There are two reasons why the Indian Supreme Court is considered the world’s most powerful. First, Supreme Court judges self-appoint, with no inter-institutional checks and balances. Second, dismissing a judge is so difficult that it has not been done so far. Many of the recent criticisms of the apex court’s perceived opacity have focused on these procedures for appointment and dismissal. The proposed Judges Standards and Accountability Bill is one...

BEFORE ANY debate starts, we must remind ourselves that India has a tendency of corruption. India, though a democracy, has a history of reported corruption cases. While the Chief Justice of India, KG Balakrishnan, has demanded that PM Manmohan Singh amend the RTI Act to ‘protect’ the judiciary from ‘intrusive’ queries, what needs to be kept in mind is that the proposed amendments will totally defeat the purpose of an...

How much ground India conceded at the climate summit will depend on which of two sets of words packed in a single sentence of the Copenhagen Accord dominate in the negotiations ahead, experts have said. The Copenhagen Accord indicates that actions by developing countries to curb emissions of greenhouse gases would be open to interna tional consultations and analysis. India has in the past asserted — as articulated by environment...

The novelist and critic, C.S. Lewis, said he had no time for those who thought that since they had read a book once, they had no need to read it again. The great works of literature were to read again and again. The urge to go back to a book was prompted sometimes by aesthetics, the desire to savour once more its artful or elegant prose; and, at other times,...

Having stitched together a climate deal at Copenhagen with a select group of countries, the government will have to do some explaining in Parliament on Tuesday on some provisions in the Copenhagen Accord, especially those relating to international verification of voluntary action taken by India on climate change. The government is expected to argue that agreeing to allow “international consultations and analysis” is in no way a matter of concern....