Supreme Court orders status quo on Assam demolition drive
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed a status quo on the proposed evictions and demolitions in Assam’s Sonapur. A Bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan issued a notice on a contempt petition challenging the demolitions and directed the State government to respond within three weeks.
The plea was filed by forty-eight residents who argued that the demolition drive was in violation of the Supreme Court's recent interim order against the use of bulldozers for demolishing properties of individuals suspected of criminal activities without prior permission.
Sonapur, located on the outskirts of Guwahati within the Kamrup Metro district, has recently witnessed a series of eviction notices issued by the district administration, which classified several residents as ‘illegal occupiers’ or ‘encroachers’ on tribal lands.
The contempt plea, filed through advocate Adeel Ahmed, stated that the houses were marked for demolition without any prior notice or hearing. The petitioners argued that they hold rights over the land through a power of attorney, and that their families have resided there since the 1920s, prior to the establishment of protected tribal belts in the area. They also submitted that they possess utility facilities, ration cards, Aadhaar cards, and voter ID cards based on their residency.
The residents further contended that the proposed demolitions are in breach of an undertaking recorded before the Gauhati High Court, which granted them interim protection. They have sought contempt proceedings against officials for violating court orders and urged the Supreme Court to halt the eviction process.
Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi appeared on behalf of the petitioners, while the plea was drafted by advocates Abdur Razzaque Bhuyan, Sana Parveen, and Arijeet Baruah.
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In Qatar, Trump once again claims he 'helped settle' tensions between India and Pakistan
Doha, May 15 (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Thursday repeated his claim yet again that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.
"…And by the way, I don't want to say I did, but I sure as hell helped settle the problem between Pakistan and India last week, which was getting more and more hostile,” he said while addressing US military personnel at al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
"And all of a sudden, you'll start seeing missiles of a different type. And we got it settled. I hope, I hope I don't walk out of here and two days later find out that it's not settled, but I think it is settled,” Trump said.
This is the sixth time since Saturday that Trump has claimed that the US brokered the “ceasefire” between New Delhi and Islamabad.
India carried out precision strikes under 'Operation Sindoor' on terror infrastructure early on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
Following the Indian action, Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10. The Indian forces launched a fierce counter-attack on several Pakistani military installations.
India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
Indian government sources in New Delhi have been maintaining that the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea, with immediate effect. They said no third party was involved.
In his address to US troops on Thursday, Trump again claimed that he talked to the countries about “trade”.
“Let's do trade instead of do war. And Pakistan was very happy with that, and India was very happy with that, and I think they're on the way, you know, they have been fighting for about 1,000 years in all fairness,” he said as he laughed slightly.
"So I said, you know, I could settle that up. I can settle anything. Let me set it up. Let's get them all together. How long have you been fighting? About 1,000 years. Oh, that's a lot. I'm not sure about that. I'm not sure about settling. That's a tough one. They've been fighting for a long time, but we got that settled. Nobody, boy, everybody was very happy. I'll tell you that looked like it was really going to be escalating out of control,” he added.
On Saturday, Trump announced that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate ceasefire” after a “long night of talks mediated by the United States.”
Later, in a post on Truth Social, Trump offered to work with India and Pakistan for a “solution” on Kashmir, while crediting Washington for helping the two nations arrive at the “historic and heroic decision” of stopping the conflict.
India has always maintained that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral matter with Pakistan and there is no space for any third party.
