The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which went through 2,097 cases of killing of youth and mass cremation of their bodies by the Punjab police during the peak of militancy in the State, has ordered a relief of Rs.27.94 crore to the families of 1,513 victims of such extra-judicial killings. The remaining bodies were not identified. When the terrorism was at its peak during 1984-1996 in the State, police personnel, whether...

-The Hindu “Why apply brakes on rickshaws, not on killer cars?” The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a Delhi High Court order holding that municipal authorities could not cap the number of licences for cycle rickshaws as putting any such restriction or fixing a ceiling would amount to denial of the people's basic right to earn a livelihood. A Bench of Justice G. S. Singhvi and Justice S. J. Mukhopadhyaya, dismissing an appeal...

-PTI A person applying for a passport is bound to disclose the names of his/her biological parents and not those of the adoptive ones if the adoption has not been legally mandated, Delhi High Court has ruled. In a ruling, Justice Vipin Sanghi said: “A passport is not only a travel document, but is also an identity document. The identity of a person is determined, inter alia, by his parentage. Therefore, unless...

-The Hindu ‘In a democracy, such bias towards select papers is shocking' In a strongly-worded letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Congress on Sunday demanded the immediate withdrawal of the circular restricting the purchase of newspapers by State libraries and those it aids and sponsors to ones specified by it. “Undemocratic” Protesting the move, which he described as “most partial and undemocratic,” West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee president Pradip Bhattacharya said...

-The Deccan Herald   They demand that monthly SC/ST meet be held at commissionerate and not at Dalit colonies The members of Dalit community came down heavily against the city police commissionerate for cancelling the monthly Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe grievance meet which was scheduled to be held on Sunday, without giving prior intimation. A verbal tiff took place between the Dalits who had assembled at Commissionerate premises and the police officers...