Kolkata, June 22. In what is a major blow for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and huge relief for Tata Motors, the Calcutta High Court on Friday set aside the Singur Act, terming it Constitutionally invalid.
An Appeals bench, comprising Justices Pinaki Chandra Ghosh and Mrinal Kanti Chowdhury, held that the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act 2011 passed by Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress government in June 2011 was invalid as the President's assent was not taken for it.
The implementation of the order however has been stayed for two months by the court to allow the West Bengal government to appeal before a higher court.
The Act empowered the West Bengal government to return 400 acres of the nearly 1000 acres -- leased to Tata Motors for its then proposed Nano plant at Singur -- to farmers who had ‘unwillingly’ sold their land to the Tatas.
The decision to return the land to these unwilling farmers was one of the major promises made by Mamata Banerjee in her manifesto for the West Bengal Assembly elections. Political observers see this as one of the issues that saw the TMC chief sweeping the polls and storming to power after ending 34 years of Left rule in the state.
No sooner did Mamata took over as the chief minister than she held a cabinet meeting on the issue. Soon thereafter the West Bengal Assembly passed the Bill on June 14, 2011. Following this, Tata Motors moved the Calcutta High Court challenging the Constitutional validity of the Act.
Earlier, a single bench of the court had upheld the validity of the Act, forcing the Tatas to go into appeal before a division bench. The division bench has now given its verdict in favour of the Tatas.
An Appeals bench, comprising Justices Pinaki Chandra Ghosh and Mrinal Kanti Chowdhury, held that the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act 2011 passed by Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress government in June 2011 was invalid as the President's assent was not taken for it.
The implementation of the order however has been stayed for two months by the court to allow the West Bengal government to appeal before a higher court.
The Act empowered the West Bengal government to return 400 acres of the nearly 1000 acres -- leased to Tata Motors for its then proposed Nano plant at Singur -- to farmers who had ‘unwillingly’ sold their land to the Tatas.
The decision to return the land to these unwilling farmers was one of the major promises made by Mamata Banerjee in her manifesto for the West Bengal Assembly elections. Political observers see this as one of the issues that saw the TMC chief sweeping the polls and storming to power after ending 34 years of Left rule in the state.
No sooner did Mamata took over as the chief minister than she held a cabinet meeting on the issue. Soon thereafter the West Bengal Assembly passed the Bill on June 14, 2011. Following this, Tata Motors moved the Calcutta High Court challenging the Constitutional validity of the Act.
Earlier, a single bench of the court had upheld the validity of the Act, forcing the Tatas to go into appeal before a division bench. The division bench has now given its verdict in favour of the Tatas.
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