To weigh the sustainability of this argument, the Court went though the provisions of the Railways Act and found that it makes a clear distinction between Government Railway and non-Government Railway. As per Section 2(20) of the Act, 1989 “Government Railway” means a railway owned by the Central Government. As per Section 2(25), “non-Government Railway” means a railway other than a Government Railway.
Since the proposed Semi High Speed Railway Line (Silver Line) is not owned by the Central government, the proposed Railway line would fall within the ambit of non-government railway as defined under Section 2(25) of the Railways Act, 1989, the Court opined.
Moreover, it found that Section 2 of the LARR Act states that the provisions of the Act relating to land acquisition shall apply for infrastructure projects such as the Silverline project.
Therefore, the Court dismissed the petition and held that the State Government was within its rights to invoke the LARR Act for the purpose of land acquisition for the Silverline project.
Source: Barandbench
