The Madras High Court has quashed a notice issued by the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) to the United India Insurance Company Limited, calling for the acquisition of a property measuring 837 square meters for its project. The notice was issued on September 26, 2024, and the insurance company filed a petition challenging the notice.
The court allowed the petition and quashed the notice, citing that the impugned notice was vitiated as it offended Article 14 of the Constitution by violating the principle of promissory estoppel. The court also held that the notice was a “fait accompli” and there was a gross failure of natural justice.
The court observed that the CMRL had originally planned to construct its metro station at a temple in Whites Road, but after a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed, it changed its plan and gave an undertaking to the court. The court held that it would be open to the CMRL to proceed with its original plan forthwith by having the metro station within the premises of the temple.
The judge also expressed concerns about the CMRL’s decision to change its plan, citing that it was not moved by “paramount considerations of public safety, convenience, and other technical factors, but by what was said and done in a joint inspection conducted by the First Bench of this Court.”
The court concluded that it would be completely contrary to public interest to tear down a building or portions thereof of a recently constructed structure put up at a cost of ₹200 crore by a public sector entity, and that it would be an egregious fraud on the power of acquisition and would be so grossly unfair and arbitrary that it deserves the label “abuse of power” under Article 14 of the Constitution.