Supreme Court Upholds High Court Findings on GIDC Plot Allocation Irregularities

In a significant development, the Supreme Court of India has upheld the Gujarat High Court’s verdict concerning the irregular allocation of industrial plots by the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC). The case, brought forward by senior Congress leader Shakti Singh Gohil, alleges that twenty valuable industrial plots in the Sarigawan block of Valsad district were allotted to a single party while bypassing all statutory requirements. The High Court’s division bench concluded that the allocation was executed with malicious intent, cancelled the allotment and remarked that GIDC officials had acted against the law and appeared to be in collusion with the beneficiary. The apex court’s affirmation of these findings reinforces the view that the officials involved acted with a corrupt motive. Gohil also raised concerns about a separate compensation issue linked to a land‑sealing case involving the same party. While officials had decided to pay about Rs 30 crore under the 2013 land acquisition law, the Supreme Court clarified that the dispute pre‑dated that legislation and limited the compensation to roughly Rs 1 crore. The leader has called for swift punitive measures against the officials criticized by both courts, the establishment of a judicial commission to examine policy changes at GIDC, and investigations by the Enforcement Directorate, CBI and Income Tax department into the assets of the accused.