Bullet Train Project: Maharashtra tells Bombay High Court Godrej & Boyce has no fundamental right over disputed land

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday submitted to the Bombay High Court that there was no violation of fundamental rights of Godrej & Boyce, and hence the writ petition challenging the acquisition of land for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project ought to be dismissed..The government at the outset stated that there existed a title dispute over the land which it had sought to acquire. Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni submitted that the State had filed a suit claiming title over the land, which Godrej & Boyce disputed.Even so, the State offered to pay compensation, adding that if the title of the land goes in its favour, it would seek a return of the compensation paid. .Assuming the land belonged to the State, Kumbhakoni argued that the company could not possibly be aggrieved, considering the land was barren and uneven. He added that there was no violation of fundamental rights in this case, which the company claimed in its plea. In light of this, the company did not have any proper grievance which warranted the interference of the Court, the AG argued, asking for dismissal of the plea..A Division Bench of Justices RD Dhanuka and MM Sathaye was hearing a plea by Godrej & Boyce challenging an order of the Maharashtra government awarding ₹264 crore in return for acquiring land belonging to the company. The plea contended that the entire proceedings for land acquisition had lapsed in 2020 and, hence, the award passed by the officer was void ab initio.The AG responded that in the event the company was aggrieved by the amount of compensation paid, it had an alternate remedy as per the Land Acquisition Act of 2013. .The company had also challenged the amendment to the 2013 Act, which which exempted the bullet train project from social impact assessment carried out by experts.However, the AG contended that the mere possibility of abuse of process given in a section could not be challenged as unconstitutional. “The action arising out of such section can be challenged, but the section on its own, raising an apprehension cannot be challenged,” the AG stated. He reiterated that the bullet train project was a nationally important project. “The land has been acquired only for a public infrastructure project. It is the heart and soul of whole project. This is where the tunnel (of the rail project) will start and it will take 5 and a half years for the tunnel to be complete,” the AG submitted. He added that looking at the importance and the enormity of the impact of the project on the citizens, the petition ought to be dismissed.