Judicial Failure on Land Acquisition for Corporations

Despite the 1984 amendment of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, the judiciary has continued to allow farmland to be acquired freely, with "public purpose" being given the widest possible scope. In the period of globalisation such acquisition has promoted private corporate interests, the state, in turn, becoming an estate agent of the companies. The article focuses on land acquisition under Part II for the state and its instrumentalities and agencies and compares this with Part VII of the Act, which relates to acquisition for a company. The way forward is for the judiciary to compel all acquisitions for companies to follow the Part VII route.