The main legal point established in the judgment is that the provisions of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, and the Electricity Act, 2003, provide for different forums for disputes regarding compensation, allowing the parties to choose between the District Court and the Appropriate Commission.

1. By consent of learned counsel for the parties, this writ petition is taken up for final hearing. Rule made returnable forthwith.

2. This petition challenges the legality and correctness of the order dated 19th September, 2011, passed by the learned Principal District Judge, Jalgaon, in Misc. Civil Appeal No. 65 of 2011, holding that the appeal was not maintainable, and that the District Court did not have jurisdiction to decide the Misc. Civil Appeal.

3. Facts leading to the litigation, in short, can be stated as under:-

“The petitioners have lands at village Pimpri Sekam, Taluka Bhusawal, District Jalgaon. Respondent No.3/licensee-company proposed to erect towers in the lands for transmission lines. Initially there was some resistance from the petitioners for the respondent No.3. So, respondent No.3 made an application to the Collector under the provisions of Rule 3 of the Works of Licencees Rules, 2006 (made under the provisions of Electricity Act, 2003) (henceforth the Rules) and secured such permission on 31st May, 2011. The Collector admittedly is the authority who could have passed such order. In addition to grant him permission, the Collector even directed respondent No.3 to pay certain amount as compensation to the petitioners.

4. Aggrieved by the quantum of compensation, the petitioners approached the District Court. They asserted that in view of Sections 10 and 16 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, (the telegraph Act) even the District Judge has power to entertain their case seeking enhancement of the amount as an appeal. The learned District Judge rejected this contention holding that the provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003 (the electricity Act) and the Rules made therein provided not only equally efficacious remedy, but apparently the jurisdiction of civil court is ousted.

5. The question before this Court is, whether the jurisdiction of the District Judge as provided in Sections 10 and 16 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, is ousted? If the answer to this is in affirmative, the next question is, whether the petitioners have choice of the forum viz. the District Court and the Appropriate Commission, as defined in the Electricity Act, 2003?

6. Before I advert to the above mentioned questions, I must mention that the learned District Judge did not get an opportunity to consider a proposition “whether the provisions are such that there could be two different forums available to an aggrieved party”. Before discussing the effect of the provisions, I would quote the relevant provisions.

7. Section 3(6) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, defines term “telegraph authority’. It reads as under:-

“telegraph authority” means the Director-General of Posts and Telegraphs, and includes any officer empowered by him to perform all or any of the functions of the telegraph authority under this Act.”

Section 10 enumerates powers of telegraph authority for placing and maintaining telegraph lines and posts. It reads as under:“

10. Power for telegraph authority to place and maintain telegraph lines and posts,-The telegraph authority may, from time to time, place and maintain a telegraph line under, over, along, or across, and posts in or upon any immovable property:

Provided that –

(a) the telegraph authority shall not exercise the powers conferred by this section except for the purposes of a telegraph established or maintained by the Central Government, or to be so established or maintained;

(b) the Central Government shall not acquire any right other than that of user only in the property under, over, along, across in or upon which the telegraph authority places any telegraph line or post; and

(c) except as hereinafter provided, the telegraph authority shall not exercise those powers in respect of any property vested in or under the control or management of any local authority, without the permission of that authority; and

(d) in the exercise of the powers conferred by this section, the telegraph authority shall do as lit