In the absence of a specific law defining the rights of patients, consumers in India face a host of problems when it comes to healthcare. They often do not get adequate information about their illness or the treatment. In fact, there is very little recognition of the patients’ right to information or choice and this can also be seen in the way consent forms are obtained from patients for medical...

-EPW   Will the blatant discrimination against Muslims in the administration of justice ever end? The word secular was inserted into the Preamble of the Indian Constitution by the 42nd amendment in 1976; later on, the Supreme Court, in S R Bommai vs Union of India, held (in 1994) that secularism was an integral part of the basic structure of the Constitution. And yet, it has been a long time coming – Indian...

The Gujarat High Court on Thursday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to take over the investigation into the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case. Stating that the Gujarat police could not be “relied upon” to conduct an impartial probe, the High Court asked the CBI to consider the case as an “exceptional one having national ramifications.” A Division Bench, comprising Justices Jayant Patel and Abhilasha Kumari, also directed chairman of the High...

Plutarch's Life of Dion contains an interesting anecdote of Dionysius, an avowed and established tyrant, killing his captain, Marsyas. Marsyas had dreamt of cutting Dionysius's throat, and Dionysius killed Marsyas on account of his dream. He based his decision on the assumption that Marsyas would not have dreamt of such a thing by night if he had not thought of it by day. In his seminal work The Spirit of Laws...

Irom Sharmila, 39 year old woman of Manipur has completing her 11th year of her hunger strike on 4th November 2011. She has been fasting to repeal the Armed Forces Special Power act 1958(AFSPA 1958). Against this act, 12 mother of Manipur had challenged the government of India by showing their body without any clothes in public on 15 July 2004. A student’sleader PabemChitaranjan self-emulated himself on the independence day...