-The Hindu   I didn't mean to denigrate judiciary, says Jayarajan Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader M.V. Jayarajan, who was found guilty of criminal contempt by the Kerala High Court for criticising the judiciary and sentenced to six months' simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs.2,000, on Saturday challenged the November 8 judgment in the Supreme Court. In his appeal, filed by advocate P.V. Dinesh, Mr. Jayarajan maintained that he never meant to...

The Centre is preparing to introduce its own version of the Lokpal bill following its assessment that Team Anna’s Jan Lokpal bill does not enjoy as widespread a support among experts as assumed initially. A Parliament standing committee is looking into the bill now. Not all the panel’s recommendations may be accepted but the government has taken heart from the developments during the committee’s talks with various groups. “We have interacted with...

-PTI Making some headway towards resolution of the Kudankulam issue, anti-plant protesters on Tuesday decided to nominate two of their members in the expert committee to be set up by the Tamil Nadu government. The protesters, however, made it clear that they would not hold talks with the 15-member committee set up by the Centre till the work at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) was stopped. S.P. Udhayakumar, the movement’s leader, told...

It has to be but a means to development, not an end in itself Is India doing marvellously well, or is it failing terribly? Depending on whom you speak to, you could pick up either of those answers with some frequency. One story, very popular among a minority but a large enough group—of Indians who are doing very well (and among the media that cater largely to them)—runs something like...

After the National Information Commission (NIC) issued an order in the name of the Finance Ministry to give information requester Taranath Dahal, an RTI activist, a copy of the report of the committee formed by Inland Revenue Department (IRD) to investigate practice of tax avoidance through fake VAT bills, the ministry provided it to him. Though the ministry provided incomplete information to the requester, it is, however, a good beginning...