New Delhi: In a major setback to the Odisha government and Vedanta Foundation, the Supreme Court upheld Wednesday the Orissa High Court order which had quashed the entire land acquisition for the proposed Vedanta University in Puri. The apex court also slapped a cost of Rs 5 lakh on the Anil Agarwal Foundation.
A two-judge bench of Justices MR Shah and Krishna Murari dismissed the appeals filed by the Anil Agarwal Foundation and the Odisha government. It said that the entire acquisition proceedings were vitiated by mala fides and favouritism and was a clear case of non-application of mind by the state government on several aspects.
The apex court noted that undue benefits were offered to the Vedanta University like – total autonomy with regard to administration, admission, fee structures, curriculum and faculty selection; complete immunity from any reservation laws of the Odisha government, assistance in getting regulatory approvals from UGC, AICTE etc. The Odisha government had also promised to exempt all state levies/ taxes/ duties on R&D equipment, educational aids, lab equipment and tools, and construction materials from the date of signing of the MoU, the bench noted.
“It is not appreciable why the Odisha offered such undue favour for one trust/ company. Thus, the entire acquisition proceedings and the benefits, which were proposed by the state government were vitiated by favouritism and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India,” the top court observed.
The apex court also noted that the land acquisition for the proposed University was in violation of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. On the submission of the Foundation that it is ready to confine to acquisition of 3,837 acres of land only, the apex court expressed displeasure. It said there was no proper inquiry with respect to the requirement of the land. It noted that initially 15,000 acres was proposed to be acquired, which is now reduced to 3837 acres.
“Meaning thereby, the proposal was for exaggerated demand. This was mala fide intention on the part of the Foundation,” the SC bench said. It added that the agricultural land to be required is the only source of livelihood for 6,000 families that cannot be compensated in terms of money. Therefore, the proposal made now has to be rejected outright.”
The apex court was also dismayed with the Odisha government over non-application of mind on environment aspects as the land acquired for the proposed university passes through two rivers Nuanai and Nala and there is also a wildlife sanctuary adjacent to the land. “How the maintenance of the rivers etc can be handed over to the beneficiary company. It is a duty of the state to protect the wildlife sanctuary,” the bench said.
The bench asked the Foundation to deposit Rs 5 lakh within a period of six weeks from and the same to be transferred to the Orissa State Legal Services Authority.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had in 2011 ordered the Odisha government to maintain status quo on acquisition of 6,000 acres of land for setting up of the University by Vedanta Group.
PNN