New Delhi: The Supreme Court today ordered the Orissa government to maintain status quo on acquisition of 6,000 hectares of land for setting up an international university by UK-based Vedanta group in Puri.
Admitting a bunch of cross-appeals, a bench of justices DK Jain and HL Dattu asked the state government to maintain status quo on the process to acquire the land.
Earlier, two different benches of the apex court had refused to hear the cross-appeals saying that one or the other judges had been linked to the adjudication of the issue before.
The state government and the Anil Agarwal Foundation, which promotes the project, appealed against a decision of the Orissa High Court which citing 17 reasons held that land acquisition procedures for the proposed Vedanta University project were illegal.
The High Court had also directed Vedanta to return the land to its various owners.
Appearing for one of over half a dozen petitioners against the project, counsel Prashant Bhushan contended that the state government began acquiring land for setting up of a university by a group, which does not have the experience of establishing even a primary school.
He also contended that Land Acquisition Company Rules, 1963, had not been properly followed by the state government.
The High Court had given its verdict on two public interest lawsuits and six individual petitions, challenging the state government's notification on the land acquisition procedures.
Another petitioner opposing the project contended that the proposed multi-disciplinary university project would cause extreme debilitating impact on the eco system as well as the local bio-diversity.
Yet another petitioner, who is opposing the project, is Congress leader Umaballav Rath. He had earlier filed a PIL in the High Court challenging the varsity project on the ground that it was envisaged on 500 acres of the temple land.
Admitting a bunch of cross-appeals, a bench of justices DK Jain and HL Dattu asked the state government to maintain status quo on the process to acquire the land.
Earlier, two different benches of the apex court had refused to hear the cross-appeals saying that one or the other judges had been linked to the adjudication of the issue before.
The High Court had also directed Vedanta to return the land to its various owners.
Advertisement
He also contended that Land Acquisition Company Rules, 1963, had not been properly followed by the state government.
Advertisement
Another petitioner opposing the project contended that the proposed multi-disciplinary university project would cause extreme debilitating impact on the eco system as well as the local bio-diversity.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
"Fashion Parade Going On?" Chief Justice Pulls Up Lawyer Without Neckband "What Is This...": Supreme Court Junks Bilkis Bano Convicts' Bail Pleas Restrictive Statutory Provisions Don't Prevent Bail: Supreme Court Bangladesh Imposes Curfew, Deploys Military As 105 Die In Protests "Jindal Group Executive Showed Porn, Groped Me On Flight": Woman To NDTV Over 300 Indian Students Return Home As 105 Bangladeshis Killed In Protests Joe Biden Is The Best Person To Take On Trump, Says His Campaign Wife Among Two Jailed For Life For Man's Murder In Gurugram: Cops 1,100 Flights Cancelled In US As Microsoft Outage Disrupts Operations Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.