The acquisition of land for Aerotropolis/Aero City Expansion Project in Mohali has come under judicial scrutiny, with the Punjab and Haryana High Court issuing notice of motion to Punjab in a fresh challenge mounted by affected landowners.
The Bench has also extended to them an earlier interim order staying the passing of the award in the land acquisition matter.
The Division Bench of Justice Sandeep Moudgil and Justice Rohit Kapoor was hearing a petition filed against Punjab and other respondents by Jarnail Singh and others. They had challenged notifications dated December 9, 2025, and March 24 under the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
The petitioners, through counsel Gaurav Datta, Srishti S Sharma and Anushka Gupta, were seeking the quashing of the acquisition proceedings on the grounds that the mandatory Social Impact Assessment was not conducted and that objections filed by affected landowners under Section 15 of the 2013 Act were not considered.
Appearing for the state, Additional Advocate-General Satjot Chahal accepted notice. The Bench ordered that the matter be heard along with a related petition on October 1 before directing that the interim order passed in the connected matter would operate in the present case as well.
Acting on the connected petition filed by Abhinav Bindra and another petitioner, the Division Bench of Justice Alka Sarin and Justice Ramesh Chander Dimri had earlier issued notice of motion and directed: “Meanwhile, passing of the award qua the petitioners shall remain stayed."
By directing that the interim order in the connected matter would apply to the present petition as well, the Bench headed by Justice Moudgil extended the same protection to the petitioners before it, making it clear that the award could not be passed against them pending further consideration of their challenge.
Why the HC order matters
The High Court has directed that “passing of the award qua the petitioners shall remain stayed". In simple terms, the state cannot issue the land acquisition award regarding the petitioners-landowners while the case remains pending.
An award in land acquisition proceedings is a formal, binding document that determines the true market value of the land, the final compensation, solatium, and its proper apportionment among the interested landowners.
Under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, the award is the stage at which the compensation payable for the acquired land is determined. It formally completes a key step in the acquisition process.
By staying the award, the High Court has ensured that the petitioners’ challenge to the acquisition proceedings is not rendered infructuous before their grievances are examined. The order gives the landowners temporary protection while the court considers their submissions that the acquisition process suffered from legal infirmities, including the alleged absence of a mandatory Social Impact Assessment and non-consideration of objections. The interim protection is limited to restraining the authorities from passing the award against the petitioners until further orders.
