-The Indian Express   Rattanpura, Rajasthan: On May 22, 2006, orders were passed to release Jagdish, a murder convict lodged in Hisar jail. But it took almost seven years for the orders to be implemented. Jagdish, a resident of Rattanpura in Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan, was finally freed on April 6 this year. While nobody from his family was willing to stand surety for him, the Haryana and Rajasthan authorities engaged in a...

-Tehelka A public issue is not truly public unless Markandey Katju has passed judgement. Rahul Kotiyal and Ajachi Chakrabarti stand downwind "Journalists" writes Markandey Katju, with little sense of irony, "comment on everything under the sun." He goes on to say that when the shoe is on the other foot, when someone comments on journalism, it is misconstrued as an attack on press freedom. That when he announces he is appointing a...

-The Hindu   When the Supreme Court has recognised the right to go on hunger strike, why is Irom Sharmila's protest against impunity of the armed forces a criminal act? Over the past 12 years, Irom Sharmila Chanu has carried on an inconceivable hunger strike, which has seen her body wither and her skin turn pale. During this period, she has emerged as the face of the civilian resistance to the immunity, and...

-The Times of India Nine Maoists, including rocket launcher Sadula Ramakrishna, who were granted the status of 'political prisoners' by a lower court in Kolkata, may soon be stripped of their privileges as the West Bengal government is set to challenge the order in the Supreme Court. Last week, the apex court stayed a Calcutta High Court order giving political prisoner status to Maoist leader Telugu Dipak, People's Committee against Police Atrocities...

-The Hindu The House must ensure that the new Bill to replace the Criminal Law Ordinance consciously upholds the provisions and spirit of the Verma Committee report A brave young woman died a brutal death in the heart of the nation’s capital. And Parliament must speak. Today. Tomorrow. Or, the day after. But speak it must. And in a unified voice of conviction and certitude, rising above the cacophony of political difference...