"PWD officials had informed us that a wall of the mosque was in PWD land and we were served a notice. So we decided to demolish the wall," Iqbal Ali, a member of the mosque committee, said earlier.
The Supreme Court of India has upheld a Bombay High Court order reinstating a woman as the sarpanch of a Maharashtra village, stating that bureaucrats cannot be allowed to "frustrate grassroot democracy." The court criticized instances of bureaucrats misbehaving with elected representatives and attempting to disqualify them by reopening old cases. The case involved Kalavati Rajendra Kokale, whose resignation from the sarpanch's post was withdrawn, but the Raigad district collector declared a vacancy and conducted a fresh election. The court found the collector's actions illegal and upheld Kokale's reinstatement, highlighting the importance of respecting the democratic process and elected representatives at the grassroots level.
An 'illegal' structure near trainee Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Puja Khedkar's family bungalow in Pune has been cleared, days after the civic body issued them a notice to remove it, an official said on Wednesday.
Not long ago, the rat-hole miner was feted for his role in rescuing with his team 41 workers trapped in Uttarkashi's Silkyara tunnel in November last year.
Though the legislator of Rupohihat, Nurul Huda, stopped the drive in Sitalmari area of Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary for a while claiming it was illegal, the exercise resumed later, a senior official said.
Following the Supreme Court's verdict on bulldozer action, victims of demolition drives in Uttar Pradesh are seeking compensation for their losses. The court ruled against arbitrary demolitions without prior notice, prompting victims to pursue legal action. The Uttar Pradesh government maintains that demolitions were carried out following due process and on properties built on encroached lands.
Hitting out at the Congress government headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, he said the ruling party has reached "height of appeasement politics," and alleged that it has in a way made appeasement of minorities its "goal."
The CM also said that to prevent the sale of land from the indigenous communities like tribals and Adivasis to others in undivided Goalpara district, a strong law will be brought.
The central university issued a statement saying it is putting 'facts on record' and requests Sen to do what is required to be done to protect his self-esteem and Visva-Bharati's reputation.
'The true measure of Project Tiger's success is not just rising tiger numbers, but our ability to ensure harmonious human-wildlife coexistence'
The Assam government on Tuesday began clearing nearly 1,900 hectares of forest and government land in Sonitpur district, affecting 12,000-odd people who were allegedly staying there illegally for decades, a senior official said.
The accused, a contractor by profession, was absconding since the murder of journalist Mukesh Chandrakar came to light on January 3, he said.
Can a culture survive as a way of life, even as the language and writing at its core, alter with time? Can we be rational and Malayalee or do we have to necessarily be religious and proudly cultural to be Malayalee? asks Shyam G Menon.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will lay down guidelines for all citizens and not for any particular community on the issue of demolition of properties.
The top court had on March 4 directed the party to vacate its office by June 15 after noting that the plot was allotted to the Delhi high court for expanding judicial infrastructure.
Describing China as the biggest threat to the country, Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav slammed the United Progressive Alliance for being a "silent spectator" to alleged Chinese encroachment of Indian territory.
The era when anyone could encroach on India's land has passed and no one can dare to eye its border, Home Minister Amit Shah said in Kibithoo, Arunachal Pradesh, on Monday.
"My family and I continue to spend the night in the open. Some locals are providing us with food and water, etc.," Hassan said on Friday, a day after he refused an offer by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to move him and his family to an EWS flat in Narela.
An angry Banerjee slammed a minister, a former Trinamool Congress mayor and a few bureaucrats for their "below-par performance".
In Kerala's society, known for its high material standard of living, plunging into a state of having nothing overnight can be terrible for one's social standing and sense of self-esteem. Rehabilitation entails piecing a community back together after a disturbance and while its aim is noble, the act of reassembling will bring alive disparities and inequalities, explains Shyam G Menon.
Prayagraj is transforming into a massive temporary city to host the Maha Kumbh, the world's largest religious gathering, expected to draw over 40 crore pilgrims. The preparations include extensive infrastructure development, including 160,000 tents, 150,000 toilets, and a 1,250-km pipeline network. The event, starting on January 13, will culminate on February 26, bringing together millions of devotees for the holy dip at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers.
The term 'love jihad' is used by right-wing groups to allege a ploy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into religious conversion through marriage.
Aliza, a Class-10 student of the National Institute of Open Schooling, could not appear in her home science exam due to the chaos prevailing after the demolition of the house, her family members claimed.
Days after a number of families were evicted from 'encroached land' in three districts of Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday urged the minority community to adopt a 'decent family planning policy' for population control to reduce poverty.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday directed officials to take strict action against illegal occupants of any land, be it government or private, without discrimination.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tejasvi Surya and editors of some Kannada news portals have been booked for allegedly spreading fake news linking a farmer's suicide to land disputes with Waqf Board, police said on Friday.
The Sanjauli area was choked as the protesters took out a march. The area teemed with hundreds of demonstrators, several of whom carried Hindu religion insignia, such as saffron flags and banners bearing Lord Ram's image and the protesters demanded demolition of the illegal mosque in 15 days.
Amid escalating tensions over the Sinjauli mosque in Shimla, a Muslim welfare committee on Thursday urged the municipal commissioner to seal the unauthorised portion and also offered to demolish it in accordance with a court order.
'Meiteis started feeling insecure stating that the illegal immigrant population is growing in the valley, and that the majority community would become a minority.'
Armed with sticks, they set ablaze thatched structures near a fishing yard in Belmajur area of Sandeshkhali, venting their fury against the elusive TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh and his brother Siraj. The torched structure, it was revealed, belonged to Siraj.
The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to remove or shift religious structures "in any form" which encroach on public roads including sideways.
The Supreme Court on Friday said if it finds that authorities in Gujarat acted in contempt of its order on demolition of properties, it will ask them to restore the structures.
The top court had earlier directed the Delhi government and the Registrar General of the Delhi high court to hold a meeting for removal of encroachment by AAP on the land allotted to the HC at Rouse Avenue.
The Munduruku tribe in the Amazon searches for and expels illegal gold miners encroaching on their land.
A Bharatiya Janata Party MLA in Madhya Pradesh advised students to open 'motorcycle puncture repair shops' since nothing would be gained by obtaining degrees, the statement ironically coming at an event to inaugurate a 'PM College of Excellence' in his Guna assembly constituency.
In the wake of the Adarsh housing scam, the Navy has found that a "huge number" of its plots were encroached upon, a top Navy official said on Wednesday.
A video purportedly showing controversial Indian Administrative Service officer Puja Khedkar's mother arguing with Metro rail construction workers in Pune has surfaced, days after another clip of her wielding a gun and threatening a group of men went viral.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in the state is committed to ensuring that the indigeneous people have legal rights over their land, Modi said, after launching a drive to give ownership certificates to over one lakh families. Marking its launch, the prime minister distributed 'pattas' to 10 people at the historic 'Jerenga Pathar'.
Tagore had a song for every occasion. Perhaps one of his songs on greed could become the anthem for the once hallowed Visva Bharati, says Keya Sarkar.
An official said the incident in the video was about a land parcel bought by Puja's father Dilip khedkar, a retired Maharashtra government officer, in Dhadwali village in Pune's Mulshi tehsil.
