Rights activist Binayak Sen has challenged in Chhattisgarh High Court the life sentence given to him by a local court after being convicted for sedition and links with Maoists, saying his involvement in the alleged crime was not proved beyond reasonable doubt. 58-yer-old Sen''s counsel Mahendra Dubey filed an appeal against his conviction yesterday, contending that after a thorough examination of the lower court''s judgement it has become clear his involvement...

The former Member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Sudarshan Agarwal, has appealed to NHRC Chairman K.G. Balakrishnan to resign and face an enquiry. Mr. Agarwal, who is also a former Governor of Uttarakhand and Sikkim, in a letter written to Justice Balakrishnan on December 29, 2010, said: “It is with deep pain and anguish — nay, with a deep sense of shock — that I read in the national...

The locals of Singur have assured Tata Motors of full cooperation for setting up a plant, prompting the industrial giant to consider meeting the representatives in this regard. Tata Motors has indicated it will meet Representatives of landlosers who had given land for Tata''s Nano manufacturing plant before the company withdrew from the state in 2009 following violent local protests. They were seeking higher land price besides other demands from Tatas''. "I can...

Krishi Bhavan supports endosulfan companies; Kerala protests THE timing and the message of the conference could not have been more stark. At a time when the endosulfan problem is in the limelight, sparking calls for a nationwide ban on the pesticide, its manufacturers staged a remarkable feat. They held a three-day conference on rural prosperity at Delhi’s Vigyan Bhavan, venue for high-power official meetings, and put across the message that the hazardous...

The Indian government is exploring a proposal to reduce the limit on foreign direct investment (FDI) allowed in the pharmaceutical industry through the automatic route to 49% from 100% amid concerns over the takeover of local drug makers by overseas firms. Officials from the ministry of commerce and industry and the ministry of health have had multiple rounds of discussions on the proposal following a note written to them by the finance...