In Brief
The Supreme Court held that Greater Noida's classification of landowners as 'Pushtaini' (ancestral) versus 'Gair-Pushtaini' (non-ancestral) for differential compensation violates the constitutional guarantee of equality. The Court ruled that all landowners whose land is acquired for the same public purpose must receive equal compensation under the Land Acquisition Act. The arbitrary classification, made without empirical data and lacking safeguards against abuse, fails constitutional scrutiny. Signing an agreement does not waive rights to challenge subsequent discriminatory actions. The Court allowed the appeal and extended the enhanced compensation and ex-gratia payments granted to ancestral landowners to all affected landowners equally.
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