In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's decision to quash a massive land acquisition of approximately 6,000 acres affecting 6,000 families in Orissa. The acquisition was intended for establishing a university by Anil Agarwal Foundation (formerly Vedanta Foundation). The Court found the acquisition fundamentally flawed because: (1) the beneficiary was a private company limited by guarantee, not a public company as required by law; (2) mandatory statutory procedures under the Land Acquisition Act and Rules were not followed; (3) no proper inquiry was conducted; and (4) the acquisition violated the doctrine of public trust as rivers flowing through the land would come under private control, and it would adversely affect an adjacent Wildlife Sanctuary. The Court emphasized that the process was marked by favouritism and non-application of mind to relevant considerations. The Court affirmed that land must be restored to original owners with refund of compensation, and upheld the Public Interest Litigation as valid in protecting vulnerable landowners' rights.
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