In Brief
Power Grid Corporation sought to erect electricity transmission towers on mining leasehold land belonging to Century Textiles, which held a 30-year mining lease in Chhattisgarh. Century Textiles opposed the project, arguing that towers would prevent limestone mining due to blasting restrictions near electrical infrastructure. The Supreme Court held that Power Grid, as a Central Transmission Utility, had the statutory right under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and Electricity Act, 2003 to lay transmission lines on private property without prior owner consent, subject only to compensation for damages. The project was of national importance, 408 of 410 towers were already completed, and technical factors precluded realignment. Compensation disputes must be resolved by a District Judge, not a District Collector. The Court partly allowed Power Grid's appeals and dismissed Century Textiles' challenge.
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