Farmers' associations in Tiruppur resolve to sustain continuous sit-in protest demanding a solution to Inam land issue
Espousing the cause of 30 lakh families across the State, the protesters estimate that their rights to 13 lakh acres of land they have been using for generations have been denied by the HR and CE Department and the Wakf Board. The protest will continue until a definite solution is found.
According to Karunamoorthy, State Coordinator, Inam Nila Iyakkam, an umbrella organisation representing the affected farmers, lessees, and tenants using the Inam land, the zero value fixation for the land by the Registration Department has hit the farmers hard. The premise of the government authorities that the farmers enjoying the land under the Ryotwari system were encroachers was unacceptable.
The protestors have urged the Tamil Nadu Government to emulate the intervention made in recent years by the Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala governments, in the interest of a section of inamdars who had been left out in the earlier exercise of conversion of the inam land into pattas.
The farmers have been seeking effective implementation of the Tamil Nadu Inam Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1963, that provides for the acquisition of rights of land holders in Inam estates, and introduction of the ryotwari settlement in such estates. Likewise, the farmers have also emphasised on effective implementation of the Tamil Nadu Minor Inam (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1963, that provides for the acquisition of the rights of Inamdars in minor inams in the State, and the introduction of Ryotwari Settlement in such Inams.
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The Hindu
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Why were the accused acquitted by the court? Here are some of the key findings: Thakur was not in 'conscious possession' of motorcycle The court held that Ms. Thakur was not in 'conscious possession' of the LML Freedom motorcycle in which the explosive device was allegedly planted. Citing her renunciation of the material world at least two years before the blast, Judge Lahoti observed, 'Prosecution had not led any evidence on record to show that she was in conscious possession of the said motorcycle even after renouncement of the material world. Nobody has seen her with the said motorcycle, or it was with her at Jabalpur Aashram even after taking the Sanyas.' The Judge further observed that there was neither eyewitness testimony nor circumstantial evidence to suggest that Ms. Thakur had handed over the motorcycle to the co-accused or was involved in assembling the explosive device. Instead, he noted that the explosive could have been hung, placed, or kept near the motorcycle, rather than fitted inside it. 'Mere, blast on the site and damaged condition of the motorcycle are not conclusive proof of fitting explosives inside the dikki, i.e., beneath the seat of said motorcycle,' the Judge observed, adding that expert testimony did not rule out the possibility of the device being attached externally or placed nearby. As for allegations of torture by the ATS, the court noted that Ms. Thakur had not raised any such complaint when she was produced before a magistrate on October 24, 2008, following her arrest. Citing an earlier Supreme Court order, the Judge pointed out that she neither made any allegations of ill-treatment at the time nor challenged the magistrate's remand order. 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First Post
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