New technology to control speech?

The DTH technology will give greater power to the government to control the content of broadcast media, further restricting speech, argues Ila Patnaik.

Communal Crimes Bill defective

Yet another editorial criticising the Communal Crimes Bill.

AIDS law on anvil

A Bill to end discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS is on the anvil.

Changes in the Communal Crimes Bill sought

Activists and lawyers demanded changes in the Communal Crimes Bill, particularly asking for the Bill to include genocide as a crime.

Reservations in private unaided educational institutions

The Parliament has passed the Bill amending the Constitution to provide for reservations in private unaided educational institutions. Minority insitutions, are however, outside the scope of the amendment - a move that has drawn criticism.

Jains are not minorities - Supreme Court

In a recent case, the Supreme Court has ruled that Jains are not a national minority, and that their minority status has to be determined state-wise. The logic that religious minorities, like linguistic minorities should be determined at the state-level is fallacious, because states are not organised on religious lines.

Witness Protection

Justice M. Jagannadha Rao underlines the need for a new witness protection law.

Police enforcing morality in parks

Yet another incident of the police beating up couples sitting in public parks. The good news is that this time it led to a protest in Meerut and had drawn the attention of the Parliament.

Free Speech - menace from mob and the State

A.G. Noorani writes brilliantly about how the State joins the mob in curtailing free-speech.

Quotas in private educational institutions

The government proposal to introduce quotas for SCs and STs in private educational institutions by amending the constitution has raised a political storm, especially because it leaves minority-run institutions out of its purview. D. Raja supports the move.

11 convicted in Gujarat riot case

11 people have been convicted in a case related to the violence that took place in Gujarat in 2002.

Plea-bargaining allowed

The Parliament has amended the Code of Criminal Procedure to allow plea-bargaining by the accused. It may speed up the criminal justice system, but raises some doubts about the rights of the accused.

Disaster Management Bill

The Lok Sabha has cleared the Disaster Management Bill.

Discriminatory adoption laws

The adoption laws in India allows Hindus to adopt but denies the right to Muslims. It took a tragedy to point this out - will the Parliament amend the laws?

Communal Violence Bill criticised

The Communal Violence Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha has been criticised by civil society groups for being inadequate and useless. This article weighs the merits and demerits of the provisions of the Bill. Teesta Setalvad, however, is of the opinion that, on the whole, the Bill is a welcome measure.

Another 'custodial death'

Another case of grizly murder at the hands of the police, resulting merely in the 'suspension' of the officers involved.

Compromise over Tribal Bill

The debate between the advocates of tribal rights and environmentalists seems to be ending in a compromise where there are no clear winners - the tribals will get temporary rights to forest land till they are given alternative land.

Hiccups for the RTI Act

The PMO has issued instructions to exempt certain file notings from the purview of the Right to Information Act. On the other hand, the army has withdrawn a circular which instructed the army personnel not to comply with the Act.