Land acquisition for Green corridor quashed; IAF asserts shooting Pak F-16

IAF asserts it has irrefutable evidence of shooting down Pak F-16, shows images

The Indian Air Force on April 8 said it has “irrefutable evidence” of shooting down an F-16 aircraft of Pakistan Air Force during the February 27 aerial combat. Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor, at a media briefing, showed radar images to assert that an F-16 of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) was shot down by the Indian Air Force. The IAF has more credible information and evidence that is clearly indicative of the fact that PAF has lost one F-16 in the air action on February 27, he said.

SC refuses urgent listing of plea against HC order asking Centre to ban TikTok app

The Supreme Court on April 8 refused urgent listing of a plea challenging the recent Madras High Court order directing the Centre to ban the TikTok app over concerns about access to pornographic content through it. Senior advocate AM Singhvi, appearing for Chinese company ByteDance, said that there are over billion download of the app and the Madurai bench of Madras High Court has passed an ex-parte order. “No urgent listing. The matter will come up in due course of time,” the bench said.

High Court orders truce between TN CM and MK Stalin

The Madras High Court on April 8 urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and DMK supremo MK Stalin to refrain from talking about the Kodanad dacoity-cum-murder case. Hearing a plea from the government seeking to vacate the stay against the defamation case filed on MK Stalin, the DMK leader, Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan called upon both of them to stop accusing each other in the case. This was in the aftermath of counsels, representing both, submitted newspaper reports and videos that highlighted the charges made against each other in the sensitive case.

Madras HC quashes land acquisition process for Chennai-Salem expressway

In a major setback to the ruling AIADMK government, the Madras High Court on April 8 quashed land acquisition proceedings for the Chennai-Salem Greenfield expressway corridor. A division bench of justices, while allowing a batch of petitions moved by the PMK youth wing leader Anbumani Ramadoss, advocate AP Suryapragasam and 35 land owners including the farmers, passed the order quashing the proceedings of acquiring land for the ₹10,000 crore expressway, a pet project of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami. The bench also ordered that public hearing and central environmental clearance was mandatory for the project.

Uncle-niece romance goes awry, ends in murder

The Tamil Nadu police arrested a 29-year-old youth from Dindigul on April 7 on the charge of murdering a 21-year-old girl, a relative of his, near Pollachi, in Coimbatore a few days ago.The body, with the throat slit, was found on the Dharapuram main road of Coimbatore on April 6, by 6 pm. The police sent the body to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital for autopsy.

Can’t take action on Modi biopic until censor board clears it: SC

The Supreme Court on April 8 said it cannot pass an order at this stage on a plea seeking a stay on the release of a biopic on PM Narendra Modi as the censor board was yet to certify the film. The apex court said it will hear the matter on April 9 and possibly can pass an order if the petitioner brings on record that what the film depicts is highly objectionable.

SC stays capital punishment for Daswant; issues notice to state govt

The Supreme Court on April 8 stayed the death sentence, of murder convict S Daswant, which was first ordered by a trial court and upheld by the Madras High Court on appeal. He was sentenced for sexually assaulting and murdering a seven-year-old girl at an apartment in Mugalivakkam, Chennai on February 5, 2017.

Periyar statue vandalised days after clash between Dravidian, Sanghi outfits

Days after the clash between the cadres of Hindu Munnani and Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) in Trichy over a controversial remark by DK leader K Veeramani, a statue of Dravidan ideologue and DK founder, Periyar EV Ramasamy was vandalised on April 8 in Aranthangi, Pudukottai district.The head of the Periyar statue was founded to be beheaded on April 8 morning and a probe has been ordered.

It is official: Tamil race is at least 3,000 years old

On April 5, it was established that the Tamil civilization is proven to date back to at least 900 BC. Results of radio carbon dating of samples from an archaeological site were revealed by the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court. The site is at Adichanallur, a village on the banks of the Tamirabarani river in Tuticorin district of southern Tamil Nadu. While making the test records public, the judges wondered why no tests had been done on the dig from an excavation carried out 15 years ago.

Dravidianists and Tamil enthusiasts may see this delay as yet another instance of the Centre stalling archaeological excavations because it fears the idea of a civilization outside the ambit of the Hindu-Vedic framework. They have alleged that the Centre has deliberately stalled excavations at another site near Madurai, Keezhadi, because it doesn’t want to establish a similar fact.