INDIA COUNTRY of ORIGIN INFORMATION (COI) REPORT COI Service
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INDIA COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION (COI) REPORT COI Service 26 August 2011 INDIA 26 AUGUST 2011 Contents Preface Latest News EVENTS IN INDIA FROM 13 AUGUST TO 26 AUGUST 2011 News sources for further information REPORTS ON INDIA PUBLISHED OR ACCESSED BETWEEN 13 AUGUST AND 26 AUGUST 2011 Paragraphs Background Information 1. GEOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................ 1.01 National holidays .................................................................................................. 1.10 Maps ...................................................................................................................... 1.12 2. ECONOMY ................................................................................................................ 2.01 3. HISTORY .................................................................................................................. 3.01 Mumbai terrorist attacks, November 2008 ......................................................... 3.03 General Election of April-May 2009 ..................................................................... 3.08 Naxalite (Maoist) counter-insurgency ................................................................. 3.15 4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS ........................................................................................... 4.01 Overview of significant events, May 2010 to 12 August 2011 .......................... 4.01 5. CONSTITUTION .......................................................................................................... 5.01 6. POLITICAL SYSTEM ................................................................................................... 6.01 Human Rights 7. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 7.01 UN Conventions.................................................................................................... 7.07 8. INTERNAL SECURITY SITUATION .................................................................................. 8.01 Naxalite (Maoist) violence .................................................................................... 8.03 Islamist terrorist attacks ...................................................................................... 8.06 Jammu and Kashmir ............................................................................................ 8.07 Northeastern states .............................................................................................. 8.10 Extremist Hindu nationalist groups .................................................................... 8.13 9. SECURITY FORCES .................................................................................................... 9.01 Police ..................................................................................................................... 9.01 Paramilitary forces and centralised police organisations subordinate to the Ministry of Home Affairs ................................................................................ 9.13 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) ............................................................... 9.14 National Investigation Agency (NIA) ................................................................... 9.15 Armed forces ........................................................................................................ 9.16 Paramilitary forces subordinate to the Ministry of Defence ................................ 9.19 Other forces ....................................................................................................... 9.20 Human rights violations by the security forces ................................................. 9.22 Extra-judicial killings ........................................................................................... 9.25 Arbitrary arrest and detention ............................................................................. 9.28 Torture ................................................................................................................ 9.34 Excessive use of force and other abuses in internal conflict areas .................... 9.42 Avenues of complaint .......................................................................................... 9.45 ii The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 12 August 2011. Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section to 26 August 2011. 26 AUGUST 2011 INDIA National and state human rights commissions ................................................... 9.47 The Courts ......................................................................................................... 9.51 Complaints made at police stations .................................................................... 9.53 10. MILITARY SERVICE .................................................................................................... 10.01 Absence without leave and Desertion ................................................................ 10.03 Courts Martial and the Armed Forces Tribunal ................................................... 10.07 11. NON-GOVERNMENT ARMED GROUPS ........................................................................... 11.01 OVERVIEW OF ARMED GROUPS .............................................................................. 11.01 Naxalites (Maoists) ............................................................................................. 11.02 Jammu and Kashmir .......................................................................................... 11.09 Northeastern states ............................................................................................ 11.12 Islamists ............................................................................................................. 11.14 12. JUDICIARY ................................................................................................................ 12.01 Organisation ......................................................................................................... 12.01 Supreme Court ................................................................................................... 12.02 High Court .......................................................................................................... 12.03 Fast Track Courts ............................................................................................... 12.05 Lok Adalats (‗People‘s Courts‘) .......................................................................... 12.06 Independence of the Judiciary ............................................................................ 12.09 Corruption in the Judiciary .................................................................................. 12.13 Case backlogs ...................................................................................................... 12.16 Fair trial ................................................................................................................. 12.20 Legal aid ............................................................................................................. 12.23 Penal code ............................................................................................................ 12.27 Code of criminal procedure ................................................................................. 12.30 13. ARREST AND DETENTION – LEGAL RIGHTS .................................................................. 13.01 General provisions ............................................................................................... 13.01 Security legislation ............................................................................................... 13.03 Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) ...................................................... 13.03 National Security Act (NSA) ............................................................................... 13.07 Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) ......................................................... 13.11 Jammu and Kasmir: Security legislation ........................................................... 13.15 Jammu and Kashmir Armed Forces Special Powers Act ................................... 13.15 Public Safety Act (PSA) ...................................................................................... 13.16 Security laws in other states ............................................................................... 13.18 14. PRISON CONDITIONS ................................................................................................. 14.01 15. DEATH PENALTY ....................................................................................................... 15.01 16. POLITICAL AFFILIATION.............................................................................................. 16.01 Freedom of political expression.......................................................................... 16.01 Freedom of association and assembly ............................................................... 16.02 Opposition groups and political activists .......................................................... 16.04 17. FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND MEDIA ............................................................................... 17.01 Treatment of journalists ......................................................................................