Opinion
India’s antiquated law on contempt of court restricts personal liberty and must be overhauled
After having raised the issue of whether the clubby and secretive collegiums system actually preserves the independence of the judiciary former Supreme Court judge, Justice Markandey Katju, has now trained his guns on India’s antiquated contempt of court law. He has made the valid point, in this newspaper, that judicial supremacy cannot be based on the law of kings in a democracy.
India’s best hope is that the Budget due February 2015 chooses growth and jobs
The presidential address to Parliament on June 9, 2014 had focussed nearly exclusively on projects and schemes, eschewing policy. Therefore, many had eagerly awaited the budget speech for a policy vision of the new government. Unfortunately, it too left observers guessing on whether the government would tackle tough reforms or rely principally on better implementation.
If cops guard veggies now, crooks could well come up with new crimes
Perhaps outnumbering its regular guardians of the law India has a self-appointed ‘moral police’ — who dictate what people may or may not do — as well as a ‘book police’ who regulate what people can read or write. Now, if Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has his way, the capital might have a ‘veggie police’ as well.
