<b>10 facts about the Singur verdict</b>

Decoding Calcutta High Court's ruling

The Calcutta High Court has dealt another blow to the Mamata Banerjee government by ruling that the legislation passed by the West Bengal government is constitutionally invalid. A division bench of the High Court, consisting of Justices Pinaki Chandra Ghosh and Mrinal Kanti Chowdhury, set aside an earlier single bench order that had upheld the Act and held the piece of legislation as unconstitutional and void as the President's assent had not been taken.

The High Court had, on September 28, 2011, stayed the implementation of the order for two months, to allow the aggrieved party (Tata Motors) to appeal before a higher court. On November 3, 2011, a division bench of the court granted continuation of the stay till disposal of the appeal.

Microsec Capital has collated ten facts on the run up to the Singur verdict:

1) The Left Front, when it was in power in West Bengal, leased 997 acres at Singur to Tata Motors for a factory to produce India's cheapest car, the Nano

2) The land was acquired from 13,000 owners

3) 2000 of them did not accept compensation for their 400 acres of land

4) Mamata Banerjee had promised to return farmers their land 

5) After she was elected chief minister, defeating the Left, she passed the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act 2011 on June 14, 2011, which allowed her to recover the land under dispute. Tata Motors was asked to build the factory on the remaining 600 acres 

6) Tata Motors moved the Calcutta High Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Act, a week after it was passed

7) In its verdict on June 28, 2011 Justice Mukerji of the Calcutta High Court upheld the Act. Tata Motors challenged the verdict of the single bench. The matter was then transferred to the Division Bench, but even this was challenged as it did not have the jurisdiction to hear the appeal

8) The matter was finally transferred to the present bench

9) Tata Motors argued that it was not possible to build a factory and ancillaries on 600 acres and pulled out of Singur in October 2008 and moved the Nano project to Gujarat

10) Tata Motors claims it invested over Rs 1,500 crore in Singur and wants to be compensated.