Kolkata:
The battle for Singur is far from over; it is now being fought in the courtroom, with the Tatas unwilling to give up their claim on the land.
The Calcutta High Court's room 32 was packed as Tata advocate Samaraditya Pal concluded his argument, primarily slamming the Singur Act as unconstitutional.
"We have been dispossessed without due process of law and we have challenged the provision of the act which says they can come in and take possession forthwith. We say that such a provision is unconstitutional. We have referred to the Supreme Court judgements which say this cannot be done, even if it is the government," said Siddhartha Mitra, counsel for Tatas.
The Tatas have also sought a status quo till the disposal of the case on the distribution of the Singur land to unwilling farmers. Advocate General Anindya Mitra has promised a response by Monday. He also slammed the Tata petition.
"The advocate general pointed out first that in the writ petition truth has been hidden...and some misrepresentation of facts are there...he has said they have not come with a clean hand. What the Advocate General has pointed out is they are holding ransom... the land is being held to ransom by the Tata...you have to pay money then I will give land, this is the attitude of the Tatas," said Kalyan Banerjee, counsel for the state government.
The legal battle will resume at 11 am on Monday.