-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has viewed seriously ineffective implementation of series of directions to curb custodial deaths and sought explanation from the Centre and states after being informed that nearly 12,000 persons died - either in jail or in police stations - in last five years. A bench of Justices S S Nijjar and F M I Kalifulla was pained when amicus curiae A M Singhvi moved...

-The Hindu Opinion polls should be regulated, not banned. Ideally, it should be self-regulation by pollsters and media organisations. The debate around the latest proposal to ban opinion polls is an opportunity in disguise. Beneath the familiar acrimony of partisan debates, a much-needed middle ground has emerged quietly. All we need is a group of stakeholders - pollsters, researchers, media heads and political leaders - to come together to turn this possibility...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: A high-level meeting on judicial reforms has been called by law minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday to deliberate on important issues, including the litigation policy and making audio-video recording of all court proceedings mandatory. The meeting of the advisory council of the National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms, headed by the law minister, will be attended by advisor to the prime minister Sam Pitroda,...

-The Hindu The Supreme Court's award of a record compensation of Rs.5.9 crore in a case of medical negligence is in continuation of its well-considered stance of balancing the rights of patients with the legitimate protection of doctors when they are on call. The significance of such an approach cannot be overstated in the specific context of India, where the health care system - in the public and the private...

-The Hindu     The practices concerned are most widespread in South Asia and in South Asian diasporas. The European Parliament's recent resolution circumvents India's contention that caste oppression does not constitute racial discrimination. On October 10, the 766 members of the European Parliament, who represent just over half-a-billion people in 28-member-states, passed a historic resolution recognising caste-based discrimination and discrimination based on work and descent as a violation of human rights and an...