-The Hindu Low conviction rates and a lack of a lawful definition of crime mark criminal administration in India Police reform in India has been concerned with political interference ever since the landmark Supreme Court judgement, in 2006, on the subject. The focus should really be on reorganising criminal administration. The annual publication of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), “Crime in India 2016”, which was released recently, presents a dismal picture of...

-The Indian Express Move to criminalise cyber speech will add impunity to power How to police a cyber space that has acquired the instincts of Frankenstein’s monster? In pursuit of answers, an expert committee submitted an interim report to the Union Home Ministry a couple of weeks ago. The recommended amendments to the Indian Penal Code (IPC) are noteworthy for two reasons. One, they bring within the ambit of IPC (through amendments...

-Scroll.in The manner in which the transfer was effected has raised questions about transparency in judicial appointments. Justice Jayant Patel of the Karnataka High Court resigned on September 25, after he was transferred to the Allahabad High Court. The transfer meant Patel lost the opportunity to become chief justice of the Karnataka High Court, where he was the second-most senior judge. In the Allahabad High Court, he would have been relegated to the...

-The Times of India VARANASI: A high-level official report on the recent violence and arson in Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has reportedly noted that proper and timely communication with protesting girl students by the varsity administration could have nipped the problem in the bud and prevented it from escalating. On Tuesday, the BHU vice-chancellor, too, ordered a probe into the incidents headed by a retired HC judge. UP chief secretary Rajiv Kumar had...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: An NGO has described an alleged fake encounter and accused Haryana police of a spurt in extra-judicial killings of Muslim youths in the Nuh and Faridabad districts. Citizens Against Hate has made the allegation in a recently published fact-finding report titled "Lynching Without End", which mainly looks at vigilante violence against minorities. The report cites 11 alleged fake encounters, involving 15 deaths, in Nuh alone, according to a statement...