-The Indian Express The juvenile justice system should aim to reform, rather than punish, offenders The anguish and anger evoked by the sheer brutality of the gangrape in Delhi has led to the demand that the accused be subject to the most severe punishment. Voices have been raised seeking the death penalty and chemical or physical castration. As one of the accused is below 18 years of age and cannot be “punished”...

-Forbes India A look at the crucial issues involved Over the past three years, India has vigorously debated the merits of having a Unique Identity (UID) number for each citizen and, allied with it, the move towards direct cash transfers (DCT) of subsidies (like food, fuel and fertilizer) and social security endowments, like pensions and scholarships. On January 1, India took its first steps towards UID-enabled direct cash transfers. But the move has...

-Live Mint Court says legal, ethical issues involved; directs govt to monitor and regulate clinical trials of all experimental drugs  The Supreme Court directed the health ministry to monitor and regulate all clinical trials of experimental drugs in the country until further notice and observed that unregulated trials have caused “havoc”. The apex court order on Thursday revoked the power of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization under the Drugs Controller General of...

-The Hindustan Times Rapes by juveniles have increased fivefold in a decade since 2000, when its definition was modified to include children of 16 to 18 years under the category. The year 2011 recorded 1,149 rapes by juveniles — most of them between 16-18 years. In 2000, the number was just 198. As per the modified Juvenile Justice Act, the maximum punishment for a crime committed by a juvenile is three years — as...

-The Hindu The 117th Constitution Amendment Bill has failed to define low representation of SCs/STs which is necessary to make reservation in promotions possible There is certainly a strong argument to be made in favour of reservation for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in promotions but the 117th Constitution Amendment Bill that was passed in the Rajya Sabha is a poor attempt at achieving that goal. Article 16(4A) of the Constitution...