Ambala ring road project dispute: SC seeks army, NHAI officials’ presence

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh asked the senior officials to be present on March 20 and said the judges will interact with them in chambers as the matter also relates to the Army and national security.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the presence of senior Army officials of Western Command and NHAI project director in a dispute over land acquisition for the Ambala ring road project in Haryana.

The top court was hearing a plea of one Vinod Kumar Sharma who challenged the August 2023 order of the Punjab and Haryana high court dismissing a batch of writ petitions filed against the notification for land acquisition for the proposed project. (Shutterstock)

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh asked the senior officials to be present on March 20 and said the judges will interact with them in chambers as the matter also relates to the Army and national security.

The top court was hearing a plea of one Vinod Kumar Sharma who challenged the August 2023 order of the Punjab and Haryana high court dismissing a batch of writ petitions filed against the notification for land acquisition for the proposed project.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), said only a portion of Sharma’s land is to be acquired for the project.