Articles
ELECTORAL BONDS CHALLENGED BY ADR, COMMON CAUSE
Common Cause and the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have challenged the introduction of the Electoral Bonds, as part of the Finance Act 2017, which have, arguably, made electoral funding of political parties more opaque and legitimised corruption to an unprecedented scale. A PIL filed in...
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LANDMARK VERDICT: 100% PENALTY ON ILLEGAL MINING
In a major victory for Common Cause, the Supreme Court on Aug 2, 2017, imposed a hundred percent penalty on mining companies indulging in illegal mining on account of lack of forest and environment clearances, mining outside lease/permitted area and for mining in excess of what has been...
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THE BATTLE FOR AUDIT IS WON! Noida, G. Noida, Y. Expressway
The battle is won for the CAG audit of Noida, G. Noida and Yamuna Expressway Authority! Common Cause has been campaigning for such an audit for several years and its PIL in this regard is still pending at the Allahabad High Court. The UP Government has written to the Accountant General to start...
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LOKPAL UPDATE IN SUPREME COURT
In a petition filed by Common Cause in 2014, the Supreme Court today strongly pushed for the appointment of a Lokpal and said that the legislation passed to appoint an anti-corruption ombudsman – a Lokpal – was a workable one and that there was no need for the Centre to keep its...
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PIL ON FM RADIO: GOVT REPLY SOUGHT
The Supreme Court has asked the government to consider extending the content of news and current affairs for community and F.M. radio stations, at least to include such news and current affairs, as were already in public domain and broadcasted by the licensed operators in the print and...
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REGULAR CBI DIRECTOR APPOINTED AFTER PIL
With the appointment of Mr. Alok Kumar Verma as the new CBI Director, post approval by the selection committee, the Supreme Court closed the petition filed by Common Cause challenging the appointment of the interim Director of CBI in violation of established norms. The request of our counsel,...
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ILLICIT PAYOUTS TO POLITICIANS: BIRLA/SAHARA DIARIES
The Apex Court has rejected the demand for a probe into bribes allegedly paid to politicians mentioned in the Birla Sahara diaries, saying it would be dangerous for democracy to order a probe on the basis of loose sheets inadmissible as evidence. Common Cause had approached the...
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ECI BANS USE OF PUBLIC FUNDS FOR PARTY PROMOTION
Years after Common Cause pointed this out, the Election Commission has issued an order with the direction that no political party should use or allow the use of public funds, public place or government machinery for promoting itself or the symbol allotted to it. This directive came on a...
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CRITICISING A GOVT OR ITS POLICIES ISN'T SEDITIOUS: SC
Our PIL on sedition was taken up by the Supreme Court on September 5, 2016. It passed an order stating that in their considered opinion the authorities while dealing with the offences under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code shall be guided by the principles laid down by the...
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PETITION ON SEDITION BY COMMON CAUSE
There has been an increase in the number of cases of sedition against intellectuals, activists, students, with the latest being the sedition charge on Amnesty India for organizing a debate on Kashmir. In this regard, a petition has been filed by us in the Supreme Court to address the misuse and...
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