-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The law to check Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace came into force this week, about eight months after it received the president's assent. Union minister for women and child development (WCD) Krishna Tirath told Parliament that the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, came into force from December 9. The ministry also informed the House that complaints of sexual...

-The United Nations The United Nations human rights chief today voiced her disappointment at the re-criminalization of consensual same-sex relationships in India, calling it "a significant step backwards" for the country. In a decision announced yesterday, the Supreme Court upheld a colonial-era law, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which provides for the punishment of those found guilty of "unnatural offences." "Criminalising private, consensual same-sex sexual conduct violates the rights to privacy...

-The Hindustan Times Coming down hard on the Uttar Pradesh government over reports that 40 children had died in its relief camps in riot-torn Muzaffarnagar, the Supreme Court on Thursday directed it to take immediate steps to ensure there were no such deaths in future, especially with winter setting in. Hindustan Times had recently, in a series of ground reports, written about sufferings and deaths in the relief camps, set up after...

-Live Mint The national food security law is in trouble from an unlikely source The outcome of the World Trade Organization (WTO) summit at Bali has been projected as a great victory for the Indian government by its spokespersons. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In exchange for a temporary reprieve on its food support programme, India has bartered away the bargaining chip of trade facilitation, which Western negotiators demanded. The...

-Outlook Today's Supreme Court judgment that reverses the Delhi High Court judgment of 2009 is both constitutionally preposterous and morally egregious "If there is one constitutional tenet that can be said to be underlying theme of the Indian Constitution, it is that of ‘inclusiveness'. This Court believes that Indian Constitution reflects this value deeply ingrained in Indian society, nurtured over several generations... Where society can display inclusiveness...