-Newslaundry.com Not only is the procedure to access records unnecessarily complicated, but the courts have the discretion to judge a citizen’s motivation to access them. Over the course of the next few weeks, the United States Congress is expected to pass the Open Courts Act, which will make PACER – the digital database for accessing court records filed with the federal judiciary – accessible to everybody, free of cost! The law sets...
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Eminent individuals oppose the appointment of Justice Arun Mishra as Chairperson of NHRC
-Press release by People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) dated 2nd June, 2021 We, the members of various Human Rights Organisations and Concerned individuals, condemn the appointment of former SC Judge, Shri Arun Kumar Mishra, as the next Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India by the selection Committee headed by the Prime Minister. What is troubling is that the decision to appoint Justice Arun Kumar Mishra as NHRC...
More »Will the Right to Information Act Become the Right to Denial of Information Act? -Shailesh Gandhi
-Newsclick.in One of the best transparency laws promulgated by Parliament is now threatened by judicial decisions and interpretations which are not in consonance with the law and would weaken it. If more importance is given to exemptions and widening the Act’s scope, it would be a sad regression for democracy, writes former Central Information Commissioner SHAILESH GANDHI. The Supreme Court of India has consistently held from 1975 to 2005 that the Right...
More »Explained: Bench strength, validity of law -- why land acquisition matter is back in Supreme Court -Apurva Vishwanath
-The Indian Express The scheduled hearing will decide the legality of several cases of land acquisition that took place across the country before 2009. The matter also raises significant questions on judicial discipline, and how judgments of the court are applied while deciding subsequent cases on similar issues. On Tuesday, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court will begin hearing a case to clarify the interpretation of the law on...
More »Courts of injustice -Prashant Bhushan and Cheryl D'souza
-The Indian Express The fate of close to two million people excluded from the NRC in Assam rests with the Foreigners Tribunals. The constitutionality and conduct of these quasi-judicial bodies are questionable Over 1.9 million people have been excluded from the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. The herculean executive exercise, mandated and closely monitored by the Supreme Court, has incurred a staggering expenditure of over Rs 1,200 crore...
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