SC junks Godrej’s plea against land acquisition for bullet train project

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company Ltd’s plea against to the acquisition of its land in Mumbai’s Vikhroli area for  India’s first bullet train project, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud, Justice P S Narasimha, and Justice J B Pardiwala, described the project as being of national importance and granted the company the liberty to file a claim for additional compensation. The CJI stated, “We will give you the liberty to file a claim for additional compensation and we will set a deadline to determine the application. This is a national project we are talking about.”

The SC bench, led by CJI DY Chandrachud, refused to entertain the manufacturing firm’s appeal and declined to intervene with the Bombay HC’s order.

On February 9, the Bombay High Court rejected the plea of Godrej & Boyce, which questioned the acquisition of its land in Vikhroli for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project. The court stated that “larger public interest would prevail over private interest.”

The Maharashtra government and the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) acquired the land in suburban Vikhroli for the bullet train project.

On September 15, 2022, the Deputy Collector awarded ₹264 crore as compensation to acquire the land, which was challenged by Godrej and Boyce in the Bombay High Court. The company claimed that it was initially offered ₹572 crore as compensation. DeshGujarat