The Supreme Court on Thursday rapped Gujarat Revenue Minister Anandiben Patel for directing a District Collector to pass orders to sell land in favour of an industrialist without following the due procedure.
A Bench of Justices H.L. Gokhale and J. Chelameswar set aside the December 18, 2009 and January 15, 2010 orders passed by the government and the Kutch Collector, holding them arbitrary and bad in law.
Writing the judgment, Justice Gokhale said the Minister dictating to the Collector to act in a particular manner on an assumption that it would be in the interest of industrial development “would lead to a breach of the mandate of the statute framed by the legislature.
“The present case is clearly one of dereliction of duties by the Collector and dictation by the Minister, showing nothing but arrogance of power.”
The Bench said there were newspaper reports of apprehensions among and protest by farmers. “The Revenue Secretary and the Chief Secretary had placed the statutory provisions on record. It was expected of the government and the Revenue Minister to take cognisance of the apprehensions of the farmers as well as the statutory provisions brought to her notice by the Secretaries. [But] she has simply brushed aside the objections of the Secretaries merely because the Chief Minister’s Secretary had written a letter, and because she was the Minister concerned.”
Initially 40 acres was allotted to Indigold Refinery Ltd., Mumbai, in 2003 for Rs.70 lakh to set up an industry. Since it could not do so, the company sold the land to Alumina Refinery Ltd. for Rs. 1.20 crore after informing the government. The transfer was approved at the instance of the Minister though there were objections from the Secretaries of the departments.
A writ petition filed by Dipak Babaria challenging the sale was dismissed by the Gujarat HC.
Disposing of the appeal against this judgment, the Supreme Court, taking into consideration the fact that the Alumina Refinery Ltd. had already set up an industry, said: “if Alumina is interested in its proposed project, it shall pay Rs. 3.15 crore to the government within three months.”
