The Forest Rights Act

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Supreme Court Case Not Heard – But Government’s Responsibility Still Stands

The Supreme Court did not hear the case against the Forest Rights Act today due to other matters. This delay is not bad news in itself, but even though the Court specifically put evictions on hold on February 28th, there have been threatened and actual evictions across the country. Moreover, so long as the order is only “on hold”, this kind of misuse will continue, and the spectre of mass evictions being ordered again will also hang over millions of tribals and forest dwellers. It is the constitutional duty of governments – particularly the BJP government at the Centre – to ensure that this case is dismissed. The silence of the Centre in 2017-2018 ensured that this situation arose. We call upon the government to present the Court with the true picture – that this is a historic legislation for the rights of millions of people and a democratic step forward for genuine conservation. To know more, see our explainer on this ten year old case.