Anna Hazare’s fast puts into focus the government’s attempts to protect politicians India Against Corruption, a group formed by Anna Hazare and other social activists and former judges, has given 17 reasons why the Jan Lokpal Bill drafted by former Supreme Court judge Santosh Hegde, now the Karnataka Lokayukta, is far better than the Bill prepared by the union government. The Jan Lokpal Bill, hailed as a civil society initiative, provides for...
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Probe sought against Balakrishnan by J Venkatesan
The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Judicial Reforms (CJAR) has requested President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to seek a Supreme Court reference for an inquiry into alleged misbehaviour by Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, and former Chief Justice of India, under Section 5(1) of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. In identical letters written to them, the CJAR referred to alleged benami properties in...
More »Agnivesh fallout: Dantewada DM shunted by Supriya Sharma
Six months ago, when dictrict collector R Prasanna was transferred from Maoist-affected Bijapur to neighbouring Dantewada, local residents held rallies urging him not to leave. Now, as he readies to launch a development plan for Dantewada on April 1, Prasanna finds himself transferred. The collector's transfer comes after days of intense drama during which the district police stood accused of torching nearly 300 homes in three villages and obstructing both...
More »Judicial Standards & Accountability Bill by Ajit Prakash Shah
In a system where half the litigants must necessarily lose their cases and where most complaints against judges are frivolous, the Bill, if implemented, would mark the beginning of the end of the judiciary. The last two decades have marked the extraordinary rise of India. This has however been tinged with cynicism about our major democratic institutions and a pessimism about their future. The judiciary, which till now has been looked...
More »UNHCR demands inquiry into Niyamat Ansari death
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has taken cognizance of the killing of MGNREGA activist Niyamat Ansari in Latehar district and requested authorities in India to probe his death as also the death threats issued to rights activist Bhukhan Singh. The UNHCR urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union home minister P Chidambaram, Chief Justice S H Kapadia and chairman of the special investigation team, Supreme Court of India, R...
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