Refraining granting a stay, the Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine the validity of the provision of Right to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act which mandated 25 per cent of reserved seats for economically backward sections in private unaided schools. A bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia, justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar did not favour at the moment the idea of referring the matter to a Constitution Bench. “At...

A Supreme Court judgment projects the historical thesis that India is largely a country of old immigrants and that pre-Dravidian aborigines, ancestors of the present Adivasis, rather than Dravidians, were the original inhabitants of India. If North America is predominantly made up of new immigrants, India is largely a country of old immigrants, which explains its tremendous diversity. It follows that tolerance and equal respect for all communities and sects are...

For his contribution in drafting the statute The Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Vichar Manch has appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to honour Dr. Ambedkar with the title ‘Father of the Indian Constitution' on Republic Day. In a letter to the Prime Minister, general secretary of the Manch R.L. Kain pointed out that the organisation was representing the feelings of millions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and Buddhists that Dr. Ambedkar should...

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday described as “highly unfortunate” the Supreme Court judgment upholding the Kerala High Court order banning public meetings and rallies on roadsides. The ruling, coupled with earlier restrictions on demonstrations and strikes, did not augur well for a democracy, the party's Polit Bureau said in a statement. It was a common practice for political parties and other public organisations to hold meetings on roadsides. Since...

State's appeal against High Court order dismissed The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the judgment of the Kerala High Court prohibiting public meetings by the roadsides in the State. A Bench of Justice D.K. Jain and Justice H.L. Dattu dismissed an appeal filed by the State government against the judgment of the High Court and a subsequent petition seeking a review of the judgment. The Bench said it was not inclined to...