-The Hindu Parliament inserted Section 61 A in the Act concerned to legitimise the use of EVMs Kochi (Kerala): The Electronic voting machines (EVMs), now ubiquitous, had a troubled beginning when the gadgets were first introduced in the country, in some of the polling booths of the Paravur Assembly constituency in Ernakulam district in the 1982 Assembly poll. Locked in the battle then were the late Congress leader A.C. Jose and CPI leader...

-The Hindu The manner in which crucial laws are being amended will end up eroding rights that have deep consequences on the lives of our children and us as citizens of a thriving democracy. All because the state hasn’t been able to deliver what it was mandated to do. The last few months have seen an alarming trend of crucial laws being amended, or sought to be amended, in a manner that...

-The Hindu Dalits in U.P. can now sell their land to non-Dalits Dalits in Uttar Pradesh would soon be able to sell their land to non-Dalits without the approval of the administration. This comes into being after Governor Ram Naik on Tuesday gave his consent to the Revenue Code (Amendment) Ordinance proposed by the Samajwadi government. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s Cabinet had passed the ordinance last month but the Governor had withheld approval. The...

-The Hindu Bench offers limited and unidimensional explanations to petitioners’ queries The Supreme Court judgment upholding the new Haryana panchayat law, which limits the voter’s freedom to choose his own candidate in a participatory democracy, offers limited and unidimensional explanations to questions and issues raised by parties in court. The judgment by a Bench led by Justice J. Chelameswar does not explain why it considers the reasons for disqualification in Section 175 of...

-The Indian Express It doesn’t have sufficient power and independence, and seems unworkable. The absence of an adequately independent and empowered body to investigate and prosecute allegations of corruption, especially relating to the rich and the powerful, has been a longstanding concern in India. The Central Vigilance Commission’s (CVC) relative independence has proved ineffective as it has few resources at its disposal while the CBI, which is relatively empowered, lacks independence —...