Strengthening the arms of the Right to Information Act in a manner that thwarts the government’s procedural antics to stall information regarding corruption and human rights violations by investigation agencies under the garb of confidentiality, the Supreme Court has ruled that a notification issued by a state for that purpose in mind can’t be made effective from retrospective date. In a significant judgment on Monday, the apex court held that the...

-The United Nations   corruption caused by weak governance is leading to unequal land distribution and poor resource management, according to a United Nations report released today, which argues that this lack of transparency is undermining social stability, investment and growth in developing countries. Weak land governance occurs as a result of low levels of transparency, accountability and the rule of law, the report says, which strains “the rules, processes and institutions that...

Two days after major opposition parties extended their support to the demand for a strong Lokpal (ombudsman) as proposed by the anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare during his one day fast at Jantar Mantar, Uttar Pradesh (UP) chief minister and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati also offered her conditional endorsement. Mayawati on Tuesday rejected the Parliamentary Standing committee's report on Lokpal bill. She described the Lokpal report drafted by the committee...

-CNN-IBN The Union Cabinet on Tuesday cleared three major anti-corruption bills – Citizen's Charter Bill, Judicial Accountability Bill and the Public Interest Disclosure and Protection to Persons Making the Disclosures Bill (Whistleblower's Bill) – in a crucial meeting. The Cabinet, however, met amid reports of clearing four crucial bills, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi's favourite, the National Food Security Bill. However, a decision on the Food Security Bill was deferred to next week...

-The Times of India   The government has endorsed a recommendation of Parliament's standing committee to restrain judges from making baseless comments against constitutional and statutory bodies and their functionaries even in cases which don't concern them directly. The decision forms part of the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill that is to be discussed by the Union Cabinet on Tuesday. The government has also expanded the standing committee's recommendation that close relatives of judges...