-The Hindustan Times Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai’s comments on Thursday at the Harvard Kennedy School (US)— saying his office was advised by the ‘highest in the land’ not to ‘exceed our mandate’ and get into auditing policy formulation — sparked off a war of words between the government and the opposition. Pointing out that constitutional authorities should circumscribe by “Lakshman Rekha propriety”, I&B minister Manish Tewari on Friday said...

-The Hindustan Times It is a small step that can add up to a big change. A government department has started putting online important policy files relating to the right to information law, beginning with documents that provide an insight into selection of central information commissioners. “We have received approval to upload all important files on the site — persmin.nic.in — once the final decision has been taken and the matter is...

-The Hindustan Times As Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) extended the red carpet to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, the Left faction of Delhi University (DU) rose in protest. SRCC had invited Modi to deliver the keynote speech at their undergraduate management festival. The invitation sparked an outrage with hundreds of students and teachers gathering to protest his visit near the SRCC College gates with party flags and...

-The Hindustan Times Stalking — physical or electronic via phone calls, text messages or emails — is now a criminal offence, punishable with one to three years in jail. The provision is part of the law that came into force after President Pranab Mukherjee on February 3 signed an ordinance, which widened the scope and ambit of the laws dealing with sexual violence against women. The ordinance included a number of recommendations...

-The Hindustan Times In a recent order, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by the Karnataka information commissioner as “frivolous”. It also went on to impose costs of  Rs. 1 lakh.  A closer analysis proves that this case has far reaching implications for the fundamental rights of a citizen, rights that have been codified in the Right to Information Act. The particulars are as follows. A Right to Information (RTI) applicant...