Tata Motors Ltd on Monday alleged before the Calcutta High Court that the procedure of re-possessing land at Singur by the West Bengal Government was not compliant with Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011.
“Even assuming that the Act is valid, actions by the State Government in taking back the land did not follow the procedures laid down in the Act,” Mr Samaraditya Pal, counsel for Tata Motors, said. The company had challenged the constitutional validity of the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011.
According to Tata Motors, the Act mentions that a proper notice to an authority (of the auto major) needs to be served. Failure by the auto major to vacate and hand over possession of the land to the district magistrate of Hooghly would lead to “necessary action” by the district magistrate.
However, the procedures were not followed by the State Government or the district magistrate, Mr Pal argued.
Pointing out that there were 12 witnesses to the letter written by the district magistrate to the auto major on June 21, Mr Pal maintained, “The DM is the executive head of the district. Having 12 witnesses shows that the DM is not confident of the authenticity of the letter.”