After a prolonged 35-year legal struggle, the Gujarat High Court approved the sale of Aryoday Spinning & Weaving Mills Co Ltd’s 58,000-square-yard land in Ahmedabad’s Asarwa area for Rs 82 crore. This decision followed a protracted process, during which more than 60 per cent of the mill’s 3,285 workers died awaiting compensation after the mill’s 1989 bankruptcy.
Devbhoomi Agrifresh Pvt Ltd., seeking to buy the land, intervened after objections by other bidders delayed the proceedings. Advocate Dhimant Vasavada, representing the Textile Labour Association, stated that only Rs 55 lakh had been distributed to workers from prior sales of the mill's machinery, with most workers still awaiting their dues.
Justice Mauna Bhatt approved Devbhoomi Agrifresh’s bid, citing the court’s discretion to act in the best interests of secured creditors and the prolonged wait endured by workers. The court's decision marked the fifth attempt to sell the land at a fair price since 2016. The liquidation process, delayed by decades, highlighted the severe toll on workers who were denied timely justice and compensation.
