Point of Law: Section 3G of National Highways Act, 1956 provided for procedure for determination of amount payable as compensation.

ORDER :

The petitioners, 8 [eight] in nos., have joined together to institute the present writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking inter alia setting aside and quashing of an order dated 08.08.2019, passed by the respondent no. 7, that is, the Additional Deputy Commissioner cum Competent Authority of Land Acquisition [CALA]. By the order dated 08.08.2019, the respondent no. 7 had apportioned the compensation amount assessed for parcels of land, mentioned hereinbelow, in terms of the Award passed in Land Acquisition Case no. 79/2015 between the claimants which included the present petitioners.

2. The necessary background facts, relevant for the purpose of consideration of the writ petition can be narrated, in brief, as follows :- A process of acquisition was initiated by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways [MoRT&H], Government of India [GoI] for extension of National Highway no. 37A, 52 & 52A in the year 2015 and for that purpose, a land acquisition case, Land Acquisition Case no. 79/2015 was registered. The respondent no. 7 came to be appointed as a Competent Authority in terms of the provisions of Section 3[a] of the National Highways Act, 1956.

3. The following parcels of land located at Village – Kamargaon under Biswanath Revenue Circle, District – Sonitpur [hereinafter referred to as ‘the subject-plots’ also, at place, for easy reference], came to be acquired under the said process of acquisition :-

4. It is the case of the petitioners that their predecessors-in-interest viz. [1] Late Siva Prasad Sarmah @ Borthakur, [2] Late Kanak Chandra Sarmah @ Borthakur, and [3] Late Ghanakanta Sharma @ Borthakur were owners of the afore-mentioned parcels of land and after their deaths, the petitioners became owners of the afore-mentioned parcels of land. The names of the petitioners are accordingly reflected in the records of rights [Jamabandi] for the surveyed village. The petitioners have claimed that they have been paying the land revenues for the afore-mentioned parcels of land since long.

5. On 11.12.2015, notices were issued in the names of the predecessors-in-interest of the petitioners by the CALA in connection with Land Acquisition Case no. 79/2015, intimating that their presence were necessary at the Land Acquisition Branch, O/o the Deputy Commissioner, Sonitpur on the scheduled date in the matter of acquisition of the afore-mentioned parcels of plots of land. The notices further indicated that the noticees would be required to produce the copies of the passbook, up-to-date revenue receipts and the Jamabandis in respect of the afore-mentioned parcels of land. On issuance of the notice dated 11.12.2015, the respondent nos. 9 – 22 had also approached the office of the respondent no. 7 and staked their claims in the compensation amounts assessed for the afore-mentioned parcels of land for acquisition, claiming themselves to be holding rights as rayats [occupancy tenants] in respect of the afore-mentioned parcels of land.

6. It is the further case of the petitioners that the respondent nos. 9 – 22 were occupancy tenants of the afore-mentioned parcels of lands under the predecessors-in-interest of the petitioners, who used to cultivate those lands. But, after the death of the predecessors-in-interest of the petitioners, the present petitioners are neither cultivating those parcels of land nor they are dependent on cultivation. It is projected that both the petitioners as well as the respondent nos. 9 – 22 are pursuing other occupations other than cultivations. With such projections, the petitioners have claimed that th