-The Hindu Differing with his brother judges, Justice M.B. Shah had actually voted to acquit Bhullar His plea for mercy on the grounds of delay may have been rejected by the Supreme Court last week but there is one more argument his lawyers can make in their final push to save Devender Pal Singh Bhullar from the gallows: the two judges who confirmed the death sentence in a 2:1 split verdict...

-The Indian Express Chandigarh: Call it fear of social ostracism, or lack of belief in law and order machinery, more and more reports of sexual assault victims trying to kill self are coming to light in Haryana. In the last four months, at least six such cases have been reported where the victims of sexual harassment, including molestation, stalking and rape, have attempted suicide. In the most recent incident, a Karnal based woman...

-The Times of India Jitendra Choudhury will probably never forget March 2, 2013, the day he was hung from a tree for beating his wife. A kangaroo court in Bokaro held at the behest of JMM legislator Jagannath Mahto reportedly meted out this medieval-style justice after his wife complained that he often got drunk and misbehaved with her. Primitive, powerful and potent, large swathes of India are still governed by kangaroo courts...

-The Hindu Rajouri /Janjgir Champa: Exactly a year ago last February, 78 migrants working in bonded debt in brick kilns in Jammu and Kashmir made a desperate bid to start a new life. Sahodara Bai, who had worked at the kiln with her husband and eight children for 25 years, returned from a rare visit to her village in the plains in Chhattisgarh with a pamphlet. “The parchaa (pamphlet) had the name...

-The Telegraph The world lauds us as the largest democracy. Yet, how much of a democracy are we and where must we improve? Elections and their consequences: We have regular elections. They are supervised with increasing effectiveness as far as booth capturing, bogus voters and violence are concerned. The influence of money has not waned; if anything, it has increased. It is not as it used to be, for paying voters only....