In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld a State Government policy that required allottees (land purchasers) of Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority to pay additional compensation to farmers whose land was acquired for the project. The High Court had quashed the policy as arbitrary. The Supreme Court held that the policy, arrived at after extensive deliberations with all stakeholders and the Chaudhary Committee, was valid and in the larger public interest. It balanced the interests of both farmers and allottees while resolving an impasse where farmers' agitation (sparked by seeing higher compensation given to similarly situated farmers in NOIDA/Greater NOIDA) had stalled development. The Court affirmed that government policy decisions in public interest override prior contracts, and courts will not interfere unless a policy is palpably arbitrary or mala fide. The appeals were allowed and the writ petitions dismissed.
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