-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday ushered in a fresh dose of electoral reforms by ruling that no one can contest elections without making a full and honest disclosure about his/her assets and educational and criminal antecedents. Curbing the practice among candidates to leave columns demanding information blank in the affidavits filed along with nomination papers, the court authorized returning officers to demand relevant details and reject...

-The Hindu     Young offenders above a certain age who commit violent crimes should be prosecuted as adults On August 31, 2013, the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) ordered that the boy who raped Nirbhaya, brutalised her with an iron rod, pulled out her intestines and then cleaned up the bus and made tea would go virtually free by sentencing him to only 28 months in a remand home as eight months of the...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday gave a last opportunity to the Centre to break its long silence over Election Commission's suggestion to ban those facing trial for heinous offences from contesting elections. Almost eight months after it directed the Centre and the EC to "positively" file its response to a PIL seeking a series of directions to ensure that those with criminal track records do not...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Justice B S Chauhan of the Supreme Court on Monday said that senior advocates engaged by well-to-do accused in criminal cases were taking up most of the time of the court, leaving little time for the redressal of the grievances of commoners. "Our entire (judicial) time is wasted by senior advocates engaged by influential accused, who think the Supreme Court is their safe haven. Ordinary citizens...

-Frontline The midday meal scheme is a grand idea in a flawed school system. "THEY played here, studied here and got buried here!" (Yahin khela, yahin padha aur yahin ho gaya dafan). With these emphatic words, grieving parents buried the bodies of two children within the compound of the Dharmasati Gandaman Primary School of Masharakh block in Saran district of Bihar. This sentiment was expressed with great dignity even in the...