By IANS,
New Delhi : The Delhi High Court Friday ruled that a piece of land acquired by the government to set up the Badarpur police station on Delhi’s border with Haryana was legal since it was for a public purpose.
The court was hearing a petition challenging the acquisition of the land by its owners. The land on which the police station had existed earlier was taken over by the National Highways Authority of India for constructing an elevated corridor linking Delhi and Faridabad.
A division bench comprising Justices Vikramjit Sen and V.K.Jain, while dismissing the plea of the land’s owner Ajit Kumar Sanghi, said: “It cannot be denied that (the) land in question, which has been found most suitable for the police station, after inspecting a number of sites, was urgently required by the government.”
“Therefore, invoking the emergency powers of Land Acquisition Act was eminently justified in this case,” the bench said.
The court rejected the petitioner’s argument that the acquisition was illegal and said: “Requirement of land for construction of a police station is undisputedly a public purpose.”
Referring to the earlier location of the police station, the court added: “(As the) Land on which the building of the police station presently stands constructed is urgently required for (a) six-lane elevated highway, the government has to immediately provide land for construction of another building to house the police station.”
Earlier, the court had stayed the construction of the police station after the petition from the land owners.
The government had contended that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) required the land, where the police station stood, for an elevated corridor, which will be a crucial link between Delhi and Faridabad.
The stretch, which includes a 3-km long six-lane elevated highway, was originally scheduled to be completed by December 2010 but the government is planning to construct it ahead of the schedule to be ready in time for the Commonwealth Games in October 2010.
Countering the petitioner’s claim, Delhi Police told the court that the land in question was the most suitable for the police station. It said: “The land was found to be more suitable for the police station since it is located on the main highway and so would have more visibility, besides providing an easy access to citizens and facilitate quick response from the police.”