“How is government aggrieved if illegal commission has been closed?” The Supreme Court has declined to interfere with the Rajasthan High Court judgment transferring cases of alleged corruption during the Vasundhara Raje government, being probed by a State government-appointed Commission, to the Lokayukta. A Bench of Justices D.K. Jain and H.L. Dattu dismissed a special leave petition filed by the State government challenging the High Court's order, which set aside the constitution...

The Jan Lokpal Bill should be modelled on the lines of the Karnataka Lokayukta Act. That's the firm belief of Lokayukta Justice Santosh N Hegde whose inclusion in the 10-member committee to draft the bill was suggested by Anna Hazare, the Gandhian who recently led the popular movement to include civil society in the process. Justice Hegde said the state Act has all the necessary elements to ensure success in the...

A court on Wednesday put on trial the first set of officials and businessmen indicted in the country's biggest corruption case, a multi-billion dollar telecoms scandal that has weakened the government and put off some foreign investors. The graft scandal is one of several to have emerged in the past few months, tarnishing the reputation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whose government has gone on the defensive against an emboldened opposition. While...

Gandhian Anna Hazare on Wednesday cautioned the people against powers working to divide the anti-graft movement and appealed for unity in the fight against corruption. In a letter to the countrymen, the 73-year-old activist said the people need to understand their strategy and further strengthen our fight against corruption. "I thank you all for your support, but would like to warn you against the powers working to divide us especially after the...

Alleging that Uttar Pradesh is the most corrupt of all states, the Congress today asked social activist Anna Hazare to start a movement from the state if he wanted to start a state-based campaign. "UP is having the most corrupt system with maximum cases of human rights violation, if Hazare wants to start any such movement he should start it from here," UPPCC president Rita Bahuguna Joshi said in a reply...