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CR-6042-2023 (O&M) Neutral Citation No. 2023:PHHC:131385

IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA

AT CHANDIGARH

CR-6042-2023 (O&M)

Date of Decision: 10.10.2023

Improvement Trust, Moga

…Petitioner

Versus

Jaswant Singh and others

...Respondents

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HARKESH MANUJA

Present:

Ms. Kavita Arora, Advocate for the petitioner.

****

HARKESH MANUJA, J. (oral)

1.

By way of the present revision petition filed under Article

227 of the Constitution of India, challenge has been made to the orders

dated 22.08.2022 and 31.03.2023 passed by the Executing Court,

whereby the objections filed at the instance of petitioner-judgment

debtor as regards payment of interest on solatium in favour of the

private respondents-land owners stands rejected.

2.

Briefly stating, certain land owned by the private

respondents, situated in village Tian Wala Chhappar in the Municipal

Limits of Moga, was acquired by Improvement Trust, Moga vide

Notification dated 02.05.1980 under Section 42 of the Punjab Town

Improvement Act, 1922 (hereinafter to be referred as “the Act”) and the

market rate was assessed @ Rs. 473/- per marla besides other statutory

benefits. The land owners filed their reference before the Land

MANGAL SINGH

2023.10.12 14:26

I attest to the accuracy and

authenticity of this order/judgment.

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CR-6042-2023 (O&M) Neutral Citation No. 2023:PHHC:131385

Acquistion Tribunal, for Improvement Trust, Moga, wherein vide order

dated 11.08.2010, market rate was increased from Rs.473/- to Rs.700/-

per marla besides other statutory benefits. Aggrieved thereto, the

petitioner(s) approached this Court by filing Civil Writ Petitions which

came to be dismissed vide judgment dated 21.04.2011 upholding the

order dated 11.08.2010 passed by the Land Acquistion Tribunal, for

Improvement Trust, Moga.

3.

Based on the award dated 11.08.2010, the land owners

filed execution application wherein objections were filed, resisting the

grant of interest on the benefit of solatium. The reliance was placed

upon the decision made by Hon’ble Supreme Court in case of

Gurpreet Singh Versus Union of India, 2008(2) RCR (Civil) 207.

The said objections were dismissed by the Executing Court vide order

dated 22.08.2022. The same was somehow challenged before the

Appellate Court, however, the said appeal was dismissed being not

maintainable.

4.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that once the

benefit of interest on solatium was not specifically awarded in favour of

the land owners, the Executing Court was not competent to allow the

same in favour of the land owners.

5.

I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and also

gone through the paper-book.

6.

A perusal of objection petition filed by the petitioner

shows that no such specific objection as argued before this Court was

MANGAL SINGH

2023.10.12 14:26

I attest to the accuracy and

authenticity of this order/judgment.

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CR-6042-2023 (O&M) Neutral Citation No. 2023:PHHC:131385

ever raised therein, however, the plea being based on law still needs to

be dealt with. The aforesaid point of law has already been dealt with

by this Court in case of Civil Revision No. 1497 of 2013, titled as

“Union of India Versus Ajaib Singh and others”, decided on

11.07.2023. Relevant para-14 thereof is re-produced hereunder:-

“It is important to note here that the above proposition

was laid down while dealing with the rule of

appropriation in execution of money decree in land

acquisition matters, thus, the same was in fact only to

enlarge the scope of the execution proceedings in a

certain way to confer powers upon the Executing Court to

grant benefit of interest on solatium in cases where

determination on the question of market value and

compensation was finally over before the reference Co