THURSDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER 2026

Free legal aid cell for undertrials needed


Citing the precedent of Aryan Khan's bail, the Apex Court must suo moto grant bail to all undertrials, incarcerated in jails across India, for similar offenses.

Aryan was fortunate to have a battery of legal luminaries arguing his case which begs the question of how many undertrials can afford it?

There are over 3,30,000 undertrials in jails  most of them poor, young and illiterate because of petty crimes. They fight a lonely battle for getting bail. Many are still in jail even after being eligible for bail, simply because they cannot afford to pay the bail amount of Rs 500 and Rs 5,000. 

It would be a good gesture on the part Shah Rukh Khan if he sets up a free legal aid cell at Arthur Road jail for assisting undertrials. Other celebrities would do well to follow the example. Sharing (of wealth) is caring.


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Retrospective tax: Govt needs to review decision

RODNEY DE SOUZA, Assagao
Published Nov 1, 2021, 12:41 AM IST
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The directive of the government to panchayats to recover one per cent labour cess from all constructions that have taken place from January 2019 is indeed shocking. The cess which is calculated on the total cost of the house, runs into thousands of rupees -- Rs 37,000 in one case, Rs 51,000 in another. The households are being asked to pay up within one week or face the consequences. The people were never told about payment of cess when they applied for…

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