Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday said he was aware of the "nervousness in the corporate sector" over phone tapping and asked cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar to look into the matter and submit a report within a month. "I am aware of the nervousness in the corporate sector arising out of the powers conferred upon the government authorities to tap the phones for protecting national security and preventing tax evasion and money...

Outlook, Open oppose any restraint on publication of conversations ‘Tapes essential for meaningful debate by Indian citizen'‘Intercepted materials not likely to be secrets of the state”Even as the Supreme Court permitted the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), the Chennai Press Club and Jain Television to intervene in the petition filed by industrialist Ratan Tata, the Outlook and Open magazines — which published the conversations of corporate lobbyist Niira Radia —...

The Supreme Court on Monday asked Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvati to produce in a sealed cover a copy of the complaint received against corporate lobbyist Niira Radia, which formed the basis for the Income-Tax Department to tap her telephonic conversations.A Bench comprising Justices G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly said this to the A-G after perusing the Centre's counter-affidavit in the petition filed by industrialist Ratan Tata, alleging that the publication of...

Since the last few years, Prashan Bhushan, senior lawyer, has fired up the Indian political scene through his missionary legal practice.In the legal fraternity he is a loner because he is, always, on the wrong side of the power set up in New Delhi. In fact, when one meets the slow and soft-speaker, he hardly looks like a lawyer who is capable of shaking-up the government and its cronies.But, his...

Tata Group Chief Ratan Tata's plea seeking stopping of further publication of his taped conversations with Corporate lobbyist Niira Radia is likely to be opposed in the Supreme Court by an NGO which wants all the recorded conversations to be put in public domain. "We would make a plea in the apex court on Monday for bringing it to public domain all the tapped conversations between Radia and others," advocate Prashant...