HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT

JODHPUR

S.B. Civil Misc. Appeal No. 1501 / 2015

1. The Chairman Railway Board (Ministry of Railway) - Rail

Bhawan, New Delhi & Ors.

2. The Managing Director, Dedicated Freight Corridor

Corporation of India Ltd., 5^th Floor, Metro Station Campus,

Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

3. The Chief Project Manager, Dedicated Freight Corridor

Corporation of India Ltd., 42A/3, Civil Lines, Ajmer

----Appellants

Versus

1. Shri Balwant Singh S/o Shri Gulab Singh, age Balig, R/o

Village Kivarli, Tehsil Abu Road, District Sirohi

2. Shri Nain Singh S/o Shri Gulab Singh, age Balig, R/o Village

Kivarli, Tehsil Abu Road, District Sirohi

3. Shrimati Kalash Kanwar W/o Late Shri Padam Singh, age

Balig, R/o Village Kivarli, Tehsil Abu Road, District Sirohi

4. Shri Dharmendra Singh S/o Late Shri Padam Singh, age

Balig, R/o Village Kivarli, Tehsil Abu Road, District Sirohi

5. The Competent Authority & Sub Divisional Officer, Abu Road,

District Sirohi

----Respondents

_____________________________________________________

For Appellant(s) : Mr. Raj Kamal Soni

For Respondent(s) : Mr. L.S. Jodha.

_____________________________________________________

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE P.K. LOHRA

Order

14/12/2017

By the instant appeal, under Section 37(1)(b) of the

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short, ‘Act’), appellants

have challenged order dated 23^rd of May 2015 passed by Addl.

District Judge, Abu Road (for short, ‘learned Court below’)

whereby learned Court below, while accepting application of the

respondents under Section 34 of the Act, has partially

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[CMA-1501/2015]

rescinded/modified the arbitral award dated 11^th of June 2012.

The learned Court below, by the order impugned issued directions

to the appellants to calculate compensation for the plants standing

on acquired land in terms of circular dated 13^th of July 2006,

issued by Directorate of Horticulture, Rajasthan, Jaipur.

The facts, apposite for the purpose of this appeal, are that

the railway administration while resorting to Chapter IV-A of the

Railways Act 1989, as amended w.e.f. 31^st January 2008,

proceeded to acquire land for special railway project. Pursuant

thereto, during acquisition proceedings, objections were invited

from interested persons by competent authority SDO, Mount Abu.

The respondents, without resisting the acquisition of their

agricultural land, joined issue with the appellants on quantum of

compensation by urging that they are entitled for compensation of

1800 different trees of Lamon, Mango, Guava, Almond, Black

Berry and Pomegranate. The competent officer, finally passed a

composite award on 10^th of March 2011 in respect of entire

acquired land including the land of respondents situated in Khasra

No.1315, 1316, 1317 and 1319 of village Kiwarali, Tehsil Abu

Road, District Sirohi.

Feeling disgruntled with the compensation re-determined by

the competent authority, respondents approached the Arbitrator -

Divisional Commissioner, Jodhpur with a prayer to redetermine

compensation for land and fruiting trees standing on the land in

terms of Circular of the Horticulture Department dated 13^th of July

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[CMA-1501/2015]

2006. The learned Arbitrator, upon consideration of the objections

of respondents, declined to interfere with the award of competent

authority determining compensation in toto. The learned

Arbitrator, while rejecting the plea of respondents, placed heavy

reliance on the provisions of Chapter V of the Rehabilitation and

Resettlement Plan of 2009 for Dedicated Freight Corridor Project

of Vadodra-Rewari under the caption “Resettlement Policy and

Entitlements”. The learned Arbitrator, in terms of general

principles envisages under Para 5.2.1 for rehabilitation and

resettlement, found that Project Affected Persons (PAPs) have

been rightly awarded compensation for the lost assets at the

repla