Smti Sami Murmu v. The State of Assam and 5 Ors

ORDER

18.11.2024 Heard Mr. S.I. Akand, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. H. Sarma, learned Addl. Senior Government, Assam and Mr. B. Gogoi, learned Standing Counsel, Finance for the respondent No. 3.

¶2The petitioner is before this Court praying for grant of compensation for the death of her husband who killed by wild elephant. The incident took place on

06.02.2024. The claim of the writ petitioner is for compensation issued under the revised notification dated 06.03.2017.

¶3Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that as per the serial no.1 in the notification dated 06.03.2017, the petitioner is entitled for grant of compensation of Rs. 4,00,000/- (Rupees four lakhs only). It is also submitted that the representation dated 07.06.2024 is filed before the Deputy Commissioner, Kokrajhar (BTR), Assam for grant of ex gratia relief to the petitioner. The said representation is stated to have been supported by the Police Report, Post Mortem Report, Death Certificate, Next-of-Kin Certificate and Aadhaar Card. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that inspite of Page No.# 3/4 representation having been filed, no order has been passed and the representation is stated to be pending till date.

¶4The learned Addl. Senior Government Advocate, Assam, submits that the claim of the petitioner is to be examined and verified by the Deputy Commissioner, Kokrajhar, while calling for proper report and if it is found to be correct then the proposal to be forwarded to the Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Assam, Environment and Forest Department and thereafter, the appropriate order shall be passed by the concerned Authority for grant of compensation if they deem it fit and proper

¶5By taking into consideration of the submissions advanced by the learned counsel for the parties, this Court is of the view that the writ petition can be disposed of at this stage by directing the Deputy Commissioner, Kokrajhar to dispose of the representation dated 07.06.2024 as it is stated that the said representation is still pending before the Deputy Commissioner, Kokrajhar.

¶6Accordingly, the writ petition is disposed of directing the Deputy Commissioner, Kokrajhar to examine the claims of the writ petitioner by calling for detailed report and thereafter, if the claim of the writ petitioner is found to be genuine, a proposal be prepared and sent to the Office of the Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Assam, Environment and Forest Department for grant of compensation under the revised notification dated

06.03.2017.

¶7This exercise be completed by the Deputy Commissioner, Kokrajhar within a period of 60 (sixty) days from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order.

¶8In the event the proposal for compensation is sent to the Office of the Page No.# 4/4 respondent no.1, the said Department will consider the proposal as per law and pass appropriate order within a further period of 60 (sixty) days there from.

¶9The petitioner will furnish a certified copy of this order along with the copy of the writ petition to the Deputy Commissioner, Kokrajhar for necessary order.

¶10The writ petition stands disposed of in terms of the above observations and directions. JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/4 GAHC010239502024 ooooooo undefined ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/5999/2024o SMTIoSAMIoMURMUo W/O-oLATEoPRALAYoHEMBROM,oRESIDENToOFoVILL.-oGOURANGPUR,o PAKALAGIo(F.V),oP.O.-oBISHMURI,oP.S.oANDoDIST.-oKOKRAJHAR,oASSAM,o PIN-o783370 VERSUSo THEoSTATEoOFoASSAMoANDo5oORS.o REPRESENTEDoBYoTHEoCOMMISSIONERoANDoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.o OFoASSAM,oENVIRONMENToANDoFORESToDEPARTMENT,oDISPUR,o GUWAHATI-o781006 2:THEoCOMMISSIONERoANDoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM oENVIRONMENToANDoFORESToDEPARTMENT oDISPUR oGUWAHATI-o781006 3:THEoCOMMISSIONERoANDoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM oFINANCEoDEPARTMENT oDISPUR oGUWAHATI-o781006 4:THEoPRINCIPALoCHIEFoCONSERVATORoOFoFORESToANDoHEADoOFo FORESToFORCE oASSAM oARANYAoBHAWAN oPANJABARI oGUWAHATI-o781037 5:THEoDISTRICToCOMMISSIONERoOFoKOKRAJHARoDISTRICT oP.O.oANDoP.S.oKOKRAJHAR oPIN-o783370 Page No.# 2/4 6:THE DIVISIONAL FOREST OFFICER HALTUGAON DIVISION P.O. AND P.S. KOKRAJHAR DIST.- KOKRAJHAR ASSAM PIN- 78337 Advocate for the Petitioner : S I AKAND, MS S R MAZARBHUIYA Advocate for the Respondent : GA, ASSAM, SC, FOREST,SC, FINANCE BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SOUMITRA SAIKIA