KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Friday stayed the government order to acquire the Cheruvally estate for the proposed Sabarimala airport. The order was cancelled citing that provisions of the Land Acquisition Act were not complied with. The court stayed the order on the complaint of Ayana Charitable Trust (formerly known as Gospel for Asia), Thiruvalla, and the managing trustee. The plea was filed against land acquisition before settling the case. The court cancelled the part stating that the land can be taken over after paying the money mentioned in the order. The part in the order entrusting the collector to acquire land will remain.

As there has been a dispute over the ownership rights of the land for years, the government’s directive was to deposit the compensation amount in the court as per Section 77 of the Kerala Land Acquisition Act. However, the plaintiffs argued that it was illegal to acquire the land after paying compensation as they were the owners of the land.