IMPORTANT POINT
The court established that recovery from pensioners for negligence requires a formal inquiry, and time limits under pension rules restrict such actions post-retirement.

JUDGMENT :

SUNITA AGARWAL, C.J.

1. The present petition has been filed in the month of August, 2008 with the reliefs as follows:-

“(b) this Honourable Court may be pleased to issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction directing the Respondent No.2 to inquire into the gross negligence of Office of Respondent No.3 in not investing huge amounts of Rs.8,38,982/- as per Orders dated 09-12-2003 and 14-12-2005 which are at Annexure A and B respectively to this Petition;

(c) this Honourable Court may be pleased to direct the Respondent No.3 to recover an amounts of interest on Rs.8,38,982/- from the employee of Office of Respondent No.3 by further directing to pay the said interest amounts to the Petitioners;

(d) pending admission, hearing and final disposal of this Petition, the Honourable Court may be pleased to direct the Respondent No.2 to inquire into the allegations made in the Petition and submit the report of the same before the Honourable Court;

(e) Such other and further relief/s as the Honourable Court may deem just and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case may please be granted to the Petitioners;”

2. The relevant facts to be noted herein are that the awards dated 29.03.1993 were published for the acquired agricultural lands belonging to the petitioners of the Village: Ambaliyara, for the purposes of Narmada Project. The petitioners filed References before the Collector, which were referred under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 to the District Court, Kheda at Nadiad. By judgement and order dated 06.03.1998, the References were allowed awarding additional amount of compensation to the petitioners herein. The enhanced amount of compensation was deposited by the Special Land Acquisition Officer in Reference Court, Kheda at Nadiad on 23.08.2001.

3. It seems that some dispute had arisen with regard to disbursement of compensation on an application filed by the petitioners on 24.10.2001. There were two other claimants, namely Punambhai Khodabhai Rawal and Kantibhai Khodabhai Rawal, who filed separate application dated 25.10.2001 for disbursement. The concerned Court, vide order dated 27.06.2003, rejected the applications of both the petitioners as also the aforesaid claimants. The said claimants filed the First Appeal No.1994 of 2003 before this Court challenging the order of rejection of their application dated 25.10.2001.

4. While admitting the appeal, this Court vide order dated 09.12.2003 had directed the reference Court to invest the compensation amount deposited by the acquiring body with a Nationalized Bank initially for the period of three months.

5. The petitioners had also filed an application before the first appellate Court praying for investing the compensation amount as deposited by the Special Land Acquisition Officer, and by order dated 14.12.2005, the first appellate Court had directed the trial Court to invest the amount in a fixed deposit account with any Nationalized Bank for the period of three years and after three years along with the interest, it was ordered to be re-invested for a further period of three years, if the appeal was not decided by that time.

6. It is further stated that an amicable settlement had been arrived at between the two sets of claimants, as aforesaid, and on an application filed by the other set of claimants, who were appellants, the First Appeal No.1994 of 2003 had been permitted to be withdrawn by the order dated 30.04.2007 passed by this Court. Consequently, the First Appeal had been disposed of as withdrawn.

7. After the withdrawal of the appeal, an application dated 06.07.2007 had been filed by the petitioners in LAR Case No.2407/1994 in the concerned Court at Nadiad praying for the release of the deposited amount of compensation along with the accrued interest. The principal amount deposited by the acquiring body/ Special Land Acquisition Officer before the Reference Court was Rs.8,38,982/-, which though had been paid to the petiti