Due Process

The ex-Bangladesh PM’s return following a death sentence imposed in absentia brings renewed attention to the International Crimes Tribunal’s troubled record on fair trial guarantees, retrospective criminalization and capital punishment, while raising difficult questions for India over extradition.

A new report by the People’s Union for Democratic Rights reveals that records pertaining to arrests and killing by security forces in the Maoist crackdown in Chhattisgarh raise questions on the true magnitude of arbitrary arrests and encounter killings.

The latest data tracker by the Human Rights Measurement Initiative found that when it came to torture and ill treatment, arbitrary arrest, extrajudicial killing and forced disappearance, India performed tangibly worse than its South Asian neighbours.

In a case arising from a death in a State-run mental health facility, a bench led by Justice Manish Pitale has laid down that compensation for custodial deaths must follow a logical, statutory formula and that the State’s existing policy of paying a fixed sum is woefully inadequate.

As the NHRC’s credibility builds on a considerably shaky ground in the past few years, Justice Atul Sreedharan’s criticism of the Commission for selectively dabbling in matters beyond its scope is far from new.

In this personal account, human rights lawyer and founder of People’s Watch, Henri Tiphagne recalls how a routine MHA inspection in 2012 spiralled into a 14-year battle of suspensions, CBI raids and court hearings. And why, despite it all, he will not relent.

Appearing in person, Delhi’s ex-chief minister recounted several instances that raised doubts of biasness by Justice Sharma in the Liquor Policy case even as the Solicitor General dismissed them as 'fantasy'.

From missionary hospitals to research institutes, tens of thousands of organisations depend on foreign contributions. A sweeping new amendment could put their assets, and futures, in the government's hands.