Pratibha Basumatary and Anr v. The Union of India and 6 Ors

Judgment & Order (Oral) Date : 14.08.2024

Heard Mr. S. A. Ahmed, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of all the petitioners. Also heard Ms. A. Gayan, the learned CGC appearing on behalf of Union of India and Mr. S. R. Baruah, the learned Government Advocate appearing on behalf of the State respondents; Ms. K. Phukan, the learned Standing counsel appearing on behalf of the AEGCL as well as its Officials; Mr. G. N. Sahewalla, the learned Standing counsel appearing on behalf of the Power Grid Corporation.

¶2The Petitioners, herein, in the writ petition are aggrieved by the damages that occurred in their fisheries due to the construction of Towers and High Voltage Transmission Lines,as well as also for the adequate compensation in respect to the right of the use of the land which was acquired by the Respondent Authorities.

¶3It is the case of the Petitioners that some of the Petitioners have received certain amount on account of the value of the land but there is no compensation paid on account of the said damages occurred in their fisheries due to the construction of Towers and High Voltage Transmission Lines.

¶4This Court duly takes note of that by virtue of Section 164 of the Electricity Act, 2003; the provisions of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 have been made applicable in the matter of construction of overhead line by the licensee. Section 10 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 deals with the powers of the authority to place and maintain telegraph lines and posts. Section 16(3) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 provides that in case of any dispute as regards the sufficiency of the compensation, an application may be made before the District Page No.# 4/4 Judge within whose jurisdiction the property is situated.

¶5Taking into account that the Petitioners, herein, are aggrieved on account of non-payment of compensation, the Petitioners, would be well advised to approach the learned District Judge, Baksa in terms with Section 16 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. In the circumstance, the said application is filed by the Petitioners within a period of 45(forty five) days from today, the learned District Judge, Baksa shall proceed with the adjudication of the said proceedings in accordance with the applicable provisions of law.

¶6With above observations and directions, the writ petition stands disposed of. JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/4 GAHC010200592018 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/6272/2018ooooooooo PRATIBHAoBASUMATARYoANDoANR.o W/O-oLATEoBABUoRAMoBASUMATARY,oR/O-oVILL-oADALBARI,oP.O-o ADALBARI,oP.S-oMUSHALPUR,oDIST-oBAKSAoBTAD,oASSAM,oPIN-o781372 2:oGOPALoBASUMATARY oS/O-oLATEoPAKHIoRAMoBASUMATARY oR/O-oVILL-oADALBARI oP.O-oADALBARI oP.S-oMUSHALPUR oDIST-oBAKSAoBTAD oASSAo VERSUSo THEoUNIONoOFoINDIAoANDo6oORSo REP.oBYoTHEoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVToOFoINDIA,oDEPTToOFoPOWER,o SHRAMoSHAKTIoBHAWAN,oRAFIoMARK,oNEWoDELHI-o110001 2:THEoGOVERNMENToOFoASSAM oREP.oBYoTHEoADDL.oCHIEFoSECRETARY oDEPTToOFoFISHERY oDISPUR oGUWAHATI-o06 3:THEoMANAGINGoDIRECTOR oASSAMoELECTRICITYoGRIDoCORPORATIONoLIMITED oBIJULIoBHAWAN oPALTANoBAZAR oGUWAHATI-o01 4:THEoGENERALoMANAGER oNTPC oSALAKATI oP.O-oSALAKATI Page No.# 2/4 DIST- KOKRAJHAR PIN- 783369 5:THE ASSTT GENERAL MANAGER 132 KV GRID SUB STATION ASSAM ELECTRICITY GRID CORPORATION LIMITED CHIRAKUNDI RANGIA DIST- KAMRUP ASSAM PIN- 781354 6:THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER BAKSA P.O- MUSHALPUR BTAD ASSAM PIN- 781343 7:THE FISHERY EXTENSION OFFICER BAKSA DEVELOPMENT BLOCK P.O- MUSHALPUR DIST- BAKSA BTAD ASSAM PIN- 781344 8:THE POWER GRID CORPORATION OF INDIA LIMITED NORTH EASTERN REGION TRANSMISSION SYSTEM REPRESENTED BY ITS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DONVTIETH LOWER NONGRASH LAPALANG SHILLONG-79300 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. S A AHMED, MS. M GOGOI,MS. D SWARGIARY Advocate for the Respondent : ASSTT.S.G.I., SC, POWER GRID,SC, AEGCL,GA, ASSAM Page No.# 3/4 BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE N. UNNI KRISHNAN NAIR