-The Times of India President Pranab Mukherjee, having rejected the mercy petitions of seven death row convicts in less than seven months of assuming office, may appear to have a hard line on capital Punishment but experts say he does not have much discretion in the matter. While the statute grants clemency powers to the President through Article 72, constitutional experts say the power to grant pardon is not personal but...

-The Telegraph The world lauds us as the largest democracy. Yet, how much of a democracy are we and where must we improve? Elections and their consequences: We have regular elections. They are supervised with increasing effectiveness as far as booth capturing, bogus voters and violence are concerned. The influence of money has not waned; if anything, it has increased. It is not as it used to be, for paying voters only....

-Outlook Brussels: The European Union has expressed regret over the hanging of the Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and asked India to put a moratorium on executions. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said it was with "regret" that she learned of the execution of Afzal Guru last Saturday. While recognising that "terrible murders" were committed in the attack and aware of the sufferings of the victims and their families, the EU "reiterates...

-The Telegraph Law minister Ashwani Kumar today said the government had an “open” mind on changes in the juvenile justice act and the recently introduced Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance to ensure a credible deterrent that wouldn’t lend itself to abuse. He said the “final shape” to the new criminal law would emerge after a “comprehensive debate” in Parliament but didn’t set a time frame for changes in the JJ Act, 2000. The minister’s...

-The Hindu Bangalore: Taking suo motu cognisance of the adverse effect on patients at government hospitals in the State owing to doctors’ strike, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday directed the State government to prima facie treat doctors’ conduct as criminal offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and initiate legal action against them. A Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice K. Sreedhar Rao and Justice S. Abdul Nazeer passed the order...