Amitabh won't be able to donate land in Barabanki

Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan will not be able to donate the land he was alloted in Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh with the Allahabad high court on Tuesday reaffirming its order of maintaining the status quo.

The single judge Lucknow bench of the court headed by Justice S N Srivastava directed that the status quo order of the court must be honoured.

The order came during a hearing on the matter when Uttar Pradesh government contended that Bachchan's offer to donate his land in Barabanki district went against the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court's order for maintaining the status quo.

The state government's chief standing counsel D K Upadhyay, while submitting a counter affidavit in the matter, told a single judge bench of the court that Bachchan had offered to donate his land in the district which was violative of the court order passed on June 8.

The court had ordered a status quo and it applied to both the parties, the counsel contended.

Justice Srivastava posted the matter for further hearing on August 16.

Bachchan has filed a petition challenging the Faizabad Additional Commissioner V S Prasad's order quashing allotment of land to him in Barabanki district.

The court had on June 8, while admitting Bachchan's petition, stayed the order of the commissioner and given three weeks to the petitioner for filing a rejoinder.

Bachchan was allotted a farmland in Daulatpur village in Barabanki district during the previous Samajwadi Party regime.

The actor had recently offered to donate his land to the gram sabha of the village and written a letter to the UP government.