SC snubs Tata Motors over compensation claims

While disposing of the landmark Singur land acquisition case involving Tata Motors, the Apex Court on Thursday came down heavily on the corporate behemoth. The Supreme Court while hearing the special leave petitions over the land acquisition by Tata for their Nano car making project, observed that the Singur Land Acquisition was a ‘farce’.

The apex court said “you are a mere licensee of the land and the compensation to the farmers was paid by the state government. So on what basis is Tata Motors demanding compensation?”

The SLPs were filed by different aggrieved stakeholders over land acquisition by the Left Front government. The state government also filed a SLP in the Supreme Court and they were clubbed together and heard on Wednesday. 

The court also asked the state government to clarify why the extra 400 acre plot was being allotted to Tata Motors. The bench also further observed that the land was acquired by the previous Left government without undertaking a proper social survey.

According to the court, Tata Motors applied for 600- acre land in Kharagpur and the then state government “liberally” allotted 1,200 acres.

Reacting to the court’s harsh observations, TATA Motor’s counsel Abhishek Manu Singvi sought change of bench. But his appeal was snubbed by the bench of Justices Gopal Gowda and Arun Misra and they ticked him off saying: “you are unable to produce any document to justify your claim of compensation”. The matter will be heard on next Tuesday.

The Trinamool government enacted the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011 and proposed to return a portion of the acquired land. At this juncture, Tata Motors challenged its constitutional validity and appealed against West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s legislation. 

But soon after Justice IP Mukerji held that the Act was constitutional, they moved the division bench, which ultimately rejected their petition. The state counsel Rakesh Dwivedi mentioned on Wednesday that the Supreme Court had asked for the relevant documents, including the former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee-led Cabinet’s decision to allot Singur land for public purpose. 

Justice Gowda hit out while hearing petitions challenging the acquisition by the previous Left government and said, “How will you (Tata) conduct the survey for locating the site? There must be a project and the survey should be conducted by the district collector. The collector must exercise his power and apply his mind independently”.

On Tuesday, the counsel for Tata Motors claimed that they were compelled to withdraw from Singur as disorder was  planned there. On Wednesday while the hearing was going on, the apex court had also mentioned that the then Left government ‘rushed’ through the exercise and violated the 

entire procedure.  

The government was also unable to forward any proposal to the West Bengal Development Corporation (WBIDC). The court also asked  Tata Motors whether they were willing to vacate the land in Singur if they got adequate compensation.