-The Hindu The Constitution of India operates in happy harmony with the instrumentalities of the executive and the legislature. But to be truly great, the judiciary exercising democratic power must enjoy independence of a high order. But independence could become dangerous and undemocratic unless there is a constitutional discipline with rules of good conduct and accountability: without these, the robes may prove arrogant. It is in this context that Chief Justice S.H....

-The Hindu ‘Bill does not in any way infringe independence of judiciary’ Allaying the apprehensions expressed by Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia, the Centre on Friday made it clear that the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill would not in any way infringe the independence of the judiciary. The attempt to link the Bill with the independence of the judiciary was not based on facts, the Law and Justice Ministry said, in response...

-The Indian Express When the Delhi Development Authority had the sole right to build houses in the capital, it was unable to meet the demand from an expanding population. If private builders stepped in to build where the DDA was not doing so, is it a fair calculation to say that the profit they could make was a loss to the government exchequer? The CAG’s estimate of loss to the government...

-The Hindu Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal has rejected the Comptroller and Auditor-General’s conclusion that coal blocks allocation helped private companies gain Rs. 1.86 lakh crore. Talking to journalists after the report was tabled in Parliament on Friday, he said: “The policy adopted to allocate coal blocks was not faulty. There could not be a more transparent policy for allocation of coal blocks [since 2004 when there was no competitive bidding].” The CAG...

-The Indian Express Three new reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India increased the heat on the embattled government on Friday. The statutory auditor’s report on coal block allocations, implementation of public-private partnership at the Delhi International Airport and the award of ultra mega power projects (UMPP), tabled in Parliament, accused the government of indulging in favouritism, irregularities in bidding processes, and causing massive losses to the exchequer. The...