The Calcutta High Court on Thursday extended the stay on state government move to return to farmers the land acquired in Singur till the hearing on Tata Motors’ appeal in the case is completed.
“The division bench of Justices Pinaki Chandra Ghosh and Mrinal Kanti Chaudhuri extended the stay on the distribution of land till the disposal of the appeal. The petition will be heard on a daily basis Monday onwards,” state government counsel Kalyan Banerjee said.
The court also rejected the government’s plea to restrict the stay only to the land owned by the company.
A total of 997 acres of land in Singur in Hooghly district was leased to Tatas by the Left government for the firm’s Nano car project, along with several vendors who were to set up ancillary units at the site.
While 645 acres were allotted to the company, the rest of the land was given to the vendors.
“The stay first granted by the Supreme Court and subsequently confirmed and extended by the Calcutta High Court applies to the whole area,” company counsel Siddharth Mitra said.
The hearing of the appeal began on Thursday after it was shifted from another division bench, after a government counsel argued that the bench did not have the power to determine the case.
The Supreme Court on June 29 granted stay on the return of land to the farmers till the disposal of the petition filed by the Tatas before the high court.
Calcutta High Court’s Justice IP Mukerji on September 28 declared the Singur land law enacted by the Mamata Banerjee-led government as constitutional and valid.
However, the company was held entitled to compensation, which was to be ascertained by district judge of Hooghly.
The automobile major had to shift its Nano small car plant to Gujarat from Singur in 2008, owing to protests by farmers, led by the Trinamool Congress. The party sought the return of 400 acres taken from farmers, who were reportedly unwilling to part with their land.
Within a month of forming the government in May, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee enacted the Singur land law with the objective of returning the land to the farmers.
