People's Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti said on Monday that she will not contest elections until 'both the constitutions' of India and the erstwhile state are made applicable to Jammu and Kashmir.
Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code, which was struck down by the Supreme Court, managed to be anti-women even while it appeared to be throwing a protective arm around them, says Shuma Raha.
The government may drop its plan to decriminalise cheque bounce offences after there were requests to continue the existing system, which can potentially make people honour their financial commitments due to fear of prosecution. It would seek directions from a Supreme Court panel formed to expedite the pendency of cheque bounce cases before taking a final call. Last year the Department of Financial Services (DFS) had proposed decriminalising minor offences, which included cheque bouncing, for improving business sentiment and unclogging court processes.
Yogi Adityanath was on Thursday unanimously chosen the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party legislature party in Uttar Pradesh in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Flavia Agnes, lawyer and founder of women's legal aid group Majlis, provides a contrary view to criminalising marital rape.
The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday said it will contest over 350 Lok Sabha seats and vowed to take on tainted candidates and political leaders who have become "symbols" of corruption and criminalisation of politics.
The bill, which criminalises instant divorce by Muslim men and seeks jail term for the guilty, was the first draft legislation tabled by the Narendra Modi government in this first session after it took oath of office for a second term in May.
The top court said a balanced approach of sustainable development ensuring environmental safeguards needs to be resorted to while dealing with the issue of sand mining.
Explaining, the government said that marriage is treated as a sacrament or sacred as per mindset of the Indian society.
The government's endeavour, she said, is to protect women in this country in collaboration with state governments.
The Centre had left to the wisdom of the court the issue of legality of the penal provision.
A bench of Justices A K Sikri and D Y Chandrachud issued notice to the state on the plea filed by the Akhil Bharat Krishi Goseva Sangh.
If we have already excluded Muslims from political office by default, and if we are already harassing them daily through laws, like Nazi Germany did and like Pakistan did, then why do we need a Hindu Rashtra or a change from the present set of laws? argues Aakar Patel.
Anjali Bharadwaj, an Indian social activist working on issues of transparency and accountability, is one of the 12 anti-corruption champions announced by the Biden administration.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday announced his government's decision to lift all the additional restrictions imposed to contain the spread of Omicron, including the mandatory wearing of face masks anywhere, from next Thursday after analysis showed that the new variant of Covid-19 has now most likely peaked in the country.
The Opposition, which had been demanding that the bill be referred to a 'joint select committee', staged a walkout when its demand was rejected by the government.
A united Opposition in the Lok Sabha on Thursday pitched for referring the triple talaq bill to a 'joint select committee' of Parliament, claiming its provisions were unconstitutional.
No improvement in the air quality in Delhi-NCR is expected for another three days, authorities said on Monday, as the Supreme Court directed the Centre to call an emergency meeting to decide on measures like stopping non-essential constructions, transport and power plants by Tuesday evening.
'The sense of fear generated by indiscriminate and unwarranted filing of FIRs prevents people from exercising their fundamental rights; people go silent or give up the fight as the legal process is itself the punishment.'
It claimed that the Act is violative of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution and thus, is liable to be struck down.
Parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar also attacked the Congress, which had not opposed the bill in Lok Sabha but voiced its strong opposition in the Upper House.
'Its three primary effects are to send the alcohol economy underground (depriving the state of revenue), to criminalise the casual drinker and to criminalise the police,' says Aakar Patel.
The ruling BJP has issued a whip to its MPs, asking them to ensure their presence in the House.
'It is a welcome development, but the ordinance has limited validity of six months, that is the problem.' 'Therefore, we are urging all political parties including the Congress to collaborate and bring a law.'
The high court, however, upheld the ban on slaughter of cows and bullocks in the state.
The Russian-drafted resolution, which passed unanimously by all 15 member-states of the Security Council, appealed to all countries 'to criminalise piracy under their domestic law and favourably consider the prosecution of suspected, and imprisonment of convicted, pirates apprehended off the coast of Somalia, consistent with applicable international human rights law.'
The verdict is likely to be pronounced before October 2 this year as Justice Misra would be retiring as CJI on that day.
'It is a sad day when social activists, environmental campaigners, anti-corruption workers are singled out as anti-nationals and then criminalised.'
A leading Islamic seminary on Monday opposed Centre's move to repeal a controversial section of the penal law which criminalises homosexuality, saying unnatural sex is against the tenets of Islam.
Tehseen Poonawalla, a gay rights and social activist, besides being a supporter of the Congress party, on Tuesday said that irrespective of the Supreme Court's ruling on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalises sexual activities "against the order of nature", arguably including homosexual acts, he would plead with the Apex court to legalise gay marriage.
Rediff.com gives you a lowdown on the controversial section:
In a path-breaking judgment, the Delhi High Court on Thursday legalised gay sex among consenting adults, holding that the law making it a criminal offence violates fundamental rights. However, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalises homosexuality, will continue for non-consensual and non-vaginal sex.
India "routinely" uses vaguely-worded laws like sedition and criminal defamation as "political tools" to "stifle" dissent, a leading rights group said.
Holding the AIMPLB responsible for the present state of affairs, Amber said the board never bothered to take (the issue of) triple talaq seriously, and now it was too late.
And the only answer one can think of is that this is being done to preserve the image of toughness and 56 inches and all the rest of it, notes Aakar Patel.
Delivering a landmark judgment decriminalising gay consensual sex, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said: "I am what I am. So take me as I am." Homosexuality is no longer a crime in India, five Supreme Court judges on Thursday ruled in a consensus judgment.
Hinduja Group co-chairman Gopichand Hinduja said that while the $5 trillion target of 2024 is achievable, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government needs to shed the British style of bureaucracy to move faster. The industry veteran also said that the company has been willing to invest more than $20 billion in India, but it wants the obstacles to be removed and ease of doing business must be provided.
Fifty-eight-year-old Soundararajan, the Tamil Nadu BJP chief and the party's national secretary, moves to Raj Bhavan in Telangana.
Police says a case of dowry death has been registered against eight persons.
The Opposition has questioned the stringent provisions like criminalisation of a civil wrong in the triple talaq bill.
