently, India ranks 42^nd among 55 leading global economies on the International Intellectual Property (IP) Index 2023 released by the U.S. Chambers of Commerce, according to which India is ripe to become a leader for emerging markets seeking to transform their economy through IP-driven innovation.

• US topped the International IP Index followed by United Kingdom and France.

What is International IP Index?

• The Index evaluates the IP framework in each economy across 50 unique indicators which industry believes represent economies with the most effective IP systems.
• The indicators create a snapshot of an economy overall IP ecosystem and span nine categories of protection: Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks, Design Rights, Trade Secrets, Commercialization of IP Assets, Enforcement, Systemic Efficiency, Membership and Ratification of International Treaties.

What is Intellectual Property?

About

Intellectual Property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, symbols, names, and images used in commerce.

• It is a form of legal protection in the form of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) given to individuals or companies for their creative and innovative works.
• These rights are outlined in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• These legal protections allow the creators to control use of their work and prevent others from using or reproducing them without permission.

Types

• The main types of IP include patents for inventions, trademarks for branding, copyrights for artistic and literary works, trade secrets for confidential business information, and industrial designs for product appearance.

India and IPR

• India is a member of the World Trade Organisation and committed to the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS Agreement).
• India is also a member of World Intellectual Property Organization, a body responsible for the promotion of the protection of intellectual property rights throughout the world.
• The National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy 2016 was adopted in May 2016 as a vision document to guide future development of IPRs in the country.
• Its clarion call is “Creative India; Innovative India”.

Issues Related to IPR

• Enforcement: Despite efforts to strengthen IP enforcement, piracy and counterfeiting remain significant problems in India.
  • Enforcement agencies often lack the resources and expertise to effectively combat these issues, leading to low rates of prosecution and conviction.
• Patent Backlog: The backlog of patent applications in India is a major challenge.
  • This leads to delays in granting patents and creates uncertainty for innovators seeking to protect their inventions.
• Lack of IP Awareness: There is still a lack of awareness and understanding of IPR among many businesses and individuals in India.
• This can lead to inadvertent infringement of IP rights, as well as challenges in enforcing these rights.

Way Forward

• Enhancing Enforcement: India needs to strengthen its IP enforcement mechanisms, including increasing resources and expertise for enforcement agencies, improving coordination between different agencies, and streamlining legal procedures for IP disputes.
• Streamlining Regulations: India needs to simplify and streamline the regulatory environment for IPR, including reducing administrative burdens and increasing transparency in IP registration and enforcement procedures.
• Encouraging Innovation: India needs to incentivize innovation by offering tax incentives and funding for research and development, as well as promoting collaborations between industry, academia, and government.

Custodial Death

Why in News?

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the last five years, the highest number of custodial deaths have been reported in Gujarat at 80.

What is Custodial Death?

About

• Custodial death is a death that occurs while a person is in the custody of law enforcement officials or in a correctional facility. It can occur due to various causes such as use of excessive force, neglect, or abuse by the authorities.
• According to the Law commission of India, the crime by a public servant against the arrested or the detained person who is in custody amounts to custodial violence.

Custodial Death in India

• A total of 146 cases of death in police custody were reported during 2017-2018,
  • 136 in 2018-2019,
  • 112 in 2019-2020,
  • 100 in 2020-2021,
  • 175 in 2021-2022.
• In the last five years, the highest number of custodial deaths (80) has been reported in Gujarat, followed by Maharashtra (76), Uttar Pradesh (41), Tamil Nadu (40) and Bihar (38).
• National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has recommended monetary relief in 201 cases, and disciplinary action in one case.

What are the Possible Reasons for Custodial Deaths?

Absence of Strong Legislation

• India does not have an anti-torture legislation and is yet to criminalise custodial violence, while action against culpable officials remains illusory.

Institutional Challenges

• The entire prison system is inherently opaque giving less room to transparency.
• India also fails in bringing the much desired Prison Reforms and prisons continue to be affected by poor conditions, overcrowding, acute manpower shortages and minimal safety against harm in prisons.

Excessive Force

• The use of excessive force including torture to target marginalised communities and control people participating in movements or propagating ideologies which the state perceives as opposed to its stature.

Lengthy Judicial Processes

• Lengthy, expensive formal processes followed by courts dissuade the poor and the vulnerable.
• Not Adhering to International Standard:
  • Although India has signed the United Nations Convention against Torture in 1997 its ratification still remains.
  • While signing only indicates the country’s intention to meet the obligations set out in the treaty, Ratification, on the other hand, entails bringing in laws and mechanisms to fulfil the commitments.

Other Factors

• Medical neglect or lack of medical attention, and even suicide.
• Poor training or lack of accountability among law enforcement officials.
• Inadequate or substandard conditions in detention centers.
• Underlying health conditions or pre-existing medical conditions that are not adequately addressed or treated while in custody.

What are the Provisions Available Regarding Custody?

• Constitutional Provisions:
  • Article 21: Article 21 states that “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law”.
  • Protection from torture is a fundamental right enshrined under Article 21 (Right to Life) of the Indian constitution.
  • Article 22: Article 22 provides “Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases”.
  • The right to counsel is also a fundamental right under Article 22(1) of the India constitution.
• Role of State Government:
  • Police and public order are State subjects as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India.
  • It is primarily the responsibility of the state government concerned to ensure the protection of human rights.
• Role of Central Government:
  • The Central Government issues advisories from time to time and also has enacted the Protection of Human Rights Act (PHR), 1993.
  • It stipulates establishment of the NHRC and State Human Rights Commissions to look into alleged human rights violations by public servants.
• Legal Provisions
  • Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC): Section 41 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) was amended in 2009 to include safeguards so that arrests and detentions for interrogation have reasonable grounds and documented procedures, arrests are made transparent to family, friends and public, and there is protection through legal representation.
• Indian Penal Code:
  • Sec 330 & 331 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 provides punishment for injury inflicted for extorting confession.
  • Crime of custodial torture against prisoners can be brought under Sec 302, 304, 304A, and 306 of IPC.
• Protection under Indian Evidence Act, 1872:
  • Section 25 of the Act provides that a confession made to the police cannot be admitted in Court.
  • Section 26 of the Act provides that a confession made to the police by the person cannot be proved against such person unless it is made before the Magistrate.
• Indian Police Act, 1861:
  • Sections 7 & 29 of the Police Act, 1861 provide for dismissal, penalty or suspension of police officers who are negligent in the discharge of their duties or unfit to perform the same.

Way Forward

• Ensuring strict adherence to human rights laws and regulations, including the prevention of torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
• Implementing comprehensive and effective training programs for law enforcement officials on the proper use of force and non-lethal methods of controlling suspects.
• Establishing independent and impartial investigations into all custodial deaths to determine the cause of death and hold responsible parties accountable.

Draft Policy for Displaced Communities from Coastal Erosion

Why in News?

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) received the inputs from disaster management officials and researchers on the draft of India’s first national policy for the mitigation and rehabilitation of the people affected by river and Coastal Erosion.

• The Ministry of Home Affairs had directed NDMA to draft a policy based on the 15^th Finance Commission’s report for 2021.
• Until now, most policies in the country only address displacement after sudden rapid-onset disasters such as floods and cyclones.

What are the Recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission Report

• It had for the first time emphasised on rehabilitation and resettlement for people displaced by the river and coastal erosion, in view of the increasing threat due to climate change.
• It introduced mitigation measures to prevent erosion under the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF), with an allocation of Rs 1,500 crore for 2021-26.
• For the resettlement of displaced people affected by erosion, it allocates Rs 1,000 crore for the same period under the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF).
• It emphasized that states must follow timelines for mitigation and rehabilitation projects without delays, projects under NDRF and NDMF should be sanctioned in such a manner that they can be completed within the award period of the Commission.

What are the Key Features of Draft Policy?

Fund Allocation

• For both funds (NDRF and NDMF), state governments will have to avail resources on a cost-sharing basis, contributing 25% to the costs of mitigation and resettlement associated with coastal and river erosion.
• However, northeastern states have to only pool 10% of state funds.
• NDMA will coordinate the allocations and expenses under NDRF and NDMF at the national level for mitigation and rehabilitation.

Nodal Agency

• District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMA) would be the nodal agency to implement the measures, aided by other district agencies and a specific panchayat-level committee.
• The DDMA will prepare mitigation and rehabilitation plans and submit them to the SDMAs, from where the proposed measures will be appraised by NDMA and finally submitted to the home ministry.
• A high-level committee of the ministry will then approve the disbursal of funds.

Detailed Hazard Assessments

• Detailed hazard assessments carried out by central agencies such as the National Centre for Coast Research, Central Water Commission etc., and high-resolution LiDAR data available with National Remote Sensing Centre should be made available to the SDMAs.
• These should be made available in easy-to-access geographic information systems (GIS) formats by the NDMA.

Mapping Coastal and River Erosion

• The policy insists on mapping coastal and river erosion impacts and coming up with a database of diverse challenges confronted by the affected and vulnerable habitations.

Impact and Vulnerability Assessments

• The draft policy also recommends impact and vulnerability assessments of regions threatened by coastal and river erosion to be undertaken periodically, which will be spearheaded by SDMAs in coordination with the state departments and DDMAs.

What is NDMA?

• NDMA is India’s apex statutory body for disaster management.
• The NDMA was formally constituted on 27^th September 2006, by the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The Prime Minister is its chairperson, and it has nine other members. One of the nine members is designated as Vice-Chairperson.
• The primary responsibility for the management of disaster rests with the State Government concerned. However, the National Policy on Disaster Management puts in place an enabling environment for all i.e., the Centre, state and district.

Higher Pension under EPS

Why in News?

A portion of a speech delivered by the opposition leader in the Lok Sabha on February 7th, 2023 were expunged from the records of Parliament by the Speaker’s orders.

• The decision of what parts of a speech are to be expunged lies with the Presiding Officer of the House.

About

• Some Portions of the opposition leader’s speech delivered in Lok Sabha have been expunged or removed from the Parliament records by the orders of the Speaker.
  • The expunging of certain words, sentences, or portions of a speech from the Parliament records is a fairly routine exercise and is carried out under parliamentary rules.
  • The decision on which part of the speech or proceedings of the house is to be expunged lies with the Presiding Officer of the House.

Rules on expunging from the Parliamentary record

• The Indian Constitution under Article 105(2) mentioned that “no Member of Parliament shall be liable to any proceedings in any court in respect of anything said…in Parliament or any committee thereof”.
• However, MPs don’t enjoy the freedom to say whatever they want inside the parliament.
• The speeches of MPs are subject to the discipline of the Rules of Parliamentary proceedings, and the control of the proceedings by the lok sabha Speaker.
• These checks are necessary to ensure that MPs cannot use “defamatory or indecent or undignified or unparliamentary words” inside the House.
• Rule 380 (“Expunction”) of the Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha says: “If the Speaker is of opinion that words have been used in the debate are defamatory or indecent or unparliamentary or undignified, the Speaker may order that such words be expunged from the proceedings of the House records.

Unparliamentary expressions

• Unparliamentary Words are phrases and words, both in English and in Indian languages, which are considered “unparliamentary”.
• The Presiding Officers; the Speaker of Lok Sabha and the Chairperson of Rajya Sabha; are authorised of keeping unparliamentary words out of Parliament’s records.
• Recently the lok Sabha secretariat released a booklet of more than 50 pages of words considered unfit for being used in Parliament.
• The list includes words and phrases that are disallowed in the Indian Parliament, in various state assemblies, and also in the parliaments of many countries.
• The list also includes the words that have been deleted from the records in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha during the past years.
• The latest list of Unparliamentry words includes ‘Jumlajeevi’, ‘Baal buddhi’, ‘Covid spreader’, ‘abused’, ‘ashamed’, ‘betrayal’, ‘chamchagiri’, ‘cheated’, ‘Snoopgate’, ‘anarchist’, ‘Shakuni’, ‘corrupt’, ‘corruption’, ‘coward’, ‘criminal’, ‘dictatorial’, ‘taanashah’, ‘tanashahi’, ‘vinash purush’, ‘Khalistani’, ‘dodgy’, ‘drama’, ‘false’, ‘eyewash’, ‘fabrication’, ‘fraud’, ‘gaslighting’, ‘hack’, ‘hooliganism’, ‘hypocrisy’, ‘incompetent’, ‘lie’, ‘lollipops’, ‘mislead’, ‘negligence’, ‘partisan’, ‘racist’, ‘poster-boy’, ‘scandal’, ‘ruthless’, ‘traitor’, ‘witch’. etc.
• Many expressions have been added to the list including: “You have double standards”; “You have to be fair”; “I curse you” and “Sir, why are you trying to gag my mouth? Don’t try to gag my mouth”.

Way Forward

• The Lok Sabha Speaker has clarified that no words or phrases have been banned in Parliament and members have absolute freedom to express their views.
• The decision to remove a speech or any part of a speech from the house record is taken after the instruction of the Speaker or the Chairman and the government has no role in it.
• The list is just a set of general guidelines to maintain the dignity of the Parliament

Higher Pension under the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS)

Context

• The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has issued guidelines to allow a section of its older members to opt for higher pension under the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS).

What is the pension structure that exists currently?

• The Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 did not provide for a pension scheme. The EPS, administered by the EPFO, came into being in 1995. The pension fund was to comprise a deposit of 8.33% of the employers’ contribution towards the PF corpus.
• Both employees and employers contribute 12% of the employee’s basic salary, dearness allowance and retaining allowance, if any, to the EPF. The employee’s entire contribution goes to EPF, while the 12% contribution by the employer is split as 3.67% to EPF and 8.33% to EPS.
• The Government of India contributes 1.16% for an employee’s pension. Employees do not contribute to the pension scheme.
• At the time of introduction of EPS, the maximum pensionable salary was Rs 5,000 per month. This was subsequently raised to Rs 6,500 and, from September 1, 2014, to Rs 15,000. The pension contribution currently is 8.33% of Rs 15,000, that is, Rs 1,250 — unless the employee and employer have opted to contribute at actual basic salary exceeding the pensionable salary.

Who gets pension under the EPS, and how much?

• The EPS provides employees with pension after the age of 58, if they have rendered at least 10 years of service and retired at age 58. If a member leaves employment between ages 50 and 57, they can avail early (reduced) pension.
• The monthly pension is computed according to this formula: Monthly pension = pensionable salary x pensionable service / 70, based on a pro rata basis linked to maximum monthly pensionable salary of Rs 6,500 for pensionable service up to September 1, 2014, and Rs 15,000 thereafter.
• Under the pre-amendment scheme, the pensionable salary was computed as the average of the salary drawn during the 12 months prior to exit from membership of the pension fund. The 2014 amendments raised this to an average of 60 months prior to exit.

What were the 2014 amendments in EPS?

• The amendments of August 22, 2014 raised the pensionable salary cap to Rs 15,000 a month from Rs 6,500, and allowed members along with their employers to contribute 8.33% on their actual salaries (if it exceeded the cap) towards EPS.
• It gave all EPS members as on September 1, 2014 six months to opt for the amended scheme, extendable by another six months at the discretion of the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner.
• Members opting for pension linked to actual salaries exceeding the wage ceiling were required to contribute an additional 1.16% of their salary towards the pension fund.
• Those who did not exercise the option within the stipulated or extended period were deemed to have not opted for contribution over the pensionable salary cap and the extra contributions already made to the pension fund were to be diverted to the provident fund account of the member, along with interest.