-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Centre accused the Supreme Court of encroaching into the legislative domain while diluting the stringent arrest provision of the SC/ST ( Prevention of Atrocities) Act and appealed on Thursday for its restoration. The written submission by Attorney General K K Venugopal on behalf of the Centre reflected the executive’s seething anger rather than a dispassionate analysis of the March 20 judgment, which introduced anticipatory bail...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday conceded in the Supreme Court that Aadhaar cannot be a panacea for detecting bank frauds like the one allegedly committed by diamantaire Nirav Modi, saying the scam would not have occurred if due "diligence" had been exercised by banks. The admission comes against the backdrop of the Centre's aggressive push for Aadhaar for the receipt of various government benefits and as an antidote to...

-The Hindu The court says it has only protected innocents from falling prey to arbitrary arrests under the Act. The Supreme Court said its March 20 judgment, banning immediate arrest of a person accused of insulting or injuring a Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe member, is meant to protect innocents from arbitrary arrest and not an affront to Dalit rights. The government, despite an urgent and open court hearing of its review petition, failed to...

-The Hindu Chief Justice Misra asks why people preferring anonymity are also compelled to part with their personal data to access services. The government has assured the Supreme Court that Aadhaar is not a “fly-by-night effort to score some brownie points” and personal data collected from millions of people is safe from breach in storage facilities barricaded behind five-feet thick walls. Appearing before a Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak...

-PTI NEW DELHI: The deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to avail various services and welfare schemes run by the government may be further extended beyond March 31, the Centre indicated in the Supreme Court on Tuesday. The Centre said that since some more time would be needed to conclude the prolonged hearing in the Aadhaar case, the government may extend the deadline from March 31. A five-judge Constitution bench comprising Chief Justice...