Comments
In a respite to Tata Motors, the Supreme Court has directed the West Bengal Government not to distribute or return the land at Singur to farmers till the Calcutta High Court takes a decision in the matter.
It has asked the High Court to pass an order in the case within a month.
The apex court stated that its order is only an interim relief and made it clear that it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the case.
“We are not inclined to interfere at this stage on the main issues pending before the High Court,” the apex court said, observing that it is not a question of political issues or points but of the rights of the parties involved.
The apex court also did not specifically forbid the State Government from carrying out land surveys or the pre-distribution ‘process' by accepting forms from farmers.
Tata Motors had moved the Supreme Court on Tuesday seeking an interim order restraining the State Government from distributing to farmers the land originally allocated for its ‘Nano' small car factory at Singur.
Tata Motors 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.
The company said 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 (SLRD Act) — would become infructuous.
In its original petition, the company had sought declaration of the SLRD 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.
LAND TO BE WITH GOVT
The West Bengal Government told the apex court on Wednesday that the land will remain with itself adding that it has no intention of returning the land to the farmers till the High Court's order.
It also denied reports that it had started distribution of the land to farmers, adding that it cannot do so as a High Court committee was hearing the objections of the parties.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.