PRAYAGRAJ, May 1 -- The Allahabad high court has upheld the land acquisition process for expansion of the Noida International Airport in Jewar, located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district, while directing authorities to complete rehabilitation measures before taking possession of residential land. In its April 28 order, a division bench of Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Kunal Ravi Singh disposed of petitions filed by villager Vijay Pal Singh and 12 other farmers challenging the acquisition process for Phase II and III of the airport project. The petitioners had alleged violations under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, and argued that the acquisition infringed upon their property rights under Article 300A of the Constitution. The court, however, held that the acquisition was conducted in compliance with the 2013 law, including mandatory social impact assessment (SIA), public hearings, consent provisions, compensation and rehabilitation requirements. "There is no deprivation of property otherwise than by authority of law, and no violation of Article 300-A of the Constitution is made out," the bench said, rejecting the constitutional challenge. The high court noted that the petitioners did not oppose acquisition of agricultural land and had mainly raised concerns over displacement of abadi areas (residential settlements). "The petitioners' own case is that they do not oppose the acquisition of their agricultural land. Even the challenge to displacement of abadi is a private interest that must, upon due compliance with the R&R framework under the Act, 2013, yield to the public interest of airport expansion. The R&R Scheme provides comprehensive entitlements and the awards have been passed. This principle directly supports dismissal of the present petitions," the court held. Observing that courts must balance individual rights with public interest in infrastructure projects, the bench also cited settled legal principles on judicial restraint in land acquisition matters. The court noted that compensation awards had already been passed and disbursement initiated, while affected landowners could seek enhanced compensation through the designated statutory mechanism....