Though the Supreme Court of India dismissed an appeal by Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company Limited (GB) against the Bombay High Court order upholding acquisition of a portion of their Vikhroli land, the three-member bench gave the company "the liberty to file a claim for additional compensation and we will set a deadline to determine the application.”
The land in suburban Vikhroli was acquired by the Maharashtra government and the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) for the bullet train project that proposes to link Bombay and Ahmedabad.
"Much water has flowed… The possession has been taken over and the construction has started… The only issue remaining is your claim for enhancement of compensation,” the bench headed by Chief Justice D. Y. Chandrachud said at the outset of the hearing. Others on the bench were Justices P. S. Narasimha and Jamshed Pardiwala, according to the report in the Business Standard (BS) of February 24, 2023.
The apex court had held that no illegality was found in the land acquisition proceedings, and that larger public interest would prevail over private interest, stated news reports.
GB had challenged in the Bombay High Court the compensation award of Rs 264 crore in September 2022 by the deputy collector for acquiring the land. "The company claimed it was offered Rs 572 crore as compensation initially.”