-The Telegraph   The Singur land was taken over by the state government tonight after a flurry of dramatic events, prompting the Tatas to make preparations to move the high court tomorrow morning. Sources said Tata Motors wrote to top state government officials tonight, requesting them not to alter the status quo without a court order. However, a government official said in Singur that the administration had taken possession of the land...

-The Times of India   The CBI has refused to make public information about disproportionate asset cases against government servants, including bureaucrats and ministers, after last week's exemption under RTI Act given by the government. The Centre, through a Notification issued on June 9, placed the agency in the organisations listed in the second schedule of Section 24 of the RTI Act which also comprises intelligence and security agencies. "The government...

Putting water on the Concurrent List is not necessarily an act of centralisation, though it could lead to such a development. That danger is real and needs to be avoided. The Union Ministry of Water Resources has for long been arguing for a shift of water to the Concurrent List without any serious expectation of its happening, but has now begun to pursue the idea more actively. The Ashok Chawla committee,...

The West Bengal assembly on Tuesday passed a bill to return to some of the original owners their land in Singur, which had been acquired by the previous Left Front government for the Nano project. In doing so, chief minister Mamata Banerjee kept her pre-poll promise to the electorate, which gave her Trinamool Congress, a resounding majority in the elections. The Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Bill cites “non-commissioning of the...

-The Hindu   Section 30 of Advocates Act in place This provision was not notified when the Act came into force So far, in some courts, lawyers could appear only if they were permitted by presiding officer Now, lawyers can practise, as a matter of right, in all courts and forums, including tribunals or any quasi-judicial authority. Fifty years after the Advocates Act, 1961, came into force, the Centre has notified Section 30 of the...