Battle for Singur moves to court room

The battle for Singur has now moved to the courtroom, with the Tatas reluctant to give up their claim on the land.

Tata's advocate Samaraditya Pal, concluding his argument before the packed court room 32 at the Calcutta High Court slammed the Singur Act as unconstitutional.

Siddhartha Mitra, counsel for Tatas said the group had been dispossessed without due process of law and the group had challenged the provision of the act under which the claimants could come in and take possession forthwith. He added that the provision was unconstitutional.

He added that the company had referred to the Supreme Court judgements which said this could not be done, even if it was by the government.

The Tatas are also seeking a status quo till the disposal of the case on the distribution of the Singur land to unwilling farmers. Advocate general Anindya Mitra said he would come out with a response by Monday.

Contesting the Tata petition, Mitra said that the company's challenge itself was ill-conceived, because what had been challenged was the Bill, while what existed was an Act.