The Law Commission recommends making Section 498A, IPC, compoundable, and women's groups say that would affect women's interests. A REPORT of the Law Commission of India on “Compounding of (IPC) Offences” suggesting that Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, which prescribes punishment for a husband or his relatives for subjecting a woman to cruelty, be made compoundable with the permission of the court, is fraught with several implications. The report...

In the expansive corridors of the ministry of external affairs, there's an interesting 'section' that few citizens are aware of. It's the gift chest of the Indian government or the 'toshakhana', where ministers, bureaucrats and dignitaries are supposed to deposit all the gifts they receive on their trips abroad.  The toshakhana stores some amazing presents, from jewellery, silverware and paintings to wine and even couture (Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was, strangely...

The Nandan Nilekani-headed Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is set to replicate, at the national level, Jharkhand's success in disbursing money to people at their doorsteps. On Tuesday, the UIDAI launched its unique identification or Aadhaar-based platform to link public entitlements to Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. It would mean that governments would be able to directly deposit subsidies into the bank accounts of beneficiaries of schemes such as the Public Distribution System, old-age...

-The Business Standard   Its guarantee of non-duplication can have far-reaching cost benefits but it has deep design flaws that can be compromised. PRAVEEN CHAKRAVARTY Former Volunteer, Financial Inclusion, UIDAI* “Aadhaar is an unadulterated identity programme that answers the question: Is the individual who he or she claims to be?”   The word “unique”, and not “identity”, is central to the unique identity programme or Aadhaar. It may be true that the vast majority of people possess some...

The office of the assistant stamp commissioner here today found Team Anna member Shanti Bhushan guilty of evading stamp duty in purchase of a bungalow in Allahabad’s posh Civil Lines, slapping him with a Rs 27 lakh fine and asking him to deposit Rs 1.32 crore in duty along with interest. Bhushan has been asked to pay the entire amount within a month. Bhushan said the order was “illegal”, and the stamp...