-The Hindu Any state intervention inspired by Islamophobic views will only help deepen majoritarianism The Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to undertake a survey of madrasas has raised serious concerns not just over the fate of these institutions but also on the future of Muslim identity. Other BJP-ruled States have also expressed concerns about madrasas. In May, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the word ‘madrasa’ should cease to exist. In September,...

-The Telegraph Under the section, a person posting offensive content on the Internet could be imprisoned for up to three years and also fined The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed that no citizen could be prosecuted under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which was scrapped in 2015, and struck down all pending cases under the section. “Those cases where the alleged violations have been projected and citizens were facing prosecution...

-The Telegraph Apex court asks Centre to place before it the communication issued to RBI on November 7, 2016, recommending policy The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre and the RBI to file comprehensive affidavits to justify the demonetisation decision of 2016, rejecting the government’s contention that the issue was now merely “academic” and any hearing would be a “waste of the court’s time”. The apex court asked the Centre to place...

-The Hindu Vacant posts, inadequate members take a toll on the transparency regime A good 17 years after India got the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the transparency regime in the country remains a mirage with nearly 3.15 lakh complaints or appeals pending with 26 information commissions across India. According to a report by the Satark Nagrik Sangathan, the backlog of appeals or complaints is steadily increasing in commissions every year. The number of...

-Press release by Satark Nagrik Sangathan dated October 11, 2022 Tomorrow (October 12, 2022) marks 17 years of implementation of the RTI Act in India. The law has empowered millions of people to seek information and hold the government accountable. Under the RTI law, information commissions are the final appellate authority and are mandated to safeguard and facilitate people’s fundamental right to information. Information commissions (ICs) have been set up at...