SC issues notice to MP and RIL on sham lease deeds

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to Madhya Pradesh and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on a petition challenging lease deeds signed by the conglomerate with almost 400 tribals in Madhya Pradesh.

A bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra and M Shantanagouder issued the notice based on a plea filed by Ravinder Tiwari, the president of Janta Kisan Sangharsh Morcha who alleged that Ratan Akhori, an authorised representative of RIL, fraudulently made tribal farmers sign on blank documents in order to divert agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes.

The petition states the tribals, who were dependent on an agrarian economy, were induced to sign the papers as 'lease deeds' in way of cash. According to the terms of the lease deed, RIL offered each tribal an amount ranging between Rs 1.20 lakh – Rs 1.50 lakh and a nominal and entirely sham sum of Re 1 per acre 'as rent' for the lease period which may be for either 29 years or 99 years.

The remaining paperwork submitted with the state authorities were written in languages that were identical and were accordingly passed with identical orders.

The signed land would then be used by RIL to felicitate the drilling equipment for exploiting the CNM leases. If the land is used for drilling methane gas, it will render the land useless, thus killing the livelihood of the tribals, Tiwari further maintained.

"RIL has enabled land conversion en masse without application of any policy, advocate Avi Singh said representing Tiwari.

Singh alleges that the High Court erred in dismissing the matter when it was initially filed as a public interest litigation.