The court established that the award amount should be kept in deposit due to ongoing title disputes affecting disbursement.

ORDER

The prayer in this writ petition is as follows :

"To issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the second respondent to deposit the award amount/compensation amount for the petitioners lands which is the subject matter of acquisition on the strength of the application submitted by the petitioner on 07.02.2023".

2. The affidavit filed in support of this writ petition would indicate that the petitioner and his family members were in possession of certain extent of properties in Survey Nos.165/1A2, 165/3B, 166/2A2, 162/4B2, 167/13, 206/1D and 188/4B of Addaguriki Village, Shoolagiri Taluk, Krishnagiri District. The petitioner along with three others as plaintiffs had instituted a suit for partition in O.S.No.94 of 2008 on the file of Sub Court, Hosur, against the private respondents 3 to 7 herein. The trial Court by judgment and decree dated 16.12.2020, dismissed the suit. Aggrieved by the dismissal order, the plaintiffs in O.S.No.94/2008 preferred an appeal with a delay of 222 days and the same is pending unnumbered before the Principal District Court, Krishnagiri.

3. In the meantime, the Government have come forward with a proposal to acquire the lands in Addaguriki, Maruthandapalli Village etc., in Soolagiri Taluk for formation of SIPCOT Technopark and necessary notifications were issued. Notice was issued to the petitioner, his family members, including the defendants in the suit and they had participated in the enquiry. According to the petitioner, since the rights of the parties in the above suit is not finalised owing to the pendency of the appeal preferred by her, the petitioner had submitted a representation on 07.02.2023, requesting that the award amount should not be disbursed to any of the parties in the suit till its disposal. The learned counsel for the petitioner also brought to the notice of the Court that the third respondent herein has also filed an objection regarding disbursement of amount to the parties in the suit by his letter dated 04.09.2023. Since the representation submitted by the petitioner was not acted upon by the second respondent till date, he is before this Court in the present writ petition.

4. Heard the learned counsel on either side and perused the documents filed in support of this petition.

5. Admittedly there exists a dispute with regard to the title of the subject property and the same has resulted in the filing of a suit for partition. Taking into account the fact that the petitioner and third respondent, who are the parties to the litigation have filed respective representation / objection not to disburse the award amount to any of the parties, there shall be a direction to the second respondent to consider the representation of the petitioner dated 07.11.2024 not to disburse the award amount to the parties in the suit in O.S.No.94/2008, in the light of the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act .

6.However, it is to be noted that the prayer in the writ petition states that a mandamus may be directed to the second respondent to deposit the award amount/compensation amount for the petitioners lands which is the subject matter of acquisition on the strength of the application submitted by the petitioner on 07.02.2023. The petitioner has failed to mention the award amount that he seeks to deposit in Court. This does not find a place in the representation submitted by the petitioner as well on 07.02.2023. Hence, in the considered view, this Court deems it appropriate that the award amount may be kept in Court deposit.

7. Accordingly, the writ petition is allowed and the second respondent is directed to consider the representation of the petitioner dated 07.02.2023 in accordance with law and to deposit the said award amount to the credit of O.S.No.94/2008 on