The Madras High Court has ruled in favor of United India Insurance Company, quashing the Chennai Metro Rail Limited’s (CMRL) move to acquire a portion of land owned by the insurance company for a metro station. The court held that demolishing a recently constructed building, or parts of it, built at a cost of Rs. 250 crores by a public sector entity, would be entirely against the public interest.
The CMRL had initially planned to construct a metro station on the premises of Arul Mighu Sri Rathina Vinayagar and Durgai Amman Temple, but later decided to shift the location to the insurance company’s land. The court found that the CMRL’s decision to alter the station’s location was taken without consulting the insurance company, which resulted in a violation of promissory estoppel and natural justice.
The court also observed that the CMRL’s notice to acquire the insurance company’s land was a mere formality to justify a premeditated decision, amounting to a “post-decisional hearing”. The court held that the principle of promissory estoppel binds government agencies to their commitments, preventing them from arbitrarily rescinding assurances given to private entities.
The court emphasized that the principle of public interest dictates that infrastructure projects serve a broader societal purpose, and that it would be contrary to public interest to tear down a building or portions thereof, which was constructed at a cost of Rs 200 crores by a public sector entity.
The court directed the CMRL to revert to its original plan of constructing the station within the temple premises, provided legal requirements are met. The court refrained from imposing costs but expressed hope that the authorities would take away a broader lesson on fairness and transparency in public decision-making.