A person attempts suicide in depression He needs help, not punishment The Supreme Court on Monday recommended to Parliament that it consider the feasibility of deleting Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code (attempt to commit suicide) from the statute. Making this recommendation, a Bench of Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra said though a Constitution Bench in Gian Kaur's case had held Section 309 IPC constitutionally valid, “the time has come...

Draft rules proposed by the Indian government for intermediaries such as telecommunications companies, Internet service providers and blogging sites could in effect aid censorship, according to experts. Under the draft rules, intermediaries will have to notify users of their services not to use, display, upload, publish, share or store a variety of content, for which the definition is very vague, and liable to misuse. Content that is prohibited under these guidelines ranges...

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has admitted in parliament that he made an "error of judgement" when he appointed the head of India's anti-corruption watchdog. Mr Singh said he accepted full responsibility for appointing PJ Thomas as anti-corruption chief last year. Mr Thomas was forced to resign by the Supreme Court last week. The court overturned his appointment on the grounds that he himself faced corruption charges dating from 1992. Mr Thomas denies the...

A proposed government move to regulate content on blogs has ignited a firestorm of protest from the blogging community which is accusing the government of restricting free speech and acting like the guardians of a police state. At the heart of the issue is the Indian IT Act which was amended in 2008 to incorporate the much-needed changes to clarify the legal position of intermediaries or those who provide web-hosting...

The Right to Food Campaign on Monday announced its decision to launch a country-wide protest against the National Advisory Council's framework for the proposed National Food Security Bill, which, they said, fell short of people's expectation of a comprehensive food security bill that addressed nutrition and livelihood issues. “Even the budget proposals show no commitment to food security of people,” Campaign Convener Kavita Srivastava told journalists here. Failed to seize opportunity “By proposing...