In a huge relief to AP and Hero MotoCorp, the Hyderabad High Court has vacated a stay on the construction work and even allowed India's largest two-wheeler maker to erect a wall around the 600 acres it was allotted.Last September, the AP government successfully wooed Hero MotoCorp to invest Rs 2,200 crore and set up the company's largest plant in south India in Chittoor district, beating Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the other bidders.

Dealing with an appeal filed by the state, the division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Dilip B Bhosale and Justice S V Bhatt passed the order paving way for the construction work, while referring the matter back to a single judge who had earlier heard the case. One Kishanlal of M/s Ishwariya Orchards and Plantations, claiming ownership of 600 acres, had brought to the notice of the court that the land, along with 200 more acres, was already embroiled in a legal battle.

He claimed that a civil court had already decreed 197 acres in his favour that was not challenged by the state. The state in its appeal stated that the district collector has challenged those orders and maintained that it was government land. The CJ bench requested the single judge to decide within eight weeks. It also made it clear that the state has to pay compensation to Ishwariya Orchards, even if they succeed in the litigation.