HC orders status quo on 469-acre Rajpura land sold by private firm

Three decades after the state of Punjab agreed to acquire 1,000 acres on a private company’s behalf in Rajpura, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered status quo regarding construction, possession and alienation of over 469 acres.

The process of acquiring the land for industrial development began in 1993, but 469.37 acres were allegedly sold for more than Rs 117 crore.

The matter was placed before the Bench of Justice Deepak Sibal and Justice Lapita Banerji after some of the original landowners approached the High Court through counsel Amrindra Pratap Singh submitting that the state signed an MoU on October 14, 1993, with M/s Shriram Industrial Enterprises Limited (SIEL Ltd).

The Bench was told that the state acquired their land in 1995. In all, 446 acres was handed over to M/s SIEL Ltd. In 1998, possession of an additional 91.79 acres was delivered to the firm, and in 2007, yet another 57.6 acres were handed over.

The petitioners contended that M/s SIEL Ltd utilised just a portion for the purpose. The petitioners added that the company had recently disposed of a major chunk in violation of the purpose for which the land was acquired. “Through the impugned sale made recently, M/s SIEL Ltd has sold 469.37 acres for a total sale consideration of over Rs 117 crore.”

“In the meanwhile, status quo with regard to construction, possession and alienation of the land covered under the share purchase agreement dated October 11, 2024, pertaining to 469.37 acres, shall be maintained,” the Bench ordered.