Andhra Pradesh High Court
Judges : B.S.REDDY, B.SUDERSHAN REDDY, C.V.RAMULU, DEVENDER GUPTA, L.NARSIMHA REDDY
Bhamidipati Annapoorna Bhavani - Appellant
Versus
Land Acquisition Officer, Yeleru Reservoir project, Peddapuram, East Godavari Dist - Respondent
Decided On : 03-03-05
Constitution of India - Articles 226, 300-A, 14 and 220 - Land acquisition Act, 1894 - Sections 11, 12, 26, 28, 28-A, 31 and 53 - Code of civil Procedure, 1908 - Constitution amendment Act, 1976 - Larger Bench are that a letter received from one was taken on judicial side as taken up Writ Petition by 1st Division bench. In the letter she made grievance that pursuant to proceedings taken out under the provisions of the Act she was deprived of her land to the extent for the purpose of Project in the year - Land Acquisition collector had passed awards in respect of the lands acquired in the village by offering paltry sum as compensation against which reference was sought to Civil Court - Amount of compensation was thus determined by the civil Court - Against the awards of the reference Court, appeals were preferred by the State Government to the High Court and then to the Supreme Court - Frivolous objections were raised on behalf of the State Government thereby depriving her the fruits of the award. She being an old lady of 92 years has not yet seen the colour of the money even after seventeen years from the date when she was deprived of the land. She has been of deprivation of her land. She has been unable to realise the money awarded under the awards because of frivolous objections being raised by the State Government to the execution of the awards – Held, Statutory remedy itself is not a bar in entertaining a writ petition in the given facts and circumstances. We need not multiply the circumstances in which such discretionary power may be exercised by the court in such matters despite availability of such alternate, adequate and efficacious remedy. But the limits as noticed in s case (supra) by a learned single Judge of this Court are sufficient that in cases arising out of the Act where the amount of compensation finally determined has not been paid a person must first resort to the alternate efficacious remedy of taking out execution and when despite taking out execution proceedings, if there is any delay caused on the part of authorities - Resort can be had to filing of a writ petition in this Court this Court while exercising its discretionary jurisdiction - Appropriate cases may issue directions for immediate deposit of the amount of compensation by the State Government or the authorities on. whose behalf the land has been acquired - Constitution seeking direction against the State to deposit the amount of compensation determined which has finally been settled will not be maintainable is bad and contrary to the principles of law as noticed hereinabove and accordingly we overrule the same and hold that the view taken by the learned single judge - Reference is answered accordingly
( 1 ) REFERENCE to the Larger Bench is on the question of correctness of decision of Full bench of this Court in Vemula Prabhakar and others v. The Land Acquisition Officer and R. D. O. , Peddapalli, Karimnagar and another.
( 2 ) THE Full Bench in the aforesaid decision held that no writ can be issued for implementing the awards passed by the Civil courts in land acquisition proceedings taken out under the provisions of the Land acquisition Act, 1894 (hereinafter referred to as the Act ) on the ground that an alternate and efficacious remedy of seeking execution of the award as a decree of Civil Court in accordance with the provisions of Code of civil Procedure, 1908, is available under the act. While holding so, the Full Bench expressly overruled the decisions of this court in Sur Reddy v. The Spl. Deputy collector (LA), Medak, Billa Linga Reddy v. R. D. O. 3, B. Govinda Reddy v. Revenue divisional Officer-cum-L. A. O. and k. Muralidhar Reddy and others v. The special Dy. Collector, LA. Unit, Gadwal and others.
( 3 ) FACTS giving rise to the reference to larger Bench are that a letter received from one Smt. Bhamidipati Annapoorna Bhavani dated 9-8-2004 was taken on judicial side as taken up Writ Petition by the 1st Division bench. In the letter, she made grievance that pursuant to proceedings taken out under the provisions of the Act, she was deprived of her land to the extent of Ac. 4. 95 cts. situated in J. Annavaram village, East Godavari district, for the purpose of Yeleru Project in the year 1987. The Land Acquisition collector had passed awards on 15-10-1988 and 15-2-1990 in respect of the lands acquired in the village by offering paltry sum as compensation against which reference was sought to Civil Court. The amount of compensation was thus determined by the civil Court on 11-4-1999 in O. P. Nos. 280 of 1990 and 24 of 1992. Against the awards of the reference Court, appeals were preferred by the State Government to the High Court and then to the Supreme Court. The supreme Court thus settled the amount of compensation finally. The grievance, which the petitioner made, is that though the compensation payable to her had finally been settled, the State Government had failed to deposit the amount of compensation. Thus, she was driven to seek execution of the award in order to realise the amount of compensation. During execution, all sorts of frivolous objections were raised on behalf of the State Government thereby depriving her the fruits of the award. She being an old lady of 92 years has not yet seen the colour of the money even after seventeen years from the date when she was deprived of the land. She has been of deprivation of her land. She has been unable to realise the money awarded under the awards because of frivolous objections being raised by the State Government to the execution of the awards.
( 4 ) ON notice being issued, the Division bench called upon the respondents to furnish information as to what the State government is proposed to do as regards payment of compensation in cases where compensation had finally been settled and in which no appeals were pending. This information was sought since number of such matters had come to the notice of the court in which for years together even after final determination of the amount of compensation, payable as per law, the State government had not bothered to deposit the amount of compensation to enable the persons, who had been deprived of their property, to take benefit of the amount. The bench also noticed that the dockets of almost all Courts dealing with land acquisition matters throughout the State was heavy, more particularly, due to execution proceedings pending. The Bench also noticed that for one reason or the other, execution petitions were not being allowed to proceed thereby the persons whose lands were acquired for public cause were being deprived of their legitimate amount of compensation determined by the Civil courts. In some cas
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