-The Indian Express The Centre on Monday admitted for the first time that hydropower projects had "direct and indirect impact in the aggravation of floods" that hit Uttarakhand in 2013, killing hundreds and leaving thousands homeless. It also said that the projects caused "irreversible damage" to the environment and enhanced landslides and other disasters. Filing its Affidavit in the Supreme Court on Monday, the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) conceded that "the...

-The Indian Express Proposing a complete overhaul of the existing environmental governance framework, a government-appointed expert committee has recommended measures that would make it easier to set up industrial or infrastructure projects, but would also ensure that those who flout pollution norms or violate green laws are penalised heavily. Among the measures suggested by the four-member committee headed by former Cabinet Secretary T S R Subramanian are: creation of new institutions...

-The Hindu High Court had asked the police to provide details of sexual offence cases In majority of rape cases reported in Delhi this year, the accused were known to the victims or their friends, followed by neighbours and relatives such as brother-in-law, uncle, husband or ex-husband and even father. Only 4.23 per cent of the alleged rapists were strangers. In an Affidavit filed in the Delhi High Court on Tuesday in compliance...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh have joined 18 other states to empower the Centre to bring a legislation against honour killings, in what could be a turnaround moment for the effort to curb the powers of caste and community bodies which seek to be the final arbiter of social mores and arrogate unto themselves the power of judiciary. In its Affidavit to the Supreme Court the Union...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Supreme Court today castigated the governments of Chhattisgarh and Bihar for providing inadequate and inaccurate data on missing children and for not adhering to its order on mandatory FIRs. A three-judge bench of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu, Justices A.K. Sikri and Arun Misra, which heard representatives of both states, asked them to file fresh Affidavits detailing the number of children rescued and the number of FIRs filed while...