-Outlook Rape trials must end within two months as stipulated under law, the Supreme Court has said directing trial courts to "strictly adhere" to existing norms while asking them to rule out the possibility of "manoeuvring" through undue long adjournments. A bench of justices Swatanter Kumar and Fakkir Mohammed Ibrahim Kalifulla gave their judgement on December 6, 10 days before the Delhi gangrape which triggered nation-wide outrage with strong demands for fast-tracking...

-Frontline THE newly christened Right to Fair Compensation in Land Acquisition, Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bill, 2012, which was due to be passed in the Lok Sabha with amendments, has been deferred to the Budget session. Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh spoke to Frontline on the present status of the Bill and the debate on it within Parliament and outside. Excerpts from the interview: * What were the reasons for the...

-The Indian Express The protests in Delhi are generating two sorts of anxiety. The spectacle of a spontaneous, unstructured, unavoidably vague movement borne out of genuine rage has unsettled the establishment. And it will respond the way it does: by recourse to the language of order. The second is a critique that the movement is misdirected: it is blaming government for what is, in fact, a deep social problem. It is...

-PTI Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Friday termed the "horrific assault" on the 23-year-old girl as "most painful" incident for her since she assumed the top post in the capital and said she personally favoured death penalty for rapists. She said she hated Delhi being called "rape capital" of India and stressed that "something concrete" must be done to instill confidence among women in the city against the growing fear of...

-Outlook Gutka lobby protests stick’s escape Law On Their Side The tobacco industry has enough clout and money to secure the support of top politicians-cum-lawyers in courts:     Arun Jaitley: ITC, market leader in cigarettes     Ram Jethmalani and Abhishek Manu Singhvi: Dharampal Satyapal Ltd     Kapil Sibal: Dhariwal industries *** Just about two months back, newspaper readers were taken aback by a series of front-page ads, one of which stated how 14 states had had banned...