NOIDA: The Allahabad high court has dismissed a farmer’s petition seeking additional developed land as compensation, saying that previous judgments can’t be used as a precedent for new claims.
The petitioner, Ram Beer Singh, sought an additional 4% developed land based on a 2011 full-bench judgment in the Gajraj case. Singh argued that he was eligible for the extra land under both the Gajraj judgment’s principles and a 2016 resolution by the Greater Noida Authority that proposed 10% developed land for all affected landowners.
The court rejected Singh’s claims, citing Supreme Court rulings and the absence of a state govt approval for such resolutions.
Singh’s land was originally acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. While other farmers challenged the govt notification and compensation in the Gajraj case, Singh neither contested the order nor participated in the litigation.
He had already received compensation for his acquired land, including 64.7% additional monetary aid and 6% developed abadi land — in keeping with the Greater Noida Authority’s policy. In Jan this year, Singh filed the petition, demanding an extra 4% land.
During the hearing, the high court pointed out that the Gajraj judgment specifically asked the Noida and Greater Noida authorities to allot 10% developed land only to petitioners who challenged their land acquisition. This limitation was further reinforced by the Supreme Court in 2015 through the Savitri Devi case, which clarified that the Gajraj ruling was “case-specific”.
Significantly, in Sept 2016, UP govt rejected the Greater Noida Authority board’s resolution from March 2016 that sought to extend the 10% developed land benefit to all affected tenure holders. The Authority later withdrew this proposal during its 115th board meeting in 2019, citing the lack of state approval.
On Jan 24, the bench of Justices Manoj Kumar Gupta and Anish Kumar Gupta observed that no claims could be based on the Gajraj case ruling, given the Supreme Court’s and its own clear stance in subsequent cases.
The issue over 10% developed land has sparked numerous protests, with farmers demonstrating outside the Noida and Greater Noida Authority offices. In response, the govt formed a three-member committee in Feb 2024, headed by the revenue board chairperson, to review these demands. However, the committee also rejected the proposal for 10% developed land allocation.
Subsequently, hundreds of farmers hit the streets, threatening to march to Delhi. Many protesters were arrested and lodged in Luksar jail in Greater Noida before being granted bail.
The govt has now formed another committee to review their demands and take a call on whether to allow the additional land for all farmers.
In similar petitions, the high court has emphasised that state govt approval is mandatory for any additional land allotments and that case-specific judgments cannot be used to secure broader entitlements.
