Bullet Train Project a dream in national interest, cannot be stalled: Bombay HC

The land acquisition for the Bullet Train Project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai has been completed 100 per cent in Gujarat and 97 per cent in Maharashtra

New Delhi, Feb 09: The Bombay High Court has said that the bullet train is a dream project and cannot be stalled in private interest.

The observations were made by a Bench of Justice R D Renuka and M M Sathaye, while rejecting a petition filed by Godrej and Boyce company which challenged the acquisition of its land for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad-High Speed Rail Project.

It is a dream project and the country needs it the Bombay HC said.

"The project is of national importance and public interest. No interference is required. No illegality found in the compensation awarded to the company. The petitioner has not made out a case for us to exercise our extra-jurisdictional powers. It is the paramount collective interest that would prevail and not the private interest. The project would be the first of its kind," the Bench said.

Advocate Navroz Seervai appearing for the company sought a stay order on the ground that his client could approach the Supreme Court.

"When the land is taken away then the appeal becomes infructuous. I am not asking for a stay. I am just asking for a status quo. The project is nowhere near completion. Two weeks really cannot prejudice the project," he argued.

Appearing for the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), additional solicitor general Anil Singh said that the land needs to be acquired. Former advocate general Ashutosh Kumbhakoni appearing for the Maharashtra government also opposed the plea.

The Bench noted that even ad interim relief at the very beginning was refused. So there is no question of granting relief now, the Bench said.

In the plea filed by the company it challenged an award of compensation passed on September 15 2022 by the Deputy Collector for acquiring the company's land after awarding compensation of Rs 264 crore.

The application by the company said the the entire proceeding initiated in 2019 for the acquisition of land had lapsed in 2020 and hence the award passed by the officer was void ab initio or void from the beginning.

Seervai while calling the acquisition as 'unlawful' Seervai said that there were multiple and patent illegalities in the same.

The plea further challenged the amendment to the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act following which the bullet train project had been exempted from social impact assessments that were carried out by the experts.

Seervai said that national interest cannot be cited as a ground to deny urgent interim relief.

Kumbhakoni on the other hand told the court that the acquisition for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Priest was complete, except for the land owned by Godrej and Boyce Company. He also argued that there was no violation of the fundamental rights of the company and hence the writ petition challenging the acquisition of land should be dismissed.

He also told the court that there was a suit filed by the state claiming title over the land, which Godrej and Boyce had disputed. Despite the suit, the state offered to pay the compensation. He clarified by saying that if the title of the land goes to the state, it would seek return of the compensation paid.

Anil Singh argued that the NHSRCL had completed 100 per cent acquisition of land in Gujarat and commenced world for the bullet train project, while in Maharashtra, they had completed acquisition of only 97 per cent of land.

Singh also said that it was the lands owned by parties such as Godrej and Boyce that were pending acquisition. The petition is only causing a delay to the project of public and national importance and such a delay can lead to an escalation of costs. If compensation is the concern, then higher compensation could be considered, but the project cannot suffer further, Singh also argued.