The Income Tax Department has handed over to the CBI tapes of a fresh set of an estimated 15,000 conversations of intercepted telephone calls which could widen the scope of the agency’s probe in the 2G scam and spell trouble for corporate lobbyist Niira Radia. The 15,000 conversations involve two alleged Delhi-based hawala dealers Anil Bansal and R S Bansal whose phones were put on surveillance along with those of Radia...

A court on Wednesday put on trial the first set of officials and businessmen indicted in the country's biggest corruption case, a multi-billion dollar telecoms scandal that has weakened the government and put off some foreign investors. The graft scandal is one of several to have emerged in the past few months, tarnishing the reputation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whose government has gone on the defensive against an emboldened opposition. While...

Orissa, which has already ordered a CBI probe into allegations of rampant corruption in the rural jobs scheme, has also formed a group to monitor the scheme's working in the state, a senior official said Wednesday. S.K. Lohani, director of special project of the Panchayati Raj department, said the government would also examine the best practices being followed by other states in the execution of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment...

The Supreme Court on Monday deferred hearing rightsactivist Dr. Binayak Sen's petition seeking bail and suspension of the life sentence awarded to him by a trial court and confirmed by the Chhattisgarh High Court on charges of conspiracy to commit sedition and providing assistance to those said to be Naxalites. A Bench of Justices H.S. Bedi and C.K. Prasad posted the petition for hearing to April 18 on a request for...

We should be grateful to Anna Hazare for dedicating his life to the people and battling for accountability in governance. Millions look to him for inspiration and guidance. We are all sick of mismanagement, venality and the lack of accountability that plague not only governance but also other institutions, including many NGOs that call themselves “civil society” institutions, the term made fashionable by international donor agencies. The support base of this...