Tata Motors Limited moved the Supreme Court on Tuesday seeking an interim order restraining the West Bengal Government from distributing to farmers the land originally allocated for its ‘Nano’ small car factory at Singur.

The State Government under the new Chief Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, had recently taken back this 1,000-acre land from the company through the enactment of a legislation.

The Calcutta High Court had, on Monday, declined to grant an interim stay against the State Government’s move, following which the company approached the apex court. The apex court will hear the petition on Wednesday.

In its petition, Tata Motors has expressed apprehension that the state Government may shortly commence distribution of the land to “unwilling” farmers, who had not accepted compensation for the land acquired from them.

It pleaded that if an interim order is not passed restraining the land distribution, its original petition challenging the legislation itself – the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011 - would become infructuous.

The petition has hence sought restoration of the possession of the land to the company and declaration of the Singur Act as “unconstitutional, illegal and void”.

An adjudication of the rights of parties is essentially a judicial function and in the instant case, the state legislature has blatantly encroached on this judicial power, the company had contended.

The High Court had, however, refused to pass an interim stay order, noting that the company’s petition did not make a specific mention of when the process of distribution of land would start.

Meanwhile, the State Government has already filed a caveat before the apex court to ensure that any petition by Tata Motors on the issue was not heard ex-parte. According to Tata Motors, the 1000-acre land was acquired by the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation and was leased out to the company. Thereafter, the company claimed that it invested over Rs 1,800 crore in the project.

But following political agitation and a change of Government in the state, the Act was operationalised on June 20, the company said. However, neither was the copy of the notification available with any Government stationery shops nor was it made public by the Government, it alleged.

It said the sole basis for passing the Act, on the ground that the company had abandoned/not commissioned its plant, was incorrect.

The purpose of the legislation was merely to assume possession of the land on the on the pretext of returning it to the original land owners without giving the company its due and adequate/lawful compensation, Tata Motors said.

It is a settled principle of law that land which is vested with the state Government under land acquisition proceedings cannot ever go back to the original owner, the company claimed.

Related Topics