The efforts of metals major Hindalco to mine bauxite from Mali Parbat in Odisha has run up against stiff resistance from local Kondh adivasis, who wouldn’t shy away from militancy to protect their ecology, if needed. Javed Iqbal explores why they reject ‘industrial development’.

Close to 5500 hectares of land in six states, acquired for 52 SEZs, were subsequently de-notified and diverted for commercial purposes! Himanshu Upadhyaya draws attention to this and other findings in the CAG audit of SEZs, which leave several questions unanswered.

It’s like a scam unnoticed: even after access to over 45000 hectares of land, with massive tax exemptions and holidays, the SEZ experience has been a sorry story. Devinder Sharma questions the government’s economic reasoning and insists on accountability.

Reviewing recent High Court and Supreme Court rulings, Videh Upadhyay comments on judicial recipes for protecting urban water bodies

Policies on development have been ignored with impunity. Little wonder, then, that the language of people's demands now centers on "rights", says Videh Upadhyay.

Colonial-era laws that dispossess the nation's adivasis need both legislative reform and the administrative diligence to be justly implemented, says Videh Upadhyay.

Jayprakash Narayan on the recent SC judgement that reinstated mandatory discloures from election candidates.

Suman Sahai discusses a public interest litigation that seeks to ensure that the rights granted to farmers on seeds as per India's 2001 plant varieties protection law are not taken away.

Suman Sahai discusses India's progressive legislation in the area of patents and protection for plant varieties.

The government proposes to permit truth as a valid defense in contempt-of-court cases, but prefers to leave it to judges to decide when it should be allowed.

Jayaprakash Narayan criticizes Parliament's moves to limit diversity of opinion among lawmakers, and to appropriate all authority to a few powerful leaders.

Campuses across the country are reimposing law and order in an indication of new resolve to root out ragging and violence, especially against women students. Puja Rawat reports.

Environmental jurisprudence is only slowly catching up to the physical and mental costs of noise pollution in urban areas. Sairam Bhat surveys the landscape.

A critique of the process and research used by the Justice Malimath Committee to recommend reforms to the Criminal Justice System. This is the first of a two part series.
Click here to read Part II

In the second and concluding part of the series on the Malimath Committee's report, Bikram Jeet Batra looks at the detailed recommendations in terms of implications for Human Rights.
Earlier: Part I

Allegations have been made repeatedly that the penal code's protection against matrimonial cruelty is often abused by women. But no evidence is given to support this claim, says Bikram Jeet Batra.

Geographical indications of Indian origin such as 'Basmati' rice and 'Darjeeling' tea continue to remain open to being wrongfully exploited internationally. Kasturi Das looks at the issue in depth.

Years since the adoption of the environment impact assessment law, systemic weaknesses and a token approach to public hearings are defeating its purpose. Kanchi Kohli does a review.

A new information service sets out to update citizens and specialists about the latest developments at the Supreme Court on forest related cases, reports Rasika Dhavse.

Hopes for India's languishing Freedom of Information Act becoming effective were given a boost on July 20. Subramaniam Vincent reports on the Supreme Court's deadline and implications.

Are death penalties in India being awarded under the most rigorous standards for trials in capital cases? Maybe not. Bikram Jeet Batra on India's current practice.

The National Advisory Council has proposed amendments to the Freedom of Information Act. But it's not clear if the government will take these up. Our report, plus an exlcusive interview with NAC member Aruna Roy.

Sairam Bhat notes that the provisions in the laws for tackling paedophilia as well as the incestuous abuse of children are far from adequate.

From hectic lobbying with the Prime Minister to rising usage of Right to Information laws in three major states, 2004 has perhaps seen wider citizen enthusiasm and organizing than any other year recently. But will Parliament and the Central and State governments respond proportionally? Varupi Jain reports.

The Right to Information Bill tabled in Parliament raises expectations to new levels by proposing a dedicated Information Commission for enforcement. Except, the commission is crippled at conception, with no direct penalizing powers. Prakash Kardaley comments.

After several visits to Parliament the Lokpal Bill is once again before the nation's legislators. Pradeep K Baisakh traces the lineage and condition of the legislation that could curb corruption in public offices.

The central government has proposed the Food Safety and Standards Act as part of a series of steps to 'harmonize' existing food laws. Devinder Sharma agrees the old exploitative laws must go, but says the new bill may deliver unfair advantage to the food industry over dhabas and hawkers.

In the last two decades, a variety of petitions filed before the Supreme Court over illegalities concerning large dam and irrigation projects have all had a common result. Project proponents have gotten the judicial go-ahead. What is the point of overcrowding laws with more 'enabling' provisions then, asks Videh Upadhyay.

Lawmakers at New Delhi recently passed the Right to Information Bill. The legislation provides for an information commission with powers to enforce transparency. An officer who delays disclosure will be liable to pay a penalty of Rs 250 for every day's delay. Prakash Kardaley is optimistic about the bill about to become law.

The Bill on pension reform, which is before Parliament, takes away the obligation to pay pensions from the government and shifts the responsibility of saving for old-age to the individual. How might this affect you? And how can you make your voice heard? M R Madhavan and Ruchita Manghnani present a legislative brief.

M R Madhavan presents a brief summary of the proceedings in the national legislative bodies during the Winter 2005 session, which was conducted during Nov-Dec 2005.

By consolidating several different laws for the food sector, the proposed bill seeks to establish a single reference point for all matters relating to food safety and standards. The scientific development of the food processing industry is also sought. M R Madhavan and Kaushiki Sanyal present a legislative brief.

The Central government proposes to shuffle the composition of the IMC and bring in more of its own appointees, reducing elected members to a minority. The government claims this will increase the IMC's accountability, but will it also turn it into an arm of the government? M R Madhavan and Ruchita Manghnani present a legislative brief.

Who can live in forested areas? What rights to they have over lands they have lived in for generations? Can they be relocated, and if so on what terms? Legislation in Parliament attempts to balance forest dwellers' rights with economic and environmental objectives. Kaushiki Sanyal presents a legislative brief.

The UPA Government is attempting to achieve consensus and amend the Office of Profit law to allow select legislators to hold additional public offices. This is merely the climax of a larger trend, says Madabhushi Sridhar, of an already thin separation of power between executive and legislature, and of earlier efforts to dilute the Constitution.

Journalists have strongly objected to provisions of the proposed Broadcast Bill empowering the government to cripple media through pre-censorship. The media industry has been furiously lobbying against the Bill's attempt to regulate ownership. Amidst all this, there has been little mention of the need for the public to have a say, notes Ammu Joseph.

Fixated on eliminating the grounds for disqualification of legislators that arose from their holding of offices-of-profit in the Executive, Parliament has sent back the infamous Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill to the President, who is now constitution-bound to sign it. Madabhushi Sridhar points out why the legislation must be stopped.

The central government has proposed to exempt file notings and cabinet papers from the RTI law. The government's idea that it can 'reveal the decision but not the reason for it' is anti-democratic. In democracy, people need reasoned decisions, reasons for decisions and not mere decisions without reasons, says Madabhushi Sridhar.

The Post Office (Amendment) Bill 2006 proposes to give the Department of Posts an unaccountable monopoly role in the delivery of small letters and couriers, and introduces a registration system for private carriers. Kaushiki Sanyal presents a legislative brief of a Bill that harkens back to the license raj.

New provisions in law would make sexual exploitation of trafficked persons punishable. While well-intended, the draft bill is vague; the term 'sexual exploitation' is not clearly defined. Without this, the bill's provisions could lead to greater harassment of prostitutes and their clients. Kaushiki Sanyal presents a legislative brief.

With the Central government lobbing the ball into the states' court, the right to education bill has practically lost its very essence. Without a central legislation to support it, a constitutional guarantee will have little meaning, say most experts. Deepa A concludes the 'Lens on Education' series.

It is debatable whether the governance mechanisms of voluntary bodies such as co-operatives should be specified in the Constitution, as the Cooperatives Bill proposes to do through an amendment. Kaushiki Sanyal presents a legislative brief.

In the name of internal security, the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Bill would add to the government's already long list of rules applicable to voluntary organisations, even as it ignores the fact that they receive less than one per cent of the foreign funds flowing into the country. Priya Narayan Parker presents a legislative brief.

The draft bill comes at a time when there are differing opinions on the cost efficacy of the MFO model for reaching credit to the poor. Moreover, the bill itself contains some perplexing ideas - such as the choice of NABARD, itself an MFO, as a regulator of others such organisations. Kaushiki Sanyal presents a legislative brief.

A draft bill in Parliament attempts to mandate the care of elderly citizens in law, and envisions the establishment of tribunals to ensure its functioning. But its definitions and methods leave many questions unanswered. Priya Narayan Parker presents a legislative brief.

Acquiring land for a 'public purpose' is claimed as a right by the state under its powers of eminent domain, but it accepts no duty to resettle and rehabilitate all the affected citizens. Instead, rehabilitation is presented as an act of benevolence, writes Kannan Kasturi.

When the CIC v. bourses case comes up for hearing in the Supreme Court, the Commision will have to present a much larger social-legal case that clarifies how the stock exchanges are 'public authorities' despite being run as limited liability corporations, writes Deepak Malghan.

The Domestic Worker's Bill, if passed, will be an important step toward securing the rights of a large chunk of the unorganised workforce. But as with all laws, the real test of this legislation will be in its implementation, writes Anuja Agrawal.

Land acquisitions have raised a number of concerns related to fair compensation, valuation of land, definition of 'public purpose' and other issues. As the government moves to amend the Land Acquisition Act, Priya Parker and Sarita Vanka present a legislative brief on the proposed changes.

Compared to the death penalty, life imprisonment is considered less harsh. The courts have preferred to leave undefined exactly how long such punishment should be, and commutation pleas are considered on a case-by-case basis. Ipshita Sengupta reports.