In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the validity of land acquisition for the integrated development of the Yamuna Expressway and its adjoining areas in Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. The top court decided a batch of appeals and the cross-appeals filed by the landowners and the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) respectively. The cases arose from two conflicting verdicts of the Allahabad High Court. One judgement upheld the acquisition by the YEIDA and another quashed state action of taking the land of farmers by invoking the urgency clauses. A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta dismissed appeals by the landowners while allowing the appeals filed by the YEIDA, resolving a long-standing dispute over the application of urgency provisions in the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. Writing a 49-page judgement for the bench, Justice Mehta said the acquisition was deemed integral to the Yamuna Expressway's development. The .