The Supreme Court allowed a mechanism proposed by the Assam government to clear alleged encroachments in forests. The bench said that the course of action to be adopted “contains sufficient procedural safeguards”.

Residents of villages in the state’s reserved forests had moved the court after receiving eviction notices that alleged that they had illegally occupied the land. They argued that their families had lived in the villages for more than 70 years and that they had been issued identity documents by the state.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma described the Supreme Court’s ruling as a “historic victory” of the Assam government, saying that it streamlined the process to evict alleged encroachers. Read on.

‘The police watched as my home was burnt’: Why Assam’s Karbi Anglong went up in flames

The Union government told the Supreme Court that activist Sonam Wangchuk cannot be released from detention on medical grounds, saying that he is “fit, hale and hearty”. During a hearing earlier this month, the court had asked the government to rethink Wangchuk’s detention, considering that his “health is not that good”.

Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj told the court that Wangchuk was a chief provocateur in the violent protests, alleging that he instigated young persons by giving examples of Nepal and Arab Spring. He also claimed that Wangchuk had used “hybrid expressions”.

To this, the court said that the government was reading “too much” into the words. Read on.

Nine false claims about Sonam Wangchuk – and why they fall flat

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that lakhs of “doubtful voters” had been removed in the state based on complaints filed by workers of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party during the special revision of electoral rolls. “This is only the beginning,” the chief minister said.

He added that more names of “such people” will be removed when the special intensive revision takes place.

On Tuesday, the Election Commission said that an additional 2.4 lakh names were deleted in the final list after 10 lakh voters were removed from the draft released in December. Read on.

Members of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s youth wing vandalised a Bangladeshi food stall at an international food event at a college in Pune. An unidentified student told The Indian Express that The men were also trying to attack Bangladeshi students.

A video posted on social media by the Pune city head of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha showed members of the organisation arguing with students and the security guards, shouting slogans, vandalising the kiosk and burning the Bangladeshi flag.

College authorities said that they were in the process of filing a complaint. Read on.

The Union home minister directed that all six stanzas of the national song Vande Mataram be sung first when it is played together with the national anthem Jana Gana Mana.

Only the first two stanzas of the song have been played at official functions so far. The remaining stanzas, which invoke Hindu goddesses Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati, had been omitted. Read on.

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