The Lokpal legislation, in whatever form, will not be the only law we have on corruption. Apart from statutes on prohibition of benami transactions and prevention of money laundering, there is the IPC (Indian Penal Code). Under Sections 169 and 409 of IPC, depending on the offence, public servants can face imprisonment (from two years to life) and fines. This wasn't enough of a deterrent and after Bofors, we had...

-The Times of India   It is known to most media watchers that Kasturi & Sons Ltd, the company that publishes The Hindu, is caught in a bitter family feud. N Murali, who recently retired as managing director of the company, wrote a farewell letter to the employees of the company, lamenting that the Hindu's rich tradition of credibility, objectivity, balance and editorial primacy had of late been compromised. Later, in an...

From 50 in 2005, the number of applications is expected to touch 15,000 this year The Karnataka Information Commission has received, in recent weeks, a flood of applications for information under the Right to Information Act at public information offices (PIOs) across the State. Factors It would appear that the heightening of the anti-corruption mood in the country following the Anna Hazare movement, the report of the State Lokayukta against illegal mining that...

-Express News Service   A three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court, especially constituted to hear land acquisition cases pertaining to Noida and Greater Noida, on Monday said it will hear the matter on a day-to-day basis from September 12, the next date of hearing. The court has asked the state government to file its counter-affidavit with respect to the petitions in the meantime. The court also said that cases pertaining to acquisition...

-The Hindustan Times   Terming its impact in curbing sex-selective abortions in Kolhapur district "heart warming", the Bombay High Court (HC), on Friday, upheld the validity of Silent Observer - an electronic device attached to ultrasound machines that helps the administration in tracking sonographies conducted in a district. Dismissing the petition filed by the Maharashtra chapter of Indian Radiology and Imaging Association, the division bench of chief justice Mohit Shah and justice RP...