Pune Ring Road Case: HC Declares 2023 Land Compensation Circular Unconstitutional

Pune, 25th December 2025: The Bombay High Court has declared illegal and unconstitutional a circular issued by the Maharashtra government and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) on January 24, 2023, relating to the determination of compensation in land acquisition cases. The court quashed the circular while hearing a writ petition filed by farmers whose land was acquired for the Pune Ring Road project.

A division bench of Justice G.S. Kulkarni and Justice Aarti Sathe delivered the verdict on a petition filed by farmer Santosh Balkawade and others through advocates Gaurav Potnis, Amruta Khalkar and Eknath Dhokale.

The petitioners challenged the validity of the 2023 circular, contending that it violated provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, and infringed upon farmers’ fundamental right to receive fair compensation.

The petition stated that the circular altered the legally prescribed method for determining the market value of land during acquisition. Under the 2013 Act, sale and purchase transactions from the three consecutive years preceding the issuance of the preliminary notification must be considered while calculating compensation. However, the 2023 circular directed land acquisition officers to exclude the immediate year following the preliminary notification and instead consider transactions from the preceding three years, a move the farmers argued would artificially depress land values.

Advocates Potnis and Dhokale argued that the circular amounted to a “legal plunder” of farmers and violated their constitutional right to property. They cited several judgments of the Supreme Court and the High Court to contend that executive circulars cannot override statutory provisions enacted by Parliament.

The state government defended the circular, arguing that it was issued in accordance with the law and aimed at preventing artificial inflation of land prices, which would otherwise impose a heavy financial burden on the exchequer.

Rejecting the government’s arguments, the High Court observed that the circular violated the constitutional principle of equality before law and the rights of landowners. The court noted that adopting the method prescribed in the circular would lead to an underestimation of market value and significantly reduce the compensation payable to farmers. It held that the circular clearly violated Sections 26(1) and 11 of the 2013 Act and could not override the statutory mandate.

The court further ruled that all land acquisition decisions taken on the basis of the invalid circular are illegal and void. It directed that compensation in such cases be determined afresh strictly in accordance with the provisions of the 2013 Act.

Reacting to the verdict, petitioner farmers Santosh Balkawade and Yogesh Mangle said the judgment had exposed a deliberate attempt to reduce farmers’ compensation by crores of rupees while acquiring large tracts of land for highway projects. They alleged that farmers’ objections were ignored and warned that they would continue their fight on the streets and in courts if farmers were cheated.