Supreme Court to hear petition on acquisition of Singur land today

New Delhi, Apr 15 : The Supreme Court will today hear a petition challenging the Calcutta High Court's verdict that held the acquisition of land by West Bengal Government for Tata Motors' small-car project at Singur as legal.

A bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan will hear the petition filed by Kedar Nath Yadav, a practising lawyer who had sought immediate halt of the project that would produce the world's cheapest car "Nano".

The petition stated that the acquisition of agricultural land by the State Government for Tata Motors' upcoming project violated farmers rights guaranteed by the Constitution and against the provisions of Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

The petition termed the acquisition of 997.11 acres of land at Singur was "malafide, arbitrary and illegal".

It also sought a direction to the state Government against evicting or dispossessing farmers from their lands.

The Government was torturing these farmers by deploying 26,000 police force to demolish their houses and occupy land which was the source of their livelihood , the petition contended.

Tata Motors started to build its factory in Singur in January 2007 to make the world's cheapest car. The much awaited one-lakh rupees car, Nano, was unveiled by Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata in New Delhi, which is likely to hit roads by October this year. But the project has been mired in controversy with some farmers declaring that the Government took their land against their will.

ANI