JIGARBHAI AMRATBHAI PATEL Vs. STATE OF GUARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The respondent National High Speed Railway Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), a Special Purpose Vehicle formed by the Ministry of Railways has undertaken construction and implementation of the Mumbai - Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project (Bullet Train) which is expected to cover 508 kms between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The petitioners before us are agriculturists who have challenged the acquisition of their lands for the aforesaid project.

(2.) The background of facts under which these petitions are filed are as under:

(3.) In addition to filing a reply in Special Civil Application No. 9864 of 2015, the State has filed an extensive reply dealing with each of the contentions raised. Such reply has been filed in Special Civil Application No. 17653 of 2018. It will therefore be appropriate to just take an overall view of how the contentions are answered, before we go into the submissions made by the learned Advocate General on behalf of the State of Gujarat. Reference is made to the reply filed by Keshavlal Dhulabhai Upadhyay, Deputy Secretary Revenue Department dated 10.12.2018.