About 55 people were killed in a massive fire that broke out at the AMRI hospital in south Kolkata early Friday, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said. "Quick action will be taken against the hospital after proper inquiry," she added. According to hospital sources, death toll may rise in the hospital fire incident in Kolkata. Nearly 160 patients were admitted in the Dhakuria building, where fire broke out in the wee hours. Only...

The Union minister for communications and information technology, Kapil Sibal, is a knowledgeable lawyer, and someone who is reportedly committed to the freedom of speech. He would not lightly propose regulations that contravene Article 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression) of our Constitution. So how is one to explain his recent proposals on controlling online speech? Or even the immoderate IT Rules that have been in force since April? This controversy...

-The Times of India   In less than a fortnight since the government notified rules under Right To Education (RTE) Act 2009, hundreds of students started a postcard campaign on Tuesday highlighting various ways in which schools are flouting the norms. Addressed to the Chief Justice of Delhi high court, the postcards brought to light the unfavourable conditions prevalent in government and MCD run schools. The first day of the campaign was conducted...

-The Telegraph   Social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Google have refused to buckle under pressure from the Indian government to take down content that telecom minister Kapil Sibal and the babus on Raisina Hill find objectionable. Sibal told reporters the government wanted the Big Boys of Cyberspace to remove “abusive” comments and images that could ignite a tinderbox of passions in the country but they had refused to do so...

-EPW   Will the blatant discrimination against Muslims in the administration of justice ever end? The word secular was inserted into the Preamble of the Indian Constitution by the 42nd amendment in 1976; later on, the Supreme Court, in S R Bommai vs Union of India, held (in 1994) that secularism was an integral part of the basic structure of the Constitution. And yet, it has been a long time coming – Indian...