-The Hindustan Times An all-party meeting convened by the government on Monday failed to reach a consensus on the anti-rape Bill with leaders expressing reservations on the age of consent for sex and demanding safeguards against misuse of the proposed law. "Largely there is consensus on the intent and the content of the Bill, except that there are concerns about misuse and abuse of some of the provisions of the Bill," Parliamentary...

-The Indian Express   The chickens have come home to roost for the UPA government and Krishna Tirath’s women and child development ministry. Tirath has to defend the bar of 18 years for consensual sex set by the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 that her ministry anchored barely a few months back. And it is the collective responsibility of the UPA government to overcome her resistance and ensure that...

-The Indian Express In the first detailed manual for medical examination of rape victims, the Health Ministry has advised doctors not to use the word rape as it is "not a medical diagnosis but a legal definition". It has also asked them not to identify a victim as "habituated to sexual intercourse" as this amounts to unlawful interference in her privacy and therefore a violation of her human rights. "Rape is not...

-The Hindu The House must ensure that the new Bill to replace the Criminal Law Ordinance consciously upholds the provisions and spirit of the Verma Committee report A brave young woman died a brutal death in the heart of the nation’s capital. And Parliament must speak. Today. Tomorrow. Or, the day after. But speak it must. And in a unified voice of conviction and certitude, rising above the cacophony of political difference...

-The Hindu Despite media coverage and VIP interest, police unable to make headway BHANDARA: Ten days after the dead bodies of three sisters were found in a well near Murmadi village of Lakhani tehsil in Bhandara district of Maharashtra, the police have made no arrests and the perpetrators are still at large. Residents of Murmadi, Lakhani and nearby villages continue to protest by blocking the National highway No.6, taking out candle marches, and...