M Govinda Rao: Bill on DTC – Baby Steps in Tax Reform
The Bill on the direct taxes code (DTC) placed in Parliament is very much on expected lines. The wide-ranging proposals to broaden the base in the first discussion paper have been diluted in the revised paper which is broadly reflected in the Bill. The only major difference is in the treatment of capital gains. The second discussion paper proposed [...]
Not so much of a liability now
In its final form as legislated, the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010 represents an improvement over the government's initial and intermediate drafts. Weaknesses remain but Parliament has done well to exclude private nuclear operators from the ambit of the law, widen the scope of the operator's right of recourse against suppliers, and [...]
The ‘Enemy Property’ Bill
The withdrawal of the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill from the Lok Sabha showed both governmental incompetence and introduction of communal overtones by some political parties to a fairly straightforward matter: ensuring that the Indian heirs of those who migrated to Pakistan have the right to inherit the property the migrants left [...]
Protecting whistleblowers
The Bill to protect whistleblowers, introduced in the Lok Sabha, is a belated but welcome move to shield those who stand up, often at great personal risk, for the sake of truth and the public interest. The Public Interest Disclosures and the Protection to Persons Making the Disclosures Bill 2010 is the circuitous and protracted outcome of the [...]
Against the grain
On many occasions the point is made that the Supreme Court of India is the most powerful court in the world. The ways in which its powers of judicial review and intervention have been widened in scope are a fascinating study. And this power has been based on the higher judiciary’s credibility to be an institution of last recourse in matters [...]
India’s empty underbelly
'It was not a suggestion, it was an order,' is not a rebuke most self-respecting people would like to hear. Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar is clearly made of sterner stuff for this is exactly what he heard from the Supreme Court in its order that he make the huge pile-up of foodgrain available either free or at very low prices to people before [...]
Stem The Rot
The Supreme Court's order that foodgrain be given free to the poor instead of being allowed to rot is a severe indictment of the UPA government. Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar is in the dock, and deservedly. His handling of the sugar imbroglio sometime ago drew flak. On food inflation, he has seemed keener to spread the blame than to spell out [...]
Wrong, your honour; not just grain at stake
The Supreme Court has erred by directing the government to distribute rotting food grains to the poor for free. This is so regardless of the government’s response that it would follow the court order. The court is, of course, entirely right to be outraged over grain rotting under government custody even as many people go hungry and some even [...]
V.R. Krishna Iyer: Who will judge the judges?
Most of the judges of the Supreme Court of India are those who were previously senior judges in High Courts. There is no valid ground to sustain any discrimination among judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts in the matter of their age of retirement. There is justice in eliminating the differential age for retirement of the robed brethren [...]
Ayodhya 2010
For all those holding their breaths for a court verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suits, we suggest another round of applause. These gentlemen, at their prime in the early-mid-90s, may just get another spot under the Ayodhya sun come mid-September when the Allahabad High Court is scheduled to decide who owns a plot of land in Uttar [...]