The court ruled that retroactive amendments allowing government deduction of 15% cess from compensation for land acquisition apply to awards pronounced post-amendment, rejecting the respondents' claims for refund.

JUDGMENT :

Ashutosh Kumar, CJ.

We have heard Ms. Vanneihsiami, learned Government Advocate, Mizoram for the appellants and Mr. L. Khiangte, learned Advocate for all the respondents.

2. The Mizoram (Land Revenue) Act, 2013 was amended by the Mizoram Land Revenue (Amendment) Act, 2022 (hereinafter to be referred as the “Act of 2022”), which was notified on 22.09.2022 and published in the Gazette on 23.09.2022. By virtue of that amendment in the Act, a new section, namely, Section 75A, was inserted, which provided that the share of the Government on acquisition of land in case of acquisition covered by house pass or stall pass or shop pass or periodic patta or land lease, in which the pass holder have a temporary right, title, interest and possession of the land held, for the purpose of the Union and States crops and building damage compensation as well as land value may be assessed and be paid by the concerned Collector of the District or the concerned competent authority for land acquisition, as the case may be, provided by the validity of the tenure of the said land holding has not expired.

Sub-section (2) of Section 75A of the Act of 2022, which is crucial for deciding this case is that out of the land value paid under sub-section (1), 15% share of the Government shall be deducted by the District Collector or competent authority for land acquisition, as the case may be, who shall remit to the State Government Account as revenue.

Sub-section (4) of the newly amended Section 75A of the Act of 2022 provides that the Government of Mizoram may notify such acts under which acquisition made would be subject to such collection of shares.

Sub-section (5) further delineates that the share of the Government shall also be deducted from the award not yet pronounced even if notification for the acquisition was issued under any land acquisition Act by the Union or State.

3. Armed with the power conferred on the State Government under Section 75A(4) of the Act of 2022, the Government of Mizoram notified retrospectively w.e.f. 23.09.2022 that 15% share of the Government, as stipulated under sub-sections (1) and (2) of Section 75A of the Act of 2022 shall be collected from land acquisition made by the listed authorities and that the share of the Government so collected shall be utilized for the purposes of land administration and other ancillary purposes as stipulated under sub-section (3) of Section 75A of the Act of 2022.

4. The respondents had periodic patta allotted to them by the Land Revenue and Settlement Department of Government of Mizoram in Saitual District, which was acquired for construction of National Highway 102B under the provisions of the National Highways Act, 1956 for which notifications were issued in the year 2021. Thereafter, Section 3G estimate/award was made by the Competent Authority of Land Acquisition (hereinafter to be referred as “CALA”), Saitual District on 17.02.2022 and the amount of compensation assessed by the CALA was notified but in such notification, it appeared that 15% cess was deducted on the value of land, which was alleged to be illegally deducted by the appellants despite the fact that there was no provision for deduction of 15% from the compensation amount either under the National Highways Act, 1956 or the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (hereinafter to be referred as the “Act of 2013”).

5. The lands of the respondents were acquired under the provisions of the National Highways Act, 1956, which is one of the enactments specified in the 4th Schedule to the Act of 2013 and, therefore, the provisions of the Act of 2013 shall ap