A proposed government move to regulate content on blogs has ignited a firestorm of protest from the blogging community which is accusing the government of restricting free speech and acting like the guardians of a police state. At the heart of the issue is the Indian IT Act which was amended in 2008 to incorporate the much-needed changes to clarify the legal position of intermediaries or those who provide web-hosting...

People's Union for Civil Liberties leader and paediatrician Binayak Sen on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking bail in a Maoist-linked sedition case, in which he has been sentenced to Life imprisonment. Sen's petition challenges a February 10 decision of the Chhattisgarh High Court refusing bail during the pendency of his appeal against conviction and sentence. A Raipur additional district and sessions court had on December 24 convicted Sen and Kolkata businessman...

The Union law department has launched an exercise to tone down the law on matrimonial cruelty, including cases of dowry harassment. Effectively, dowry harassment may soon become a bailable offence. To protect social fibre of family life and check alleged misuse of the law, the department is contemplating changes in Section 498-A of the IPC that defines the offense of matrimonial cruelty. Section 498-A was inserted into the IPC by an amendment...

Justice Samudrala Govinda Rajulu of AP high court on Monday refused to quash the case of sedition registered against a Koya tribal fighting against the construction of Polavaram irrigation project. Polavaram Police of West Godavari district registered a crime case against Savalam Benerji, a Koya tribal and others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for their alleged activity in trying to stall the Polavaram project. The tribals of...

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre and the States to prepare schemes for rehabilitation of physically and sexually abused women all over the country. A Bench of Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra, in its order, said: “We are of the view that prostitutes also have a right to live with dignity under Article 21 [right to life] of the Constitution since they are also human beings and...