Deshmukh protected Congress MLA's family member from normal process of law: Bench ‘Cases involving misuse of public office for private gains shake people's confidence'Taking serious view of the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh (currently the Union Industries Minister), interfering in a criminal investigation against a family of a Congress MLA, the Supreme Court on Tuesday imposed an exemplary cost of Rs.10 lakh on the Maharashtra government.A Bench comprising...

The Finance Ministry has begun its maiden investigation into over 100 offshore "financial structuring deals" undertaken by Indian business entities in foreign tax havens to allegedly evade the taxman's net. The multi-pronged probe has been undertaken by the international taxation wing of the Income Tax department and the foreign taxation unit in the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). A number of investments and deals to the tune of billions of rupees...

Since the last few years, Prashan Bhushan, senior lawyer, has fired up the Indian political scene through his missionary legal practice.In the legal fraternity he is a loner because he is, always, on the wrong side of the power set up in New Delhi. In fact, when one meets the slow and soft-speaker, he hardly looks like a lawyer who is capable of shaking-up the government and its cronies.But, his...

Mumbai is all set to have a new airport as the Environment Ministry gave a green signal to the Navi Mumbai airport project. However, the question of rehabilitating 15000 villagers from the site has run into some turbulence.While the residents of Waghiwali village carry on with their daily tasks, there is an air of unCERTainty in the village. Waghiwali is one of the 10 villages that will make way for...

When little children in cities have a Happy Meal burger at McDonalds and get a Batman car or Ben 10 toy free, they are getting much more for free — all gift-wrapped by wheat and potato farmers in some far-off village. They are not paying for the labour put in by the farmer, the profits forgone by him, and the higher cost of living that he did not bill on...