-The Hindu When a death sentence is given to satisfy the "collective conscience of the community," it raises troubling questions about the fairness of the trial The verdict of death for the bestial gang rape in Delhi last December is based on Supreme Court judgments, which stipulate that capital punishment will be imposed in "the rarest of rare" cases, where the community's "collective conscience is so shocked that it will expect the...
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UN Special Rapporteur visits Manipur, weeps-Iboyaima Laithangbam
-The Hindu Imphal: Rashida Manjoo, U.N. Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, broke down and wept for a few minutes uncontrollably on Sunday during a consultative meeting here. It was attended by about 200 human rights defenders, families of victims and civil society organisations. The frail mother of Manorama Thangjam, who was arrested, raped and shot dead allegedly by some personnel of 17 Assam Rifles on July...
More »Starving to live, not die-Goutham Shivshankar and Suhrith Parthasarathy
-The Hindu When the Supreme Court has recognised the right to go on hunger strike, why is Irom Sharmila's protest against impunity of the armed forces a criminal act? Over the past 12 years, Irom Sharmila Chanu has carried on an inconceivable hunger strike, which has seen her body wither and her skin turn pale. During this period, she has emerged as the face of the civilian resistance to the immunity, and...
More »The gender question-P Jacob
-The Hindu The Sunday Story 13 States and Union Territories have no all-woman police stations The induction of more women in the police force has been acknowledged as an essential component of the ongoing police reform efforts in India. Beyond making their presence felt in the force, thus encouraging more women to access its services without inhibition, it should serve as a precursor to many other positive outcomes in the policing process. However,...
More »Sharmila Charged With Attempting Suicide in 2006 Fast
-Outlook A Delhi court today framed charges against Irom Sharmila Chanu, who has been on fast for about 12 years demanding repeal of controversial AFSPA, for allegedly attempting to commit suicide during her 'fast until death' here in 2006. Metropolitan Magistrate (MM) Akash Jain framed charges against 40-year-old Chanu under section 309 (attempting to commit suicide) of the IPC after she refused to plead guilty, saying that her's was a non-violent protest. Putting...
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