-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In the wake of public outrage over the Kathua rape-and-murder case where the victim was a minor, the Cabinet is likely to consider an ordinance on Saturday to amend the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act to provide for the death penalty for the rape of children below the age of 12. The ordinance is being initiated to enforce the amendment immediately before a...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that the mandatory linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts and PAN cards was intended to screen genuine tax payers from dishonest elements evading taxes. The government made the comments while trying to allay fears that people could be harassed for money-laundering offences. Appearing for the Centre and the Aadhaar-issuing Unique Identification Authority of India, additional solicitor-general Tushar Mehta told a five-judge...

-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 Times of India NEW DELHI: Aadhaar is blind to the purpose of authentication as it only establishes identity and nothing more, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey told the Supreme Court on Thursday, countering apprehensions that Aadhaar would result in “virtual surveillance” of citizens. In the course of a Power-Point presentation, Pandey said Aadhaar was a tool to establish identity and was not an aggregator of...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday indefinitely extended the March 31 deadline for linking Aadhaar to bank accounts and mobile phones and ordered that except for disbursing subsidies, the Centre and states cannot insist on Aadhaar for any service, including issuance of passports. The extension will be in place till the court delivers its final judgment. A five-judge constitution bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices...