Noida: Allahabad High Court has fixed March 30 for the next hearing in the Rs 295-crore Reddy Veeranna land compensation dispute and directed Noida Authority to file its counter-affidavit by then. In its Feb 25 order, a bench of Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra recorded that UP govt has filed its affidavit on Feb 3, and that all other respondents, except Noida Authority, have filed their counter-affidavits. It said rejoinder affidavits, if any, have to be filed before the next hearing and asked Noida Authority to submit its counter-affidavit by then.Calling it a Supreme Court-expedited case, the high court bench said, “No further time shall be granted in the matter.”In Oct last year, the high court resumed hearings in the case after the Supreme Court, in July 2025, set aside compensation awarded to the Hyderabad-based businessman after it found that Veeranna had misled courts to secure enhanced compensation for a land parcel in Sector 18, which was later leased by the Noida Authority to DLF for the Mall of India project. The disputed plot—over 5 bighas of land in Chhalera Banger village in Sector 18—was jointly purchased by Veeranna, Vishnu Vardhan and T Sudhakar in 1997 for about Rs 1 crore. In 2005, Noida Authority partially acquired the land and later leased it to DLF for Rs 173 crore for the Mall of India.In 2019, Veeranna moved the high court seeking enhanced compensation without impleading the co-owners. In Oct 2021, the high court fixed compensation at Rs 1.1 lakh per square metre. In May 2022, the Supreme Court upheld the enhancement and removed a 50% development charge, raising the entitlement to around Rs 360 crore, which was later settled at Rs 295 crore. In 2023, Vardhan approached the Supreme Court, accusing Veeranna of suppression of facts and reliance on an invalid compromise decree. Accepting the plea, the apex court held that fraud vitiated the judicial process and remanded the matter to the high court for fresh adjudication on ownership and compensation after hearing all parties.Veeranna has retained the compensation amount after furnishing property securities worth Rs 295 crore through his firm, Manyata-Pristine. According to a Supreme Court interim order, passed in Jan 2025, the securities will remain subject to the outcome of the High Court’s final verdict.
