-The Telegraph The Supreme Court today said it couldn’t be a coincidence that only politicians’ friends, relatives and associates were allotted coal blocks and asked the government to explain why it couldn’t implement a 2004 policy of bidding. “You (the Centre) may have a well-laid-out policy, but is it a coincidence that all the allottees are only politicians’ family, friends and associates?” a bench of Justices R.M. Lodha and Anil R. Dave...

-Live Mint The Sonia Gandhi -led National Advisory Council (NAC) may be moving closer to formulating a pre-legislative process that will involve a thorough, time-bound discussion of Bills before they become law. “The need for such a policy of consultation is necessary to evolve from a representative democracy to a participatory, deliberative democracy, particularly for accountability to the people in the formulation of law and policy,” said the draft recommendation of NAC’s working...

-The Times of India The inter-ministerial group (IMG) reviewing Coal Block Allocations that have been questioned by the federal auditor for being allotted arbitrarily could not complete its proceedings and is expected to meet again on Friday. The IMG meeting could not complete its case-by-case assessment of 29 blocks allotted to private firms with the response of the private players being considered against the terms they are alleged to have violated. Sources said...

-The Hindustan Times The coal ministry took away 40 blocks that had been allotted and "explored in detail" by Coal India Limited (CIL), a PSU, so they could be handed over to private parties, a CAG report has said. These 40 came from a chunk of 48 blocks de-reserved from CIL's kitty in May 2006. As of June 2011, of the 48 blocks , nine blocks remained unallocated, three were de-allocated after...

-The Business Standard SC's order on trial coverage is prone to misuse The Supreme Court has ruled that if publishing news concerning a trial creates “a real and substantial risk of prejudice to the proper administration of justice or to the fairness of trial”, the court could allow a postponement of its publication through an appropriate order. The order was passed on complaints that had alleged breach of confidentiality during the...