-The Telegraph   Private hospitals in Delhi that received land at a concession from the government must honour their undertaking to treat poor patients free of charge, the Supreme Court today said in a verdict that can have an impact in other states too. The court allowed the hospitals to recoup the cost from private donors and sponsors or “by any other means”, which should include cross-subsidisation by raising rates for other patients. The...

Acute dissatisfaction verging on disgust with the behaviour and performance of some Members of Parliament and members of Legislative Assemblies has generated a debate about enacting a legislation for recall of elected members. Under the present law, an MP or an MLA has a fixed term of office for five years. Articles 102 and 191 of the Constitution specify the contingencies in which a person shall be disqualified for being...

-The Times of India   It is known to most media watchers that Kasturi & Sons Ltd, the company that publishes The Hindu, is caught in a bitter family feud. N Murali, who recently retired as managing director of the company, wrote a farewell letter to the employees of the company, lamenting that the Hindu's rich tradition of credibility, objectivity, balance and editorial primacy had of late been compromised. Later, in an...

-The Deccan Herald   Applicants can seek info on more subjects In a landmark decision that would enthuse RTI applicants and activists across the country, the Central Information Commission has said it is not necessary for information seekers to limit RTI applications ''to only one subject matter''. Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi, in a sharp departure from the Commission’s earlier decisions, observed: “There is no legal requirement on an applicant’s part to restrict the scope...

Over the last few days, as a desperate government tried to tide over the Lokpal Bill crisis, it received over half-a-dozen variants of the draft legislation. On Saturday, both Houses of Parliament took up the subject and though the debate was mostly confined to the Jan Lokpal Bill, it made the political point that while an effective law should be devised to tackle corruption, Parliament’s supremacy must be maintained. The...