-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In a bid to cleanse politics of criminal elements, the Election Commission has backed banning politicians from contesting polls if charges are framed in cases punishable by at least five years in jail with the caveat that cases should have been registered six months prior to elections. The EC has asked the Supreme Court to direct the Centre to amend the law and its affidavit states...

-The Times of India AGRA: The Uttar Pradesh government has sent out letters to the Muzaffarnagar DM and SSP asking for their views on the withdrawal of criminal cases against BJP leaders, some of them ministers now, allegedly involved in the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013 that rendered more than 50,000 homeless and left 63 dead. The letter, sent from the office of the special secretary, Raj Singh, in the department of justice,...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission has called the Uttar Pradesh police "an organised gang of criminals", quoting a half-century-old Allahabad High Court observation, while hearing charges of wrongful detention, sexual assault, false implication and cover-up against the cops. "There is not a single lawless group in the whole of the country whose record of crime comes anywhere near the record of that single organised unit which is known...

-Scroll.in It takes an average of eight years to investigate complaints of corruption against central government officials. When the Bharatiya Janata Party ascended to power at the Centre in 2014, it was helped enormously by a wave of anti-corruption sentiment that has swept India. In the run-up to the election, prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi promised to prosecute all corrupt officials and politicians – including those from his own party. During...

-The Hindu Low conviction rates and a lack of a lawful definition of crime mark criminal administration in India Police reform in India has been concerned with political interference ever since the landmark Supreme Court judgement, in 2006, on the subject. The focus should really be on reorganising criminal administration. The annual publication of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), “Crime in India 2016”, which was released recently, presents a dismal picture of...