Jharkhand High Court To Hear Plea Challenging Acquisition Of 1363 Acres In Godda For Adani Thermal Power Project
In an order dated 15 April 2026, Justice the Jharkhand High Court admitted a writ petition challenging the acquisition of over 1,363 acres of agricultural land in Godda district for the Adani Thermal Power Project, and directed that the matter be heard.A Single Judge Bench of Justice Ananda Sen was hearing the matter.As per the writ petition accessed by LiveLaw, the petition challenges the...
In an order dated 15 April 2026, Justice the Jharkhand High Court admitted a writ petition challenging the acquisition of over 1,363 acres of agricultural land in Godda district for the Adani Thermal Power Project, and directed that the matter be heard.
A Single Judge Bench of Justice Ananda Sen was hearing the matter.
As per the writ petition accessed by LiveLaw, the petition challenges the entire acquisition process undertaken under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, including the notifications issued under Sections 4, 5, 11 and 19 of the Act, as well as the Social Impact Assessment Report of December 2016 and the Environmental Impact Assessment Report dated 07.04.2017.
The petitioners contend that the acquisition is legally unsustainable and void ab initio on the ground that mandatory provisions of the 2013 Act were not complied with. They further allege that the authorities restricted the category of “affected persons” only to landowners, while excluding nearly 4,000 persons including agricultural labourers, bataidars, fishermen, artisans, tenants, and sharecroppers whose livelihoods would also be impacted by the project.
A central plank of the challenge is that the thermal power project does not fall within the meaning of “public purpose” under Section 2(1) of the 2013 Act. According to the petition, the project is being established for the benefit of a private company, Adani Power Limited, and the electricity generated would be exported to Bangladesh.
The petition further alleges that prior consent of landowners, as mandated under Section 2(2)(b)(i) of the 2013 Act, was not obtained in the manner prescribed by law. It states that around 400 affected landowners had submitted their refusal to part with their land in Form V to the authorities and the Governor of Jharkhand. The petitioners also challenge the Social Impact Assessment process, alleging that it was not conducted in accordance with law.
Case Title: Ramjiwan Paswan & Ors v. Union of India & Ors
Case No.: W.P.(C) No. 646 of 2019.
Appearance: Md. Shadab Ansari appeared for the Petitioners. Mr. Jitendra Tripathi appeared for the Respondents.