The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted two more months to the special investigation team to conclude its probe into the payment of excess compensation to farmers/landowners in Uttar Pradesh by the Noida authority.

The apex court, however, clarified that its earlier direction that no coercive action should be taken against the beneficiaries would continue.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh passed the directions after solicitor-general Tushar Mehta requested the court to grant three more months to the SIT to complete its probe.

The apex court-appointed SIT had in an earlier report stated that compensations paid to landowners were higher than what they were entitled to in accordance with the judgments passed by the courts from time to time. It said that excess compensation was paid to landowners in 1,198 cases, although the courts had directed payment in 1,167 cases.

The SIT was constituted in January while dealing with the anticipatory bail application of one of the accused Noida (New Okhla Industrial Development Authority) officers booked by the state anti-corruption bureau in connection with the alleged corruption running into several crores amid allegations of involvement of several top-ranking officers.

"... In view of the prayer made for extension of time, we grant the SIT an additional period of two months to conclude the inquiry,” the bench said while posting the matter for further hearing to January 21.