-Economic and Political Weekly The government’s response to the protests led by the youth against the gang rape incident in New Delhi, in the form of an ordinance has not met the aspirations of the many protestors and the woman rights’ organisations. It can in fact be accused of being vindictive, having ignored the thoroughgoing recommendations of the government appointed justice Verma committee's report. Albeena Shakil (albeenashakil@gmail.com) is a women rights’ activist...

-Live Mint Ministry wants UIDAI to be held liable for fake transactions, but the latter says that’s outside its mandate The transformation of India’s subsidy system to one in which cash is paid directly to the intended beneficiary is faced with a situation in which none of the various Government Agencies involved is willing to assume responsibility in cases of fraud, according to two people familiar with the development. The programme, the pilot...

-The Telegraph Law minister Ashwani Kumar today said the government had an “open” mind on changes in the juvenile justice act and the recently introduced Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance to ensure a credible deterrent that wouldn’t lend itself to abuse. He said the “final shape” to the new criminal law would emerge after a “comprehensive debate” in Parliament but didn’t set a time frame for changes in the JJ Act, 2000. The minister’s...

-The Times of India Justice J S Verma Committee did not intend to include sex workers who are in the profession out of their own free will. Sex workers have been protesting against the committee's recommendations, accepted by the government in the proposed Section 370 in the ordinance on the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2012, which defined prostitution as exploitation. The National Network of Sex Workers had sought a clarification from the...

-The Hindu Withdraw cases against villagers, Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti: Civil society groups Several civil society groups have alleged abuse of human rights and registration of false cases by State Government Agencies in order to curb resistance against the land acquisition for the proposed Posco steel plant in Odisha. Highlighting instances of “biased and arbitrary” police action in the eight villages of Jagatsinghpur district affected by the plant, illustrated in the recently-released fact...