Was palmolein case file given to selection committee, asks court The Department of Personnel did not place full facts about P.J. Thomas before the high-power committee that finalised his appointment as Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), Attorney-General (AG) G.E. Vahanvati told the Supreme Court on Thursday. The department did not mention about a charge sheet that was pending against him in a palmolein import case and that the Kerala government had granted...

Besieged as it is by a spate of scams, the Centre has revived the 40-year-old proposal of setting up a national ombudsman called the Lokpal to probe political corruption. But, far from overcoming the existing deficiencies, the latest draft Bill – which could be promulgated any time soon as an ordinance - provides a legal veneer to them so that crooked politicians will continue to enjoy almost as much impunity...

Twelve districts that face no apparent Maoist threat have recently been added to the list of those worst affected by the rebels, officials said. They hinted that powerful politicians with influence in these 12 districts were eyeing a share of the development funds earmarked for the Red zones. Of the 12 districts, at least eight fall within the Lok Sabha constituencies of Congress MPs. Seven of the districts are in Madhya Pradesh...

The Public Accounts Committee, chaired by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi, on Wednesday described Union Communications Minister Kapil Sibal's recent comments on the CAG report on 2G spectrum allocation as “improper” and “inappropriate.” The committee's comments came after BJP leader Arun Jaitley rubbished Mr. Sibal's remarks within a few hours of his press conference here. Privately, BJP leaders were talking about “breach of privilege,” though it was not...

The CPM is planning to field a large number of women candidates in the forthcoming Assembly polls in Bengal in an attempt to fight anti-incumbency and stem the steady slide over the past few years. “We have asked all the Left Front constituents to ensure nomination of women candidates in a large number,’’ CPM Bengal secretary and Left Front chairman Biman Bose said after a coalition meeting this morning. Indicating that the...