-The Hindu In formulating the most effective and inclusive procedures for pre-legislative consultation, the Central government should study and draw inspiration from Kerala's example We should all celebrate the recent decision taken by a Cabinet Secretary-led committee which seeks to institutionalise public participation in the law-making process. The decision requires every Central government department to publicise the details of a proposed legislation on the Internet and other media before being introduced in...

-The Indian Express Pre-Legislative Scrutiny is a first step towards greater transparency in law-making. The committee of secretaries chaired by the cabinet secretary has decided that all bills proposed by the government should go through a process of pre-Legislative Scrutiny. This follows the recommendation of the National Advisory Council, which had suggested that all bills be taken through this process in order to garner public feedback at an early stage. Let us quickly...

-The Hindu The disability sector is torn between rejecting the Bill outright and assembling a few non-negotiables to have the Bill passed by the Lok Sabha After inter-governmental consultation and scrutiny by the Ministry of Law, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2013 stands approved by the Union Cabinet. What has the Cabinet approved? Is it the same legislation formulated by a joint committee of civil society, States and Union Ministries...

-The Hindu There has been no public debate on the level of watch citizens can be put through, and on what the red lines should be while using intrusive mechanisms The tussle between government agencies' need for a better, faster and real-time interception, surveillance and monitoring mechanism through the Central Monitoring System (CMS), on the one hand, and demands by privacy, civil rights and free speech activists, for ensuring higher privacy for...

-The Indian Express Institutionalising a mandatory process of consultation and dialogue would democratise not just law-making, but the state itself The formal institutions of India's parliamentary democracy have provided little space for citizens' participation in the making of laws. This has not, however, prevented citizens and citizens' groups from making significant attempts to watch, critique and contribute to the process. In fact, in recent years, it is clear that the lack of...