-The Indian Express Sources told The Sunday Express that the CJI had also personally spoken to all the chief justices before writing to them. A week after the Supreme Court collegium headed by him cleared the last of the pending recommendations from various high court collegiums for appointment of judges, Chief Justice of India Jagdish Singh Khehar has written to chief justices of all high courts asking them to recommend new names...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In a pronouncement that reiterates the constitutional protection to freedom of speech and expression, the Supreme Court has said that unwitting or careless "insults" to religion should not be prosecuted as this would amount to misuse of law. Concerned by the misuse of Section 295A of IPC, which provides up to THRee years' jail term for hurting religious sentiments, the Supreme Court limited the applicability of...

-The Hindu When will the government operationalise the Lokpal law, even in its diluted form? In a hearing recently regarding non-operationalisation of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, more than THRee years after the law was enacted, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi reportedly argued in the Supreme Court that the court has no powers to direct the government on when and how the law should be enforced. Failure to implement the Lokpal law by the...

-The Hindu There is no case for water privatisation. In pushing for it, we are ignoring the key issue, which is better governance, writes Himanshu Thakkar Privatisation of water is unwarranted, unjustified and unnecessary. In pushing for it, we are not really addressing the key issue plaguing the water sector, which is a need for better governance. We need a democratic, transparent, accountable and participatory governance in a bottom-up approach, on each...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has asked its affiliated schools across the country to shut down shops selling textbooks, stationery, schoolbags, uniforms, shoes and similar articles within their premises. The board asked schools on Thursday to strictly comply with its affiliation byelaws and "not indulge in commercial activities". This includes sales THRough "selected vendors". The directive comes close on the heels of the board's effort...