In recent times the Supreme Court of India, with a series of remarkable decisions, has earned our admiration, respect and gratitude. Alas, it has now come out with an extraordinary order on the Inter-Linking of Rivers (ILR) Project, which has caused consternation and dismay to many of us. In 2002, in a post-retirement explanation, a defensive Justice Kirpal had said that his order on the river-linking project was not a direction...
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Aruna Roy, Indian social activist interviewed by Kanak Mani Dixit
Kanak Dixit: We have with us Aruna Roy, from Devdungri village in Rajasthan, who has, among other things, been able to take the Right to Information (RTI) from janasunuwais, or public hearings at the village level, all the way to national legislation that encompasses all of India. It is a movement that is truly global in scale. Aruna, a question that has been troubling me quite a bit in the context...
More »Homosexuality unnatural, govt tells SC, promptly takes it back by Krishnadas Rajagopal
A goof-up created by the law officer representing the Ministry of Home Affairs today ended up revealing a significant shift in the government’s view on homosexuality. A day-long hearing in the Supreme Court saw Additional Solicitor General P P Malhotra, representing the home ministry, argue that homosexuality is an “unnatural offence” — the exact line the government took in the Delhi High Court. In fact, a reference to the records filed by...
More »Standing up to the state by Anupama Katakam and Lyla Bavadam
Police officers who have stood up for the truth are made to pay for it. IF there is anyone who can nail the perpetrators of the anti-Muslim riots of 2002 in Gujarat, it is the State's police officers. Witness to the worst communal violence seen in recent times, these officers have first-hand knowledge of the complicity of politicians in the riots and the degree of brutality and negligence of duty that...
More »Diluting a law by TK Rajalakshmi
The Law Commission recommends making Section 498A, IPC, compoundable, and women's groups say that would affect women's interests. A REPORT of the Law Commission of India on “Compounding of (IPC) Offences” suggesting that Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, which prescribes punishment for a husband or his relatives for subjecting a woman to cruelty, be made compoundable with the permission of the court, is fraught with several implications. The report...
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