-IANS The Supreme Court Tuesday expressed its concern over the deteriorating sex ratio and chided state governments over their failure to check sex determination clinics and punish law violators fuelling female foeticide. "People have a belief that if they don't have a male child they will go to narak (hell)", the court said, asking "where is this narak"? The Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention) Act, 1994, bans determination of the sex of...

-Outlook The Haryana government has decided to do away with the practice of verifying the Below Poverty Line cards for allotment of land or flats earmarked for Economically Weaker Sections in licenced colonies. Announcing this here today, a spokesman of the Haryana Town and Country Planning Department said after the draw of lots, successful candidates would be asked to furnish an Affidavit stating that in case his or her name did not...

-The Economic Times The coal ministry, in an Affidavit to the Supreme Court, has said that it has the sole legal right to allocate coal blocks even as the state governments own the blocks and eventually grant the mining leases. In response to the query of the apex court, which questioned the ministry's authority in this regard, the coal ministry said that though there was no express statutory provision, a combined reading...

-The Indian Express Asking if the nature of a crime should be taken into account before granting immunity to juveniles from criminal prosecution, the Supreme Court Monday asked the Centre to defend the “constitutional validity” of the provision in the Juvenile Justice Act that treats a person as minor until 18 years. Seeking a comprehensive response from the Centre, a Bench of Justices K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra said that the...

-The Indian Express Verma panel wants criminal trial for armed forces men in rape cases. A look at some such cases in Kashmir One of the key recommendations of the Justice J S Verma Committee has been that sexual offences by armed forces personnel be brought under ordinary criminal law. In Kashmir, the armed forces have frequently sought — and got — immunity from prosecution in civilian courts after their personnel have had...