Kolkata: The Supreme Court has set aside a Calcutta High Court order that had directed the return of 28 bighas of land and factory structures to M/s Santi Ceramics Pvt. Ltd., ruling that the company was not entitled to benefit from the relief granted in the landmark Singur case.
A Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi held that the directions issued in Kedar Nath Yadav vs State of West Bengal—popularly known as the Singur verdict—were meant to protect poor agricultural cultivators and land-dependent workers who lacked the means to challenge the 2006 acquisition.
Santi Ceramics, the court noted, had purchased and converted the land for industrial use between 2001 and 2002 and operated a manufacturing unit before the Singur acquisition. “The appellants cannot claim parity with small farmers or labourers who were directly dependent on the land,” the court observed.
While acknowledging that the Singur land acquisition suffered from procedural lapses under Section 5-A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, the bench clarified that quashing an acquisition does not automatically entitle commercial entities—who accepted compensation and remained silent for years—to restoration.
The court explained that the earlier Singur judgment operated in personam for those who had contested the acquisition, not in rem for all affected landholders. “Permitting industrial concerns that stood by for a decade to now seek restoration would amount to rewarding strategic inaction,” it said. However, the bench allowed Santi Ceramics limited relief: the company may remove its remaining plant and machinery within three months under district supervision or seek a public auction of its movable assets.
The Land Acquisition Collector has been directed to reassess compensation for structures after deducting salvage value, with all formalities to be completed within four months. The court further directed that any amount earlier paid to the company towards compensation be adjusted in accordance with the fresh assessment, ensuring compliance by the acquisition authorities within the stipulated period.