-The Times of India   Haryana government has formulated a policy to protect whistleblowers/RTI activists in the state, according to which, a committee comprising district magistrate, superintendent of police and district attorneys would take a decision on providing security to the activist after reviewing the threat perception. According to chief secretary, Haryana, P K Chaudhary, "It has been decided that district level committees, under the chairmanship of district magistrates, with SPs and district...

Prisoners of Jharkhand — a majority of them tribals — who are facing charges of waging war against the state may have reason to believe that they are no less equal before the law than the free man. Jharkhand High Court has constituted a committee headed by Justice D.N. Patel to monitor the trial of persons alleged to be members of banned outfits such as CPI(Maoist) and PLFI and speed up...

In an order that could have far-reaching implications, the Odisha State Information Commission has directed the state government to furnish information on top government officials facing corruption charges. The state transparency watchdog’s order last month came on a Hindustan Times petition. The government, which was told to make the information public as a part of self-disclosure under the Right to Information Act within a month (by the last week of May),...

BATHINDA: A Punjab village has been forced to set up its own " high court" to resolve disputes due to rising litigation costs and slow pace of justice. Pulha village elders claim the "court", comprising 35 "jury" members, has settled over 250 cases primarily related to land disputes piled up over last three years in as many months.  "Except murder, we try to solve all other issues," said Sukhjinder Singh, a...

-The Telegraph Parliament has passed the country’s first comprehensive law on sexual crimes against children, removing several factors that may intimidate a minor while filing complaints. Under the new act — the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Bill — a child will no longer be treated on a par with an adult in case of sexual abuse. It empowers a child to file a complaint from his or her own room, give...