Don't embark on a futile exercise, Shanti Bhushan tells Supreme Court Constitution Bench   The Press Council of India (PCI) on Tuesday suggested that the Supreme Court frame guidelines for the media as these would be in the interest of not only administration of justice and rights of the litigant public but also the media themselves. “The media, both print and electronic, have been playing an important role in shaping and sustaining Indian...

-The Economic Times   What's common between foggy movements of two army battalions, the government auditor's assessments of large notional losses to the exchequer and a letter from the army chief to the PM on his unit's preparedness for war?  The information in each of these instances in the past six months was marked 'secret' in official files, but screamed its way to the public, forcing the government into damage-control mode.  Information leaks in...

IT giants were allotted lands in Manikonda and surrounding areas since 2003 Though the High Court judgement directed the State Government to refer its dispute with the Wakf Board over the ownership of over 1,600 acres of land in Manikonda and surroundings to Wakf Tribunal for resolution, the government is confident that the outcome will not directly affect the legal allottees. Several IT giants like Infosys, Wipro, Polaris and others like...

The housing and houselisting census data do not paint a rosy picture of India in terms of basic amenities for its households. The data on household amenities and assets, released recently by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, are a stark reminder of the immense disparities that exist in India in terms of basic entitlements such as electricity, sanitation facilities, proper drainage, and clean drinking and...

-The Times of India   A letter from the office of India's Central Information Commission to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently raises serious concerns over two proposals to amend the Right to Information Act through the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority (NSRA) Bill 2011, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha last September. The first amendment seeks to exempt sensitive information on nuclear radiation safety issues and commercially sensitive information on technology holders from...