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‘It’s a human issue’: SC stays Uttarakhand HC’s order for eviction of over 4k families 

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The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the Uttarakhand High Court direction for eviction of over 4,000 families from the railway land in Haldwani in the state’s Nainital district.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Abhay S. Oka said: “There is a human angle to it”, and added there cannot be uprooting of several thousand people in seven days.

The bench also noted that it may not be correct to say that paramilitary forces have to be deployed to remove people, who have been living there for many decades.

The top court stayed the high court’s direction for eviction of families within a week and that their houses be demolished. It observed that a large number of people cannot be uprooted by using force without examining their occupancy rights, and emphasised that alternate arrangements would have to be made before uprooting people.

The petitioners claimed they are poor people who have been lawful residents of Mohalla Nai Basti and Line No 17 & 18, Banbhulpura (Azad Nagar), Haldwani for more than 70 years.

The top court issued notice to the Uttarakhand government and the railways on a batch of petitions filed against the judgment passed by a division bench of the high court on December 20, 2022.

During the hearing, the top court asked the railways to find a practical solution to the issue and stressed that many of the occupants have been residing there for decades, claiming rights on the basis of leases and auction purchases.

The bench said, “There are two aspects of the issue. One, they claim leases. Two, they say people migrated after 1947 and the lands were auctioned.”

Justice Kaul said that there are establishments on the land in question and questioned, “how can you say in seven days clear them off?”

Justice Oka noted that the people have been staying there for 50 years. He further added: “How do you deal with the scenario of people who have purchased the land in auction. You may acquire the land and utilise…”

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhat, representing the Railways, submitted that the land belongs to the Railways and several orders for eviction have been passed under the Public Premises Act.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing some of the petitioners, submitted that they were ex-parte orders passed during the Covid period. Bhati contended that the petitioners claim the land as their own and that they have not sought rehabilitation.

The bench pointed out that the high court passed the order without hearing the affected parties. It added, “Find out some solution. It is a human issue…”

Justice Kaul added that the human issue arises from long periods of occupation and maybe all of them cannot be painted with the same brush. “Maybe there are different categories… Somebody will have to verify the documents,” he said.

Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra submitted that many petitioners had government leases executed in their favour.

Bhati said the land is gateway to the state and critical for its development and proceedings under the Public Premises Act were initiated, and no stay was granted on it.

After staying the high court direction, the top court scheduled the matter for further hearing on February 7, and asked the state government and the railways to find a “practical solution”.

Senior advocates Salman Khurshid, Colin Gonsalves, Luthra and advocate Bhushan represented the petitioners in the matter. One of the petitions was filed ‘Jan Sahyog Sewa Samiti’ through its President Salim Saifi and others against the high court order.

The petitioners have claimed that they are in possession of valid documents that clearly establish title and valid occupation. Also, the names of the local residents have been recorded in the municipal records in the house tax register and they are paying the house tax regularly. They said there are five government schools, one hospital, and two overhead water tanks in the area.

International News

Bangladesh High Court orders high-level probe into power deals with Adani group amid supply cuts

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Bangladesh’s High Court ordered the formation of a high-level enquiry committee comprising international energy and law experts to reevaluate all electricity-related agreements with the Adani group, The Business Standard, a local news portal, reported on Tuesday, November 19.

The bench of Justices Farah Mahbub and Debasish Roy Chowdhury has reportedly ordered the cabinet secretary to form the committee within a month and submit the report to the court in the next two months. 

Adani Power shares closed 0.47 per cent lower at ₹524.10 on Tuesday’, compared to ₹526.60 at the previous market close. 

The court, while hearing a petition, asked why instructions should not be given to cancel the uneven agreements made with the Adani group. It also asked for the documents related to the signing of the deal within a month.

Barrister M Abdul Qayyum, representing the petitioner, filed the writ in the High Court asking for the cancellation of all electricity deals with Adani group. Adani signed the 25-year power purchase agreement in 2017; at that time, no imported coal-based power plants were operational in Bangladesh, as per the report.

Adani’s Bangladesh power supply

Adani group’s Bangladesh power is supplied from Jharkhand’s 1,600 MW power plant. The cost of power is $0.1008 per unit or Tk12 per unit, a Bangladesh Power Development Board official was quoted as saying in the report.

This rate is 27 per cent higher than the rate of India’s other private producers and as much as 63 per cent more than the Indian state-owned plants. 

After Adani Power cut the Bangladesh power supply by half over the unpaid dues, the company also set a deadline of November 7 to switch off the flow of electricity if there was no clarity on the settlement of the outstanding amount.

Bangladesh reportedly owes Adani almost $850 million. Adani group later clarified that it had not demanded the full payment in seven days, as per the report.

Shortage of Power

Bangladesh continues to face a shortage of electricity, increasing the risk of blackouts, even after making a partial payment to Adani group, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday. 

Adani Power has received a letter of credit for $170 million, easing pressures from lenders, reported the agency, citing two people aware of the development. The partial payment doesn’t resolve the crisis, but the company won’t halt supplies for now, pending talks with the lenders of the Godda thermal plant in Jharkhand, the officials said. 

“Payments should have been made by this time,” Ahsan H Mansur, governor of Bangladesh Bank, said in a phone interview on Friday as per the report. The central bank “issued an instruction for the payment”, Mansur had said earlier this week.

The Adani electric supply accounts for nearly 10 per cent of Bengladesh’s total supply. The power company reduced its supply further to 500 megawatts on Thursday after cutting it to 700 megawatts earlier, as per the data collected from Power Grid Bangladesh cited in the news report.

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National News

Chhattisgarh: 5 Maoists Killed, 2 Jawans Injured In Narayanpur Encounter; Visuals Surface

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Narayanpur: In a major anti-Maoist operation, at least five Maoists were killed during a fierce encounter with security forces in the dense forests of the Abujhmad region in Chhattisgarh Narayanpur district on Saturday.

The gunfight took place after security personnel received reports about the presence of Maoists in the area.

According to officials, a joint team of security forces launched a search operation early Saturday morning. Around 6 a.m., the forces came under heavy fire, leading to an intense gunfight that lasted nearly five hours.

Statement Of One Of The Jawans

One of the jawan, part of the searching team, said that approximately 20 Maoists were present there, with at least five of them killed during the encounter.

“We were a team of 1,439 personnel deployed in the search operation. The encounter lasted until around 11 a.m., during which several Maoists were also injured. I came back but the search operation is still going on to capture the remaining Maoists,” he said.

2 Security Personnel Injured

During the operation, two security personnel sustained injuries. One of them, identified as Khileshwar Gawade, suffered bullet wounds in the head and right hand, while the other, Hiraman Yadav, was hit in the thigh. Both injured personnel were immediately evacuated and airlifted to Raipur for further medical treatment. Officials have assured that their condition is stable.

Security personnel have so far recovered the bodies of five Maoists, along with some weapons. The process of identifying the dead Maoists is underway.

About Abujhmad Region

The Abujhmad region, which borders Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district, is known for being a hotbed of Maoist activity. Just last month, security forces achieved an important victory by neutralising 31 Maoists in one of the most successful operations in Chhattisgarh’s history.

On the rising success of such operations, Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj P., had, last week said that a total of 192 Maoists have been killed this year alone. Authorities believe that sustained pressure from security forces is gradually weakening the insurgents’ grip in the region.

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National News

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge Slams BJP Over Infiltrator Issue In Jharkhand, Says ‘Ghuspetiya Andar Aa Rahe Aur Shah Sahab So Rahe’

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Jamtara (Jharkhand): As the BJP constantly evoked the issue of infiltration in Jharkhand, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said on Saturday that the BJP is scaring everyone in the name of infiltrators and when there is their government in the Centre, why can’t they stop it?

Addressing a public rally in Jharkhand’s Jamtara, Kharge said, “They (BJP) are scaring us in the name of infiltrators. You are in the central government, you are the Prime Minister, you are the home minister, then from where did the infiltrators enter?”

“Ghuspetiya andar aa rahe aur Shah Sahab so rahe,” he added.

He further said that the BJP only knows how to divide.

“When you can stop our helicopters, why can’t you stop infiltrators? They don’t know how to run the government. They only know how to divide. They have raised the matter of infiltrators in the elections and they are making people afraid of this. People are being incited in this way. This won’t work. Now people have understood you,” Kharge added.

About The Chopper Issue

The Congress Chief further targeted the BJP after party MP Rahul Gandhi’s chopper was delayed on Friday and said that today, his chopper was also delayed.

“Rahul Gandhi also did meetings here. We don’t know what problem does BJP has with us. When we want to come our helicopter gets stopped. Yesterday Rahul Gandh’s helicopter was denied permission to fly. Today Shah was coming here so I was stopped today for 20 minutes. His path was different and my path was different. Modiji comes in every way of ours,” Mallikarjun Kharge said.

Congress President Targets BJP Star Campaigners In Jharkhand

Sharpening his attacks further, Kharge targeted BJP star campaigners in Jharkhand and said that they all have gathered like a “war” is going on.

“In Jharkhand helicopters are flying like vultures. Did they come when anyone was in need here.? Some Chief Minister from Assam, Madhya Pradesh, all have gathered like a war is going on. This is battle of democracy where people participate and leaders have no role,” he said.

Voting for the first phase of the Jharkhand assembly elections concluded on November 13, with voting taking place in 43 out of the state’s 81 seats.

Elections on the remaining 38 seats will be conducted on November 20. The counting will be held on November 23.

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