SC quashes land allotment to Sourav Ganguly by WB Govt
This is a case of many others where the state governments and central government allot lands to influential people for reasons best known to them. Sourav Ganguly, the former Indian Cricket Captain, has earned the name in the field of sports by his quality, determination, and perseverance; but he surely cannot go above the law and rules of the country of getting lands earmarked for some other purpose. He might argue that the then state government (Left combination) allotted the land to him and he did not do anything wrong in the process, but it is difficult to believe that he did not know that he is trying to acquire a prime land reserved for a college. This discrepancy was noticed by the NGO Humanity and others and they challenged the allotment of 63.04 ‘katha’ land by the state government in the Calcutta High Court. The Calcutta High Court ruled in favour of the government allotment that forced the NGO to take the matter to the Supreme Court. That was 16 September 2010 when the appeal to the SC was made by the said NGO and on the same date the SC took in writing from the counsel of the State Government for not starting any construction activity on the land before the SC clears it. And now the bench of the Apex Court headed by Justice A K Ganguly has pronounced the verdict quashing the land allotment to Sourav Ganguly and also ordered the state government to refund the money paid by Sourav Ganguly to him. Sourav has to surrender the land to the government within two weeks of the court’s order, according to the judgment of Justice Ganguly.
Had there not been the NGO Humanity, this wrongfully allotment would have been enjoyed by Sourav Ganguly, which I believe was available to him at a nominal cost.
Ganguly requested the state government for this particular land and the state government accepted the request overlooking the rules of the state. Why this unlawful request was honoured should have been probed. Another question that comes to my mind is that how the Calcutta High Court could not find any arbitrariness in the allotment of the said land. If more matters go the Apex Court, then the High Courts would eventually lose its sheen eventually.