-The Economic and Political Weekly   Media freedom is not restricted by one law but by collusion between economic and political power and big media. The defamation case filed in a Pune court by former Press Council chairman justice P B Sawant has drawn attention to the criminal law of defamation and whether it restricts the freedom of the press. Justice Sawant was awarded Rs 100 crore in exemplary damages in the case...

Antony, Jairam and Virbhadra say it will hit small retailers badly The United Progressive Alliance government pushed through the proposal to permit 51% FDI in multi-brand retail and 100% foreign equity in single-brand trading on Thursday, in the face of vigorous protests not just from the Opposition and ally Trinamool Congress (TMC), but also disquiet in a section of the Congress. Following up on this, the Congress Core Group met here on...

This is a saga of how the Hindu outfit saw the promise in Anna and pursued him for its gains. How often do we meet strangers on a flight and realise that it could possibly be the beginning of a lasting friendship? This is how yoga teacher Ramdev and super cop Kiran Bedi met in mid 2010 when both of them were on the same flight and Ramdev spotted her. Although fate...

My attention was drawn to “An Open Letter to the Chief Minister of West Bengal” which was signed by thirty members of the civil society of Kolkata and Delhi. What disturbed me was the tone and tenor of the language used in the letter in denouncing Ms Mamata Banerjee’s bold initiative in inviting the Maoists of Junglemahal for a dialogue after “ceasefire”. May I ask with all humility who among the...

Comply with High Court order on retirement benefits: Bench If there is change of ownership of a company, the existing employees cannot be forced to work under a different management without their consent and in that event, those workmen are entitled to retirement/retrenchment compensation under the Industrial Disputes Act, the Supreme Court has held. Giving this ruling on Friday, a Bench of Justices P. Sathasivam and J. Chelameswar accepted the contention of...