-The Telegraph New Delhi: A group of retired bureaucrats have written an open letter ruing the "rising authoritarianism and majoritarianism" that is choking dissent, and urging public authorities to take "corrective action" to "reclaim and defend the spirit of the Constitution". "Argumentation and discussion about different perspectives - the lifeblood not only of institutions of learning but of democracy itself -are being throttled," the letter says. "Disagreement and dissent are considered seditious...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In a major victory for the Narendra Modi government that is set on making Aadhaar compulsory for several kinds of transactions, the Supreme Court upheld on Friday the law making the UID number a must for filing income tax returns and its linkage to PAN card. In what could cheer up the government, which faced anxious times while defending validity of Section 139AA of the Income...

-The Economic Times blog Finance minister Arun Jaitley was correct when he stated in April that constitutional constraints do not empower his government to tax agricultural income, implying that he is not constrained from amending the Income-Tax Act. B R Ambedkar, in framing the Constitution, was vehemently critical of British land revenue system, the foundation for which was laid during the Mughal period, and strengthened by the East India Company, which...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI/ ONGOLE: Two senior Union ministers on Thursday sought to allay apprehensions over the new government order on cattle trade, emphasising that the Centre will not interfere with the food habits of people in the different regions of the country. While finance minister Arun Jaitley emphasised in Delhi that the Centre's order will not impact state laws on slaughter, information and broadcasting minister Venkaiah Naidu said in...

-The Indian Express The proposed total ban on cattle slaughter goes against Supreme Court decisions on the matter since 1959 Less than a week ago, the Central government notified rules, many of which are as unconstitutional as they are senseless: A person is prohibited from bringing any type of cattle to an animal market for sale for slaughter. First, why is it unconstitutional? The ban on slaughter of cattle was a politically...