In Brief
Eastern Coalfields Limited acquired land from Anadinath Banerjee for a coal mining project expansion. A tripartite agreement between the company, affected landowners, and the state government provided that those whose acquired land exceeded 2 acres would receive employment. Banerjee's claim was based on a land acquisition certificate showing 2.01 acres, but only 0.3 acres were in his personal name; the remainder came from relatives' self-serving affidavits. The High Court awarded him employment, but the Supreme Court reversed, holding that non-dependent relatives constitute separate family units and their land cannot be aggregated via affidavit alone. Title transfer requires documentary evidence, not bare affidavits. Banerjee held insufficient land in his own right and was not entitled to employment.
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