Bench modifies July 5 judgment, on Centre's plea The Supreme Court has modified its July 5 order banning appointment of special police officers (SPOs) in naxal-affected States and said it would apply only to Chhattisgarh. The Centre, in its application filed in August, sought recall of the order insofar as it pertained to references against the Union Government in paragraphs 75 (ii) and 76 on the ground that they were against the...
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Anti-Insurgency squad bar only in one state
-The Telegraph The Supreme Court today diluted its July order asking the Centre and states to stop using special police officers in their war against Naxalites or other internal terror, clarifying it would now be confined only to Chhattisgarh. The Centre had urged the top court to clarify or modify its July 5, 2011, order saying it would “hamper” internal security measures in states and lead to “chaos”. Besides Chhattisgarh, there are SPOs...
More »Manipur government has to wrest authority back from armed thugs by Abheek Barman
Here in Delhi, you can buy a litre of petrol for a little less than Rs 69. A cylinder of cooking gas costsRs 405. But there's one state capital where petrol costs Rs 200 a litre and gas a staggeringRs 2,000 a cylinder. That city is Imphal, the capital of our easternmost state, Manipur. Since August 1, the state has been hostage to a withering siege: a blockage of two...
More »Wajahat Habibullah, chairperson, National Commission for Minorities interviewed by Kavita Chowdhury
Wajahat Habibullah, chairperson, National Commission for Minorities, speaks to Kavita Chowdhury on reservation for Muslims, the RTI Act and the controversy over withdrawal of AFSPA in Kashmir. You had recently visited Rajasthan. In Bharatpur district’s Gopalgarh village, some members of the minority community, Mev Muslims, were killed and the state administration was accused of mishandling the matter. What is your view? A communal riot is an unpardonable crime. The state government has taken...
More »Special powers to act and evade by Muzamil Jaleel
When Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced the withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from certain areas areas in Jammu and Kashmir, it was a political move with many objectives. The government, however, had to put the plan on hold. Though the Home Ministry has been in favour of a withdrawal, the plan came under severe criticism from the Army, which argued that a withdrawal, even if partial, would hamper...
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