It is the improper mode of application, violating the law and regulations, that is responsible for the apparent adverse toxic effects of endosulfan. FROM a scientific perspective, an extremely pertinent question in the endosulfan story is why adverse health effects similar to those seen in the villages of Kasaragod district in Kerala have not been reported from other parts of the country where the pesticide is used in much larger...

Within two months of constitution of the joint drafting committee on Jan Lokpal Bill, a civil society group has termed deliberations as “non-inclusive” in a clear indication of growing dissent over the working of the committee. In a similar letter written to two co-chairpersons of the committee, finance minister Pranab Mukerjee and Shanti Bhushan, who represents civil society, the National Campaign for People’s Right To Information (NCPRI) said even though the...

-The Hindu   The former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, A.P. Shah, on Friday criticised the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) for their “half-hearted approach” to the ongoing public hearing on the safety, viability and cost efficiency of nuclear energy. Mr. Shah is heading a ‘People's Tribunal' along with former Justice S.D. Pandit, which is conducting...

To give information to an RTI activist on pending trial cases under labour Act The central information commission has directed the Divisional Commissioner of the Revenue Department to furnish information to an RTI activist regarding prosecutions, if any, conducted for violation of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, for which she had filed an application almost a year ago. Priyanka Sinha, a representative of non-government organisation Pratidhi, had moved an application in...

The central information commission (CIC) has overturned its own decision and ruled that the Supreme Court cannot deny information on judicial matters if an applicant has asked for it under the Right to Information Act. As of now, information disclosure related to a person's own case could be applied to the Supreme Court under the RTI Act. But in case the information related to judicial matters of a third party,...