A video clip from a Gauhati High Court hearing has been raging across social media. It shows Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi, visibly astonished, reacting to the allotment of 3,000 bighas of land in Assam’s Dima Hasao district to a private cement company.

“3,000 bighas! The entire district? What is going on? A private company being given 3,000 bighas? … Public interest, not private interest, is what matters,” Justice Medhi said during the August 12 hearing.

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma handed over 3,000 bigha (81 million sqft) of tribal land to Adani for a cement factory.

A High Court judge expressed shock, questioning the rationality of the decision and stating, "Is this a joke? You are giving a whole district. Your need is not… pic.twitter.com/vFNGE0QzkA

Online, though, the story took on another life. As the clip spread, many users, including the social media handles of the Congress and CPI(M), claimed that the land was being handed over to the Adani Group. The conglomerate had to issue a formal denial on August 18, clarifying that such reports are “baseless” and that it has no connection to the cement company.

After the misinformation and the subsequent clarification, the actual issue – the long-running conflict between tribal villagers and land allotments in Sixth Schedule areas – was once again sidelined.

Newslaundry had earlier reported on........

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