-The Hindu Access to justice’ is a basic tenet; if it is denied, consumers could haul up courts, says T.S. Thakur Assailing the government for ignoring the demands of consumer courts for better infrastructure and staff, a Supreme Court judge on Thursday said if the consumers were to claim a “deficiency in service” on the part of the courts, then the government will be in trouble. To redress complaints of “deficiency in...

-PTI MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has restrained the Maharashtra Government from allowing excavation of sand in drought-hit villages, saying it would cause shortage of potable water for people and animals. The Court was hearing a petition filed by Rajendra Eknath Dhande, who sought a direction to the authorities to disallow sand excavation in drought-hit Khatgaon village of Karmala taluka in Solapur district. Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Anoop Mohta were of...

-The Indian Express Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, J&K and Gujarat have been found to have done well in terms of the impact of in-service teacher training on the actual classroom practices and students’ learning and achievement. On the other hand, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Nagaland were found to be at the lower end in a study by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). The study is an assessment of...

-The Hindu Justice Prabha Sridevan’s judgment permitting the production and sale of a generic version of a cancer drug is a victory for patients. It posits the public interest, especially in matters of health care, right at the heart of intellectual property rights in India Monday was a remarkable day for cancer patients in India. To them, the country said — “we care.” I am talking about the astounding decision by Justice...

-The Hindu Dantewada (Chhattisgarh): Of the six tribal women of Shamsetti village in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh who in 2009 gave statements in court that they had been gang-raped by Salwa Judum functionaries, three have now withdrawn their charges. Three key witnesses — family members of the women — have also retracted their statements. Some lawyers in Dantewada familiar with the case say that the women are withdrawing due to “severe pressure”...