Judicial Activism

Judicial Activism

Indian HOLOCAUST My Father`s Time and Life - One Hundred TEN

Palash Biswas



SC seeks police firing papers
OUR BUREAU
New Delhi/Calcutta, April 24: The Supreme Court has asked Calcutta High Court to send records of the Nandigram firing cases pending before it.

The request came after a person sought a judicial probe into the police firing that allegedly killed 14 villagers protesting against land acquisition.

On March 15, a day after the firing, the division bench of high court Chief Justice S.S. Nijjar and Justice P.C. Ghosh ordered a CBI probe into the incident. The same day, the court admitted nine petitions seeking its intervention.

Besides these 10 — the one initiated by the court and the nine others — another petition demanding compensation for the victims and their kin was admitted later.

The order by the Supreme Court Registry was issued on the direction of Justice G.P. Mathur, who heads the PIL (public interest litigation) cell, which scrutinises letters that could be treated as PILs.

In a 1984 order, the apex court had said that when it was for the rights of poor, disabled or the ignorant, even a letter or a telegram could be treated as a petition.

After scrutinising a letter, the PIL cell places it before the chief justice, who decides whether the court should entertain it.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070425/asp/bengal/story_7694831.asp

In a bid to restore normalcy

Shyam Sundar Roy
MIDNAPORE, April 24: The Midnapore East district authorities are not aware that they have unwittingly affirmed the 14 March massacre in Nandigram, albeit indirectly, by not including the police-cadre combined crime on the agenda of all-party peace meetings as demanded by the Bhumi Uchhed Pratorodh Committee (BUPC).
In a bid to restore normalcy in Nandigram, the district administration had organised as many as 11 such meetings ~ four at district level, six at block level and one at subdivisional level ~ in the past four months, while the district police called a separate meeting on 22 April.
The BUPC, comprising the Congress, Trinamul, Suci, BJP and the Jamait-e Ulema have been consistently boycotting these meetings as their demands were not being conceded. They alleged that had the administration’s policies been fair enough, it would not have hesitated to fulfill their demands.
But the administration did not take the risk of being slapped at the hands of the BUPC by listing the police operation on unarmed peasantry in which 14 people, including six women, were killed and many raped, on the agenda.
Meanwhile, exploding bombs and indiscriminate firing by CPI-M cadres across the Talpati Khal from Khejuri side continues unabated, terrorising the people of Sonachura, Adhikaripara, Gokulnagar areas, which are the strongholds of BUPC.
The reason behind the desperation of the CPI-M cadres to hire hoodlums even after the busting of their unauthorised armoury at Janani Brickyard in Sherkhanchowk of Khejuri on 16 March by the CBI and intercepting 10 of their gunmen was the feeling that they would be let off when the matter comes up at the Division Bench of Calcutta High Court late this month, BUPC leaders said.
For, according to them, the state Assembly speaker, the LF chairman and the state transport minister had mounted pressure by commenting that the High Court had overstepped its limit by taking cognisance of the “cold horror” statement of the Governor and ordering a suo motu CBI inquiry into the bloody incidents of Nandigram.
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=23&theme=&usrsess=1&id=154629

Judicial activism was made possible in India, thanks to PIL (Public Interest Litigation). Indian Parliament and Political parties representing only Brahminical ruling Clasees have this topic of Judicial Activism as topmost priority in their contradictory agendas.The Supreme Court Tuesday decided to begin examining from May 8 the constitutional validity of the law providing for 27 percent reservation to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in higher educational institutions.A bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice R.V. Raveendran advanced the hearing slated for August, after it heard government's plea to expedite the matter. With OBC quota in discussion, Caste Hindu politicians, who are never interested in social justice, have the best opportunity to console Vote Bank consisting of Eighty Percent enslaved Underclasses and underprevileged communities including Dalits, tribals, BC, OBC and Minorities. After Nandigram Massacre. CPIm finds an opportune topic for escape! With the Apex court directing Calcutta High Court to send it all documents regarding Nandigram, the RED horses of Manusmriti are bound to be very vocal against Judicial Activism in and out Parliament. Irony is this that they refrain to mention Nandigram, OBC Quota suits CPIM most. Interestingly, reservation is not fully implemented in left ruled states. WB Governement even has not identified the OBC castes in Bengal!

India is shining! Ruling classes have not to bother about masses.The Reserve Bank of India’s monetary and credit policy for fiscal 2007-08 announced today by the RBI Governor, Dr YV Reddy, kept all policy rates, CRR, repo and reverse repo steady, signalling that it had done enough to maintain economic stability and control inflation. Some new measures, mainly relaxation in forex usage, suggest progress towards rupee convertibility. The stock markets greeted the policy with the BSE Sensex closing up 1.50 per cent with an increase of 208.39 points. The rupee rallied past 41 per dollar for the first time in nine years on Wednesday, buoyed by robust capital inflows and as exporters hedged against further appreciation, traders said.The rupee ended at 40.90/91, having traded as high as 40.85 -- its strongest since May 1998, according to Reuters data. The gains follow a rise of more than 1 percent on Tuesday, when it closed at 41.10/12.


This face saver comes within a day of the 2 judge bench of Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice L.S. Panta refusing to vacate the interim stay on 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes in elite educational institutions.The Centre’s reaching out to the Chief Justice and the subsequent advancement of the hearing must be seen in this perspective. For long the Indian Judiciary has maintained its above politics status and more often than not in recent times has come out strongly in favor of the people against the Government even if it mean appropriating to itself executive actions where the Government of the day was found to be wanting. But what the Courts have avoided was providing constitutional cover to rank political issues after the costly missteps during the Indira Gandhi era in the run upto emergency.
While fixing May 8 to hear the legality of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admissions) Act, 2006, the court directed all the parties to conclude their arguments within 10 days.
On Monday, a bench of Justices Arijit Pasayat and L.S. Panta refused the government's plea to revive the quota law stayed by it. While suspending the law citing lack of updated census data for OBCs, it had decided to hear on its constitutionality in the first week of August.But the three top law officers of the government Tuesday made a plea before the chief justice's bench to expedite hearing in the matter.Attorney General Milon K. Banerji, Solicitor General G.E. Vahanvati and Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam appeared before the bench shortly after 2 p.m. on behalf of the government.They said if the judiciary did not settle the matter at the earliest, an entire academic year of tens of thousands of meritorious students would be lost.They said most higher educational institutions had even conducted their interviews after holding entrance tests for the admission and were eager to declare the list of successful candidates.
The OBC quota issue and the human trafficking case are expected to cast their shadow on the month-long second phase of Parliament's budget session beginning tomorrow, with the Finance Bill 2007-08 being brought in early for approval on May 3. The session, being held in the midst of crucial assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, is likely to witness fireworks on a number of other issues as well, like the rise in prices, internal security and Kashmir.

With the executive and legislature on one hand and the judiciary on the other not on the best of terms, the session will also see a special discussion on the judiciary's role.

The discussion will take place in the backdrop of the Supreme Court's refusal to vacate its stay on the law, passed unanimously by Parliament, providing for a 27 per cent quota for OBCs in elite educational institutions. In fact, there will also be a discussion on the OBC quota at a time when parties across the political spectrum are demanding that the reservation in higher education be made applicable from the next academic year.

With suspense continuing on the OBC quota issue, HRD Minister Arjun Singh on Wednesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on how to go about ensuring the interests of general category students in IIM admissions while protecting the OBC students.Before his meeting with the Prime Minister, the HRD Minister said that there was a 'qualitative change' in the situation following Supreme Court advancing the hearing on the quota issue by three months.

Describing the court direction as a 'welcome step', he said 'it indicated that the court has understood the implications of this issue which has wide ramifications. I hope the early hearing can lead to a solution to the issue.'Dismissing criticism that his ministry took 'arbitrary' decision on the IIM admission issue, he said that it was decided by all political parties, including the UPA allies that the admissions should be put on hold till the matter was resolved.The Minister said that he would consult the Prime Minister to seek his guidance on how to go about on the issue of non-reserved category while protecting seats for OBCs.

Hectic consultations were held by the minister with his top officials on Tuesday after Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan fixed May 8 for hearing the matter in the Court.

"Some signs of hope are there," he had said adding, "we will try to resolve it to some extent."

The IIMs have decided to keep on hold admissions to their post graduate programme for the coming academic year till the Supreme Court decides on the quota for OBCs in elite educational institutions.

The elite business schools said they would offer admissions to successful candidates for the 2007 programme only after the impasse over quotas for OBCs is sorted ou

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee announced the advancement of the discussion on the Finance Bill, which will now come up for approval on May three, in keeping with a decision of the all-party meeting convened by him today.

The human trafficking case, allegedly involving BJP MP Babubhai Katara, and some others could generate friction between the treasury benches and the opposition with the BJP demanding that all such issues, including the Katara case as also the tainted ministers, be taken up by the Ethics Committee.

The current Lok Sabha has already witnessed the expulsion of 10 members in the cash-for-questions scandal.

The government's plans to advance the passage of the Finance Bill came under attack from the opposition and Left parties, but the Speaker later said "adequate time" would be alloted for discussion on it and there would be no deduction in the number of hours slated for the debate.

At the meeting, the BJP and Left parties protested over Finance Minister P Chidambaram's foreign visit during May 6-10 when Parliament will be in session, saying ministers should not go out of the country during the session.

While the Katara affair and the controversial BJP CD will come in handy for the Congress and Left parties to corner the saffron party, the BJP will rake up the Nandigram issue and rising prices to embarrass the Marxists and the UPA coalition.

Left parties, key outside supporters of the UPA, have stepped up pressure, telling the government not to take their support for granted if it failed to change its policies.

The BJP has said it will seek an explanation from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the wake of Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri's statement that a settlement on the Kashmir issue was on the cards.

Besides these issues, FDI in retail, the environment and recent reports about global warming and its impact on India and its agrarian economy will also come up for discussion.
The CPIM central committee expressed concern at the growing trend of judicial encroachment in the spheres of the executive and parliament.The central committee met in New Delhi from March 31 to April 2, 2007. The central committee expressed its apprehensions on the Supreme Court judgement on the Ninth schedule of the Constitution making laws to be in the Ninth schedule subject to judicial scrutiny. The basic features of the Constitution have not been defined by the Supreme Court in the Keshavanand Bharati case. It is necessary to have a clear definition of the basic features of the Constitution.Increasingly, the higher judiciary is intervening in favour of the private sector, and the employers. There have been a number of judgements by the Supreme Court in the recent period, which overturned verdicts favouring the workers. At the same time, the trend of curtailing democratic rights and collective action by the higher judiciary continue. The Kerala High Court order banning student organisations and political activities from the campuses is one such instance. The central committee is of the firm opinion that there should be judicial accountability and reforms in the judiciary. A National Judicial Commission which comprises not just serving judges must be constituted for appointment and related issues.

No FIR may be lodged without green signals from Alimuddin Street. In Nandigram,the rapists were trying their best to evict the locals to clear fertile land for Salim. The rapists dressed or undressed belong to Buddha`s gestapo. If Judiciary takes up the issue,why should we consider it Judicial activism!

Mind you,six rape victims from Nandigram, including a 12-year-old girl, today met the Governor, Mr Gopal Krishna Gandhi, and the chairman of the state Human Rights Commission and requested them to take action against the accused. The government has failed, even after a month of the complaints being lodged, to take any action against the accused even though the women have identified them. One of the rape victims said: “Even now, CPI-M cadres and police threaten they will rape us again or kill us if we make statements before the commission.”
The Governor had reportedly assured the victims to take up the matter with the state government. The women also urged the commission to hold an open forum in Nandigram where victims who have been intimidated into silence can speak about their plight.

So is the case with Death carnival in Tea gardens of North Bengal while the chief minister says that no death has taken place at all! Meanwhile, failing in its earlier efforts to improve the condition of tea estate workers of north Bengal, state Human Rights Commission has decided to visit the place and conduct an on-the-spot enquiry.A team headed by the chairman is slated to visit Raipur Tea Estate and such other closed tea estates in Jalpaiguri in the last week of May. The decision came following an appeal by the Cha Mazdur Congress, an association comprising labourers of the Raipur Tea Estate.
Mr Kalyan Chakraborty, working president of the association said that 73 starvation deaths have taken place and most workers are suffering from malnutrition. Workers are not getting their salaries since 2003. Even their statutory provident fund and gratuity have stopped.

Faced with violent protests over land acquisition for industry in West Bengal, the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government has now another problem on hand as a survey has found that very little non-agricultural land is available in the state for industry. According to the survey, conducted by the Land and Land Reforms Department, only 22,412 acre of vested non-agricultural land is available in the state for industrial and commercial use. The situation becomes more acute with the report revealing that nearly 50 per cent (10, 831 acre) of this total land is available in North Bengal's hill district of Darjeeling where there is virtually no demand for land to set up industry. Based on the pending industrial and commercial proposals before the state government, it is estimated that nearly 90,000 acre would be required, mainly in So the current demand.

As per the survey, less than 4000 acre is available in the entire South Bengal where the demand for land is very high to set up steel plant, SEZ, chemical hub and other industries.


Certainly it cannot be anybody?s suggestion that our constitution be redrafted to meet new demands and changed perspectives of the nation, because that would be the end of this nation if we think ever to go for a new constitution.A Constitution, written or unwritten, is the lifeline of a nation and so is the case with India?s. In fact, sovereignty of India lies with our constitution and neither with parliament nor with the people, as some people think. Even parliament cannot amend the constitution if it purports to change its basic structure. The ultimate power lies with none but within the constitution itself and our constitution is the sole authority from where the state and the people
assume power, be it executive, legislative or judicial. Indian constitution is not just a law book or a legal treaty, but it is the ultimate emanatory of our political and social existence.
http://www.mail-archive.com/assam@assamnet.org/msg10868.html
See also:
http://www.asienhaus.de/public/archiv/Chap1.pdf
http://www.chowk.com/show_article.cgi?aid=00007771&channel=civic%20center
http://pd.cpim.org/2007/0408/04082007_cc%20communique.htm
http://www.geocities.com/bororissa/jud.html
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/br/2002/06/11/stories/2002061100090300.htm
The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - EditorialEnd of judicial activism In a landmark judgement the Supreme Court has shrunk its ... Two cases in South India challenging the hiring out of two hotels ...
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Amazon.com: Judicial Activism in India: Transgressing Borders and ...Amazon.com: Judicial Activism in India: Transgressing Borders and Enforcing Limits (Law in India): Books: SP Sathe by SP Sathe.
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The Hindu : Opinion / Leader Page Articles : Judicial activism and ...The great contribution of judicial activism in India has been to provide a ... It is in this context that judicial activism has flourished in India and has ...
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Latest News on 'judicial activism in india' | India News by ...Provides lists of India news on judicial activism in india tags.
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[PDF] Judicial Activism In India: Floated Myths And Flouted RealitiesFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
Judicial activism, in India, is a movement from personal injury to public concern by relaxing,. expanding, and broadening the concept of locus standi. ...
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OUP: UK General CatalogueJudicial Activism in India Transgressing Borders and Enforcing Limits. Second Edition. S. P. Sathe. Price: £12.99 (Paperback) ISBN-10: 0-19-566823-5 ...
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Asian Law InstituteThe seminar presentation would address the concept of judicial activism with reference to India (including the misconceptions), the constitutional basis as ...
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Fifty Years of the Supreme Court of India: Its Grasp and Reach“[I]n India the guardian of democracy is not the legislative wisdom but the ... In effect there exists a constitutional mandate for judicial activism. ...
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Judicial activism: Who is more right?-India-The Times of IndiaThe two remarks at a conference have added to the ongoing debate on judicial activism. The Prime Minister’s measured words have put forth the position of ...
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The year 2000 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the passage of India’s Constitution. Over the past three years, several scholars have published pieces commemorating India’s legal system, and more generally, the “success” (Kohli 2001) of its democracy (see e.g., Verma & Kusum 2000; Kirpal et al. 2000; Austin 2000). However, no one work has provided as nuanced an analysis of the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence since Independence, than Professor S.P. Sathe’s recent book entitled JUDICIAL ACTIVISM IN INDIA. Long viewed as one of India’s pre-eminent constitutional legal scholars, Sathe, in this study, offers a careful and detailed treatment of how the Supreme Court has shifted from an originally detached, positivist institution to one that is an active player in daily political life. As Upendra Baxi notes in his prefatory comments, Sathe’s quest is not only to document that such a shift has occurred but also to offer a normative perspective on whether the Court’s increased activism has been good for India’s democracy. For those who are interested in an historical, jurisprudential, and political analysis of the Indian Supreme Court, this book is a must read.
http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/lpbr/subpages/reviews/sathe-sp.htm

Prior to 1980s, only the aggrieved party could personally knock the doors of justice and seek remedy for his grievance and any other person who was not personally affected could not do so as a proxy for the victim or the aggrieved party. But around 1980, the Indian legal system, particularly the field of environmental law, underwent a sea change in terms of discarding its moribund approach and instead, charting out new horizons of social justice. This period was characterized by not only administrative and legislative activism but also judicial activism.

In a modern welfare state, justice has to address social realities and meet the demands of time. Protection of the environment throws up a host of problems for a developing nation like ours. Administrative and legislative strategies of harmonization of environmental values with developmental values are a must and are to be formulated in the crucible of prevalent socio-economic conditions in the country. In determining the scope of the powers and functions of administrative agencies and in
striking a balance between the environment and development, the courts have a crucial role to play. Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration of 1992 specifically provides for effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy.
http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/jjj.htm
Mr. Chaman Lal addressed the participants of the PG diploma course in Human Rights on the 30th of July and 31st July. On the first day he extensively spoke about the Judicial Activism, he said Judicial activism does not find any mention in constitution, it is not defined anywhere but is widely talked about in all section of society, NGOs and bureaucrats. Assertion of Judiciary and its power is judicial activism, many people label it is over active judiciary. Keshvanand Bharati Vs. Kesala, Minerva Mills Vs. Union of India, India of Gaudlis Vs. Raj Naraian & S.P. Vs. Union of India etc. are few landmark cases that highlight judicial activism.

Using judicial activism as a weapon Supreme Court gives directive through government. In Vineet Narayan Vs. Union of India, the famous Hawala case Supreme Court monitored the riweshgahous, it issued directives for CBI and intelligence services to be present in all hearings. He said that Judicial reforms are needed therefore judicial activism should go hand in hand with judicial restraint.
http://www.rlek.org/nhrc.html



I was raped by cop: Nandigram victim


KOLKATA: A woman told officials probing the Nandigram killings in West Bengal that she was raped by a policeman on March 14 during a police attempt to crush protests by villagers against land acquisition. Kajal Majhi of Kalicharanpur village in East Midnapore district made the allegation Tuesday to senior official Balbir Ram, appointed by the government to inquire into alleged police atrocities in Nandigram.

Kajal reportedly said she was raped when the police entered Gokulnagar village in Nandigram, 150 km from here, while the villagers were protesting against proposed land acquisition for a special economic zone (SEZ).

"We peacefully assembled in the village when police entered the area and tear-gassed us. When I went to wash my eyes, a policeman forced me inside a cattle shed and raped me and I fainted," she said.

"I regained consciousness after a day. The local people first took me to the Nandigram hospital and then to the Tomluk district hospital. I came back home after 11 days of treatment," she said.

Pushpa Mondal, who suffered a bullet injury apparently in police firing, and Bhanu Das, father of a villager who was killed during the protests, were also present at Tuesday's hearing.

Fourteen people were killed and over 100 injured in violence in the area last month.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Kolkata/I_was_raped_by_cop_Nandigram_victim/articleshow/1954457.cms

Are judges over-reaching?
The Constitution has clearly drawn the Lakshman Rekha for both the Legislature and the Judiciary to maintain their independence in their respective functioning. But what happens when either judges or lawmakers cross this line? Pradeep Baisakh presents an overview of that much maligned term, judicial over-reach.

"The line between judicial activism and judicial overreach is a thin one ... A takeover of the functions of another organ may become a case of over-reach" - Dr. Manmohan Singh, speaking at the Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices held in New Delhi in April 2007.

19 April 2007 - In the Constitutional scheme of things, necessary care has been taken to strike a balance of power among the three organs of the State, namely, the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. However there have been phases during which one organ has dominated the scenario, thereby apparently posing a threat to the balance visualized by the Constitution. During the last decade or so, we have been witnessing the phase of 'judicial activism', wherein judges have allegedly taken to themselves some roles of the Executive and the Legislature. The very recent verdict of the Supreme Court on the expulson of MPs from Parliament has once again brought to the fore question over the extent of judicial power over the functioning of legislatures.

Constitutional position

The Constitution, under various provisions, has clearly drawn the Lakshman Rekha for both the Legislature and the Judiciary to maintain their independence in their respective functioning. Where Articles 121 and 211 forbid the legislature from discussing the conduct of any judge in discharge of his/duties, Articles 122 and 212 on the other hand preclude the courts from sitting in judgement over the internal proceedings of the legislature. Article 105 (2) and 194 (2) protect the legislators from interference of the Courts with regards to his/her freedom of speech and freedom to vote.

Thus, in theory, there is ample provision for each side to maintain its autonomy. But activism of any sort, whether by the judiciary or the legislature, throws up a million-dollar question: what happens when one side does not abide by the separation envisioned in the Constitution? On this, the Constitution is apparently silent, leaving it to the learned and responsible legislators and the judges to themselves ensure that they remain within their bounds. The sad fact, however, is that there have been numerous instances where these rather pious intents of the Constitution have been flouted without check.
http://www.indiatogether.org/2007/apr/opi-judover.htm



Nandigram: Fact And CPI(M)'s Fiction

By Kavita Krishnan

25 April, 2007
Countercurrents.org

[Kavita Krishnan from Liberation takes a look at facts about the Nandigram massacre and Communist Party of India (Marxist) -CPI(M)-sponsored fiction. Quotations from CPI(M) leaders are from Brinda Karat's 'Behind the Events at Nandigram' ( The Hindu, March 30, 2007), 'Some Issues on Nandigram' also by Brinda Karat, People's Democracy, Vol. XXXI, No. 13, April 01, 2007, 'Defeat the politics of Terror' (PD editorial of March 18), CPI(M) Politburo statement of March 14, 'Singur: Just the Facts Please', Brinda Karat, ( The Hindu, December 13, 2006)].

'Behind the events at Nandigram', says Brinda Karat, is no peasant resistance against corporate land grab. It's not 'bhumi ucched' (eviction from land) but 'CPI(M) ucched' (evict CPI(M)) that's up, she says. In a series of articles and statements by the CPI(M) top brass in media as well as the CPI(M) party organ PD, there is a concerted attempt to serve up CPI(M)'s version of Nandigram episode. Despite mandatory noises of 'regret' at the loss of lives in police firing, and a promise to 'introspect about mistakes, 'if any', the arguments being put forth are old, familiar ones. The firing it is said is regrettable, but it's the gang-up of Trinamool-Naxalites-Jamaat that really has to take the blame for the killings, because they attacked the police who were forced to fire to disperse the crowd. As a result, "in the crossfire that ensued, as always, innocent people became victims". It's the CPI(M) supporters who're the victims of a cleansing operation – contrary to the reports of all independent fact-finding teams. And 'foreign-funded', US-backed enemies of communists are spreading canards about large-scale participation of CPI(M) cadre in the March 14 operation, and about sexual assaults on women.

Let us examine the main arguments of Brinda Karat and Co., one by one.

"Once the CM Had Assured No Land Acquisition Without Consent, Why Was the Movement Called Off?"

Brinda Karat argues that there was no raison d'etre for the continuance of the resistance in Nandigram since January 9, since the CM had assured that there would be no land acquisition if the people of Nandigram did not wish it. She adds, "Indeed he is the only chief minister in the country who has made such a categorical statement that a condition for land acquisition must be farmer consent."

After such a principled declaration by Buddha, why indeed need the movement have continued?

Well, in the first place, let's ask what price CPI(M)'s 'facts' and 'assurances'? May we draw Brinda Karat's attention to an article titled 'Singur: Just the Facts Please' published in her name in The Hindu after the first bout of police-cadre violence in Singur. In that article she had asserted as 'fact' that "Of the 997 acres required, the Government has received consent letters from landowners for 952 acres." Similar declarations had also been made in an article by no less than the CPI(M) General Secretary in a PD editorial titled 'Singur: Myth and Reality'.

But an affidavit filed in response to an order of the Kolkata HC by the WB Government on March 27 records a different reality. In this affidavit, the Bengal government admitted that land was acquired in Singur under a section of the Land Acquisition Act 1894 that does not entertain disputes.
http://www.countercurrents.org/kavita250407.htm