( 1 ) PETITIONERS who are land-holders have filed these Revision Petitions questioning the correctness of the orders passed in Misc. Case Nos. 8,9 and 10/96 dated 10. 3. 2000 passed by the district Judge, Mangalore, in dismissing the petitioners. The petitioners have further prayed for setting aside the impugned orders and prayed to allow their claim by enhancing the compensation amount under Section 16 (3) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 (in short 'the Act of 1885), urging various legal contentions.

( 2 ) AGGRIEVED of the award of compensation awarded by the erstwhile Karnataka Electricity board now replaced by the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. , (herein after in short called as 'corporation'), petitioners land-holders filed petitions before the District Judge, mangalore claiming enhanced compensation amount by way of damages under the provision of section 10 of the Act against the respondents for having sustained diminition of the land value on account of drawing HT power lines upon their lands by the first respondent for the benefit of second respondent. They contended that the value of their lands has been diminished on account of drawing of HT lines and therefore they are entitled for the damages and the first respondent has not exercised its power under Section 10 of the Act properly keeping in view the relevant aspects namely the diminution the value of the land and other related factors and therefore they claimed enhanced compensation in respect of the lands in question. In support of their claim, one witness PW1 was examined and on behalf of respondents RW. 1 was examined, produced and marked documents Ex. P1 to P5 and D1 to D7 respectively.

( 3 ) THE learned Counsel for petitioners-land holders produced the deposition of RW. 1 and report of the Commissioner who had executed the commission warrant and submitted a report on 25. 9. 1999 along with sketch of the lands in question upon which the HT lines have been drawn by the first respondent for supply of power to the second respondent who is the beneficiary drawing HT Lines by Corporation upon the lands of the petitioners. On the basis of pleadings of the parties, three points were formulated by the District Judge for his consideration and answered the same in the Award which read thus:

"1. Have the petitioners proved that there has been diminution in the value of their land on account of the drawing of power transmission lines by the respondents.

Are the present petitions maintainable? Are the petitioners entitled for compensation in excess of Amount already determined by the first respondent?"

( 4 ) ALL the said three points were answered in the negative against the petitioners by the learned judge after referring to the facts and evidence on record and also considered the Judgment of the allahabad High Court and other High Courts. The point No. 2 regarding maintainability of the petitions is considered and negatived the same holding that the petitions filed by petitioners for enhancement of compensation by way of damages are not maintainable by recording its reasons at paragraph-12. Further at paragraph-13 of the impugned Award, the District Judge after referring to Section 51 of the Indian Electricity Act has recorded his findings holding that merely because the power transmission lines pass over the lands of the petitioners, they are not prevented from utilizing the lands for their agriculture use. Further it is stated that no material is produced by the petitioners to show that there has been diminution of their land value on account of passing of power lines upon the lands in question. RW. 1 has given evidence stating that KEB has fixed 200 meter length of Corridor and that in respect of land acquired for the MRPL authority, compensation was granted at the rate of Rs. 85,000/- per acre and that compensation at the rate of 10% at the value of those lands will be reasonable for the aerial encroachment upon the lands of the pet