Bishuram Chauhan v. The State of Assam and 5 Ors

ORDER

08.02.2023 [N. Kotiswar Singh, CJ(Acting)] Heard Mr. S. Chauhan, learned counsel for the appellant. Also heard Mr. D. Nath, learned Senior Government Advocate, appearing for the State respondents and Ms. N. Bordoloi, learned standing counsel, Revenue Department.

¶2On perusal of the pleadings, we find that the appellant/petitioner sought for the following reliefs in the writ petition:- "It is, therefore, prayed that Your Lordships may be pleased to issue Rule, call for the Record, call upon the Respondents to show cause as to why the amount of compensation as determined by the Collector, for acquisition of land Rs.3,03,180/- shall not be paid to the petitioner with interest from the date of determination on 19/09/2014 @ 9% for one year and thereafter @ 15% till payment is made & after hearing the parties, after perusal of records be pleased to direct the respondents to pay the amount of compensation to the petitioner and/or pass such other order as your Lordship may deem fit and proper. During the pendency of this application the respondents be directed to pay the petitioner his amount of compensation. And for this act of kindness the petitioner as in duty bound shall ever pray."

¶3From the above it can be ascertained that the appellant was seeking interest on the Page No.# 3/3 amount due from the date of determination on 19.09.2014 @ 9% for one year and thereafter @ 15% till payment.

¶4Though in the present appeal, learned counsel for the appellant submits that he was dispossessed since 2004 as such he shall be entitled to interest also from 2004. We are not inclined to entertain the said plea inasmuch as the said plea was not taken in the writ petition as his prayer was for payment of interest only from the date of determination on 19.09.2014.

¶5Under the circumstances, we modify the direction of the learned Single Judge for directing the respondent authorities to pay the interest as mentioned under Section 80 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 w.e.f. 19.09.2014 on the amount due of ` 3,03,180/-, which is not disputed by Mr. Nath, learned Senior Government Advocate, for the State respondents, which shall be paid forthwith.

¶6Accordingly, the said principal amount shall also be paid by the State respondents, more particularly the respondent Nos.1, 2 and 6, to the appellant along with interest at the rate prescribed under Section 80 of the 2013 Act without any further delay.

¶7The appeal is accordingly disposed of. Comparing Assistant Sd/- Soumitra Saikia JUDGE Sd/- N. Kotiswar Singh CHIEF JUSTICE (ACTING)

PageoNo.#o1/3 GAHC010198822022 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWA/319/2022o BISHURAMoCHAUHANo S/OoLT.oSUKHRAJoCHAUHANoR/OoLASKARoPATHAR,oMOUZA-oLANKAo P.S.LANKA,oDIST.oNAGAON,oNOWoHOJAIoASSAM VERSUSo THEoSTATEoOFoASSAMoANDo5oORSo.o REP.oBYoTHEoCOMMISSIONERoANDoSECRETARY,oPUBLICoWORKSo DEPARTMENT,oDISPUR,oGUWAHATIo-o781006. 2:THEoCHIEFoENGINEER oPUBLICoWORKSoDEPARTMENToROAD oCHANDMARI oGUWAHATI-o781003. 3:THEoDEPUTYoCOMMISSIONER oNAGAONoDISTRICToAToNAGAON. 4:THEoSUB-DIVISIONALoOFFICERoCIVIL oandoCOLLECTOR oSANKARDEVoNAGAR oHOJAI. 5:THEoCIRCLEoOFFICER oLANKAoREVENUEoCIRCLE oAToLANKA 6:THEoEXECUTIVEoENGINEER Page No.# 2/3 PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT NAGAON RURAL ROAD DIVISION AT NAGAO Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. A R SHOME Advocate for the Respondent : SC, PWD BEFORE HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE (ACTING) MR. N. KOTISWAR SINGH HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SOUMITRA SAIKIA