The Supreme Court has decided to examine whether the printer and publisher of a newspaper or magazine is a necessary party in criminal defamation proceedings when the editor is already cited as an accused in a defamation complaint. A Bench of Justices P. Sathasivam and J. Chelameswar in a brief order on Friday said: “The important question arises [in this petition], namely, in a case of complaint under Sections 499, 500...

-The United Nations Recent global events have highlighted the fact that journalists and media workers reporting on human rights issues are particularly vulnerable to threats and attacks, an independent United Nations expert said today, calling for greater protection for those who carry out such vital work. “Because of the potential impact on society that journalists and media workers can have by disseminating information about human rights through a wide array of media,...

-Economic and Political Weekly   The Law Commission’s bill on combating honour crimes falls short of what is required. Honour crimes – the illegal decrees by caste/clan/community panchayats to annul or prohibit marriages, social boycotts and even murder of couples – have finally drawn the attention of the State. A consultation paper released by the Law Commission contains a draft bill – The ­Prohibition of Unlawful Assembly (Interference with the Freedom of Matrimonial...

-PTI   Former Gujarat DGP, RB Sreekumar on Thursday slammed the Supreme Court-appointed special investigation team (SIT) for allegedly taking a pro-Narendra Modi line in the probe into the 2002 riots cases, to shield him from the prosecution. In an open letter to the people, Sreekumar, who headed the State Intelligence Bureau (SIB) during the riots period, has also made public his first statement before the SIT in May 2008.   He had then talked...

Rejecting the government's proposal to amend Section 300 of the Indian Penal Code to include ‘honour killings' within the definition of murder on the ground that the existing provisions are adequate to take care of the situations leading to such killings, the Law Commission has drafted fresh legislation that seeks to declare such panchayats unlawful. The Prohibition of Unlawful Assembly (Interference with the Freedom of Matrimonial Alliances) Bill, 2011 proposes no...