-TheWire.in There is little doubt that the practice of handing out freebies undermines both democracy and development. But the problem doesn't lie just with the opposition. Constitutional authorities in India have recently spoken about key challenges the country is facing. The Chief Justice of India (CJI) has said that there is “diminishing” space for the opposition, that there was no longer any mutual respect between the Union government and the opposition, and that...

-Article-14.com Police of two states & four magistrates violated a series of guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court, when Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair was called for questioning in a case in which he was protected from arrest, then held in another case, then two more. Judicial and police officers are liable for punishment if they infringe these orders, called the Arnesh Kumar guidelines. Yet, they have been freely violated...

-IndiaToday.in K K Venugopal on Friday urged the Chief Justices of various high courts to discuss possible ways to cut down on the pendency, stating that there are currently 42 lakh cases pending. India’s top law officer K K Venugopal on Friday urged the Chief Justices of various high courts to deliberate on the possible ways to cut down on the pendency of cases and find an effective cure to the menace. The...

-TheWire.in The queries pertain to the safeguards in place to check state surveillance, the extent to which state surveillance is justified and seek suggestions on how to strengthen cyber security and balance individual rights with national security interests. New Delhi: The expert committee appointed by the Supreme Court to probe the alleged use of Pegasus spyware against journalists, opposition politicians, Judges and others, has sought comments from the public on 11 queries...

-TheWire.in One of the oddities of the ongoing hijab ban case, is how a secular court has to decide whether wearing a hijab is mandated by Islam. One cannot fault the Karnataka high court beyond a point, as it is merely following ‘Essential Religious Practices Test’ laid down by the Supreme Court of India. Courts use this test to determine whether a practice is essential to the religion, in order to decide...