The jinxed women’s reservation bill received a boost today with a parliamentary panel advocating immediate passage in its present form. The panel rejected any dilution of the proposed 33 per cent quota for women with party-based reservation or double-member constituencies. The bill on women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies should be passed “and put in action without further delay”, the standing committee on personnel, public grievances, law and...

The Centre today told the Supreme Court it was thinking of making child marriages invalid, taking a step forward against a social evil still deep-rooted in several parts of the country. “The practice of recognising child marriages was intended to protect women. The government is thinking of making such marriages void (invalid),” additional solicitor general Indira Jaisingh said. Under the Hindu Marriage Act, child marriages are recognised as valid, keeping in mind...

In a new twist to the alleged Rs 5,600-crore scam in giving away contracts for ambulance and emergency healthcare services to a private party in 10 states, the Centre told the SC that though the funds for the services were from National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), the onus rested with the state governments to ensure transparent bidding process. A PIL had alleged that it smelled a gigantic scam in former...

The increase in the number of civil cases in a country is its social mascot, as it symbolises the abundance of law abiding civilised citizens accepting the authority of the judiciary to get their grievances redressed. Otherwise, they would have turned to self-retaliation or employed roughnecks, a usual practice in America and Britain enkindled by their criminal heritage, to enforce justice in their own way; hence all civil litigants may...

The functioning of the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission has been rated as “satisfactory” by its chairperson, S.R. Nayak. This, however, comes with plenty of riders. If the commission is working, it is despite non-cooperation from the State Government in providing adequate staff and space and, worse still, active efforts by government representatives to bring discredit to the commission by indulging in “ill-conceived, motivated and misleading” attacks. Addressing a press...