-The Hindu “Accountability is a facet of the rule of law.” This established legal principle has acquired fresh significance after the Supreme Court ruled that the armed forces cannot escape investigation for excesses in the course of the discharge of their duty even in “disturbed areas”. In such notified areas, security personnel enjoy statutory protection for their use of “special powers”. While hearing petitions demanding an inquiry into 1,528 deaths in...

-The Hindu Rights groups demand reopening of about 7.5 lakh pension accounts closed in Rajasthan Jaipur: After the Rajasthan government’s acceptance of wrong classification of living persons as “dead” and restoration of their social security pensions, civil rights groups here have demanded reopening of about 7.5 lakh pension accounts closed earlier and re-verification of about 10 lakh pensioners in the State. The physical verification by activists of the Right to Information Campaign and...

-The Hindu Business Line The National e-Governance Plan can ensure that higher devolution of funds translates into improved outcomes Cutting edge technology is, no doubt, empowering. The right application of technology can boost productivity in all sectors of the economy: agriculture, manufacturing, services, business and governmental activities. Technology enables informed decision-making, stakeholder participation and efficient service delivery and can help ensure transparency, accountability, and rule of law leading to inclusive good governance....

-The Hindu Former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah has written to Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, following the removal of a chapter on the Right to Information Act from school text books. In a letter dated June 24, Mr. Habibullah, chairperson of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, cited Section 26 of the RTI Act to point out that the law places a statutory duty on State governments to educate the citizenry, particularly...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: A month has gone by since the Supreme Court issued directions to tackle drought but it is "business as usual" for the Centre and the affected states, civil society organisations have said. Worse, government intervention is even less than what it used to be in colonial times, they said. A quarter of the country is drought-hit at present. On May 11, the apex court had pronounced the Centre guilty...