Comment on (1) Role of quasi-judicial bodies in governance (2) Key domestic issues related to Internet Governance in India.

December 4, 2022 February 21, 2024

A quasi-judicial body is a non judicial body which can interpret law. It is an entity such as an arbitrator or tribunal board, generally of a public administrative agency, which has powers and procedures resembling those of a court of law or judge, and which is obliged to objectively determine facts and draw conclusions from them so as to provide the basis of an official action.
Quasi judicial bodies can aid in enhancing the governance mechanisms by

Providing an expert and multidimensional body to address the various technical issues which would be a daunting task for judiciary due to the complexities.
Providing a alternate means for dispute resolution.
Ease of problem solving which is not marred by the technicalities of the judiciary.
A faster dispute resolution process to make the governance more effective.
Provide policy suggestions to make the governance more effective.

But the quasi judicial bodies pose the following challenges

The authority with the executive in the appointments and determining of conditions of service many lead to committed bodies leading to deteriorating governance standards.
The quasi judicial bodies may lead tribunalisation of justice delivery mechanism leading to diffused justice delivery process impacting the quality of the governance.

Quasi-judicial process can be of great help in strengthening of governance. But it is also necessary to maintain the independence of these bodies so that they can effectively function under their ambit to achieve the objectives.
Key domestic issues related to Internet Governance in India
Internet is rapidly penetrating in India. The internet governance faces many challenges like
Digital literacy
Digital literacy in India is at abysmally low levels. This makes the internet governance more challenging as the people have victims without being aware of them being victims of internet frauds.
Regulatory mechanisms
The regulatory mechanisms are still evolving. This also led to making a choice between binary objectives of providing free internet or maintaining net neutrality.
Cyber professionals
National cyber security policy envisages of creating more than 5 lakh cyber security professionals. But it is far from achieving this target.
Vulnerability
Recently country witnessed large scale cyber data threat as the security of more than 3 million debit cards was compromised. This has exposed the high vulnerability of Indian internet space.
Even though India has one of the highest numbers of the internet users the internet governance mechanism is yet to strike a balance. The formation cyber security wing under the ministry of defence is a good step in addressing various challenges related to internet governance.