Gujarat High Court
Shah Rajesh Manibhai vs Competent Authority, National Highway ... on 23 April, 2021
Author: Sonia Gokani
Bench: Sonia Gokani, Vaibhavi D. Nanavati
C/SCA/5913/2021 ORDER
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 5913 of 2021
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SHAH RAJESH MANIBHAI
Versus
COMPETENT AUTHORITY, NATIONAL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY OF INDIA
AND SPECIAL LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER
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Appearance:
MR YV VAGHELA(2450) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1,2
MR MAULIK NANAVATI for the Respondent(s) No. 2,3
ADVANCE COPY SERVED TO MS NIDHI VYAS, ASST.GOVERNMENT
PLEADER/PP(99) for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE SONIA GOKANI
and
HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE VAIBHAVI D. NANAVATI
Date : 23/04/2021
ORAL ORDER
(PER : HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE SONIA GOKANI) Rule. Learned Advocate, Mr. Nanavati, waives service of rule for Respondent No.1 and the learned AGP, Ms. Nidhi Vyas, waives for the respondent- State. 1.
1 This petition is preferred by the petitioners, who are agriculturists and is holding the land, within the prescribed ceiling limit, situated within the limits of villages Sama, Dodka and Bhayali, which have been acquired for the purpose of Vadodara- Mumbai Express Highway.
Page 1 of 8 Downloaded on : Fri Jan 14 03:39:55 IST 2022 C/SCA/5913/2021 ORDER 2 The land of the petitioners, admeasuring 4958 sq.mts., bearing Survey No. 331, which is situated within the limit of Village: Dodka, Taluka:
Vadodara Rural, District, Vadodara, has been acquired by Respondent No.2 vide notification, Dated: 05.09.2017, bearing No. L.A.Q./Vadodara- Mumbai Express Way/Dodka Compensation Case No. 7 of 2013.
2.1 The petitioners have approached this Court, in wake of the decision of the Apex Court, rendered in SLP (Civil) Diary No. 18777 of 2020, which came to be disposed of on 07.01.2021.
2.2 It is the case of the petitioners that the circular of the Sate Government, Dated: 10.11.2016, which declares that the same is falling within the limits of Urban Development Authority and it is to be treated as the urban area for applying the multiplier factor to the market value of the land, as provided under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation Page 2 of 8 Downloaded on : Fri Jan 14 03:39:55 IST 2022 C/SCA/5913/2021 ORDER and Resettlement Act, 2013 (hereinafter referred to as, 'the Act of 2013').
2.3 According to the petitioners, the Circular dated 10.11.2016 has been quashed and set aside by the Coordinate Bench of this Court vide order, Dated:
12.09.2019, passed in Special Civil Application No. 8734 of 2019.
2.4 The SLP preferred by the State Government before the Apex Court, being SLP (Civil) Diary No. 18777 of 2020, has already been dismissed on 07.01.2021. He has, therefore, approached this Court with a request that the land of the petitioners is situated in the area, which would require application of multiplier Factor-2, instead of Factor-1, as has been done by the competent authority, for the purpose of calculation of the amount of compensation. According to the petitioners, since, their lands are not situated within any urban or the cantonment area and since, it is situated in rural area, the Factor-2 needs to be applied for the purpose of calculation of Page 3 of 8 Downloaded on : Fri Jan 14 03:39:55 IST 2022 C/SCA/5913/2021 ORDER compensation qua the petitioners. They, therefore, are before this Court, seeking following prayers:
"9. ... (A) Your Lordships may be pleased to issue a writ or mandamus or a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other writ, order or direction and thereby be pleased to direct the respondent number 1 to amend/modify/revise the award dated 05-09-2017 bearing No. LAQ.VadodaraMumbai Express Way/Dodka Compensation CASE No. 07/2013 and re-compute the compensation qua the lands of the petitioners by multiplying the market value as determined under Section 26(1) of the LARR, 2013, Act with a Factor of 2 (two) and applying all other statutory benefits as provided under the LARR Act), 2013 including solatium under S.30(1), interest under S.30(3) and be further pleased to direct he respondents to pay the same, with interest from 05/09/2017 @ 9% for the first year and 15% per annum for subsequent years till date of realisation within 6 week of the judgment;
(B) Pending admission, hearing and final disposal of the petition, Your Lordships may be pleased to restrain the Page 3 of 5 Downloaded on : Tue Apr 06 16:09:00 IST 2021C/SCA/5571/2021 JUDGMENT respondents from using, altering, making any construction of any kind on the land of the petitioners;
(C) ..."
Page 4 of 8 Downloaded on : Fri Jan 14 03:39:55 IST 2022 C/SCA/5913/2021 ORDER 3 We have heard the learned Advocate, Mr. Vaghela, for the petitioners, who has argued along the line of the memo of the petition. He has urged that the term 'Rural Area' has been defined by this Court vide its judgment and order passed in SCA No. 7458 of 2019, and therefore, the Factor-2 shall need to be applied for the purpose of calculation of the amount of compensation in case of the lands, which are situated in the rural area. Therefore, the re-calculation shall need to be done, by applying multiplier Factor-2 to arrive at the market value, as provided under Section 26(1) of the Act of 2013. 4 Learned Advocate, Mr. Nanavati, appearing for and on behalf of Respondent No.2 has urged that the determination of the amount of compensation shall need to be exclusively done by the competent authority. According to him, there is no objection, if, the suitable directions are issued to the competent authority to re-compute the compensation, since, application of circular of 10.11.2016 of multiplier Factor has been declared Page 5 of 8 Downloaded on : Fri Jan 14 03:39:55 IST 2022 C/SCA/5913/2021 ORDER bad in law. So far as the land situated within the rural areas is concerned, instead of the Court applying multiplier Factor-2 by treating the land to be situated within the rural area, the same should be left to the competent authority, which can always, on the strength of the geographical location, as on the date of the issuance of the notification under Section 3A of the Act of 1956 shall be applying the multiplier factor and recomputing the compensation.
5 Learned AGP, Ms. Vyas, has urged this Court that whatever, that is needed to be done, shall be done, as has been directed by this Court in SCA No. 8734 of 20119 and confirmed by the Apex Court in SLP (Civil) Diary No. 18777 of 2020. She has urged that the authority concerned can be trusted for the purpose of re-computation of the compensation. 6 Learned Advocate, Mr. Vaghela, after hearing the learned Advocate, Mr. Nanavati, and learned AGP, Ms. Mehta, does not insist on this Court determining anything in this matter on merits, by Page 6 of 8 Downloaded on : Fri Jan 14 03:39:55 IST 2022 C/SCA/5913/2021 ORDER modifying and applying multiplication Factor-2 qua the land of the petitioner. He is agreeable to the matter being referred to the competent authority for recomputing, by applying appropriate multiplier factor, within some stipulated time period. 7 Having, thus, heard, learned Advocates on both the sides and considering the rival submissions so also noticing the agreement on the part of the petitioners for this matter being referred to the competent authority for re-computation of the compensation, without dealing with the submissions of exclusivity of competent authority for determination of compensation and keeping the same open, to be decided in an appropriate matter, we deem it appropriate to DIRECT the competent authority to re-compute the market value of the land of the petitioners herein, by applying the appropriate multiplication factor for the amount of compensation and follow the dictum of the Apex Court in all respects. We reiterate that while so doing, it shall BEAR IN MIND the decision of the Page 7 of 8 Downloaded on : Fri Jan 14 03:39:55 IST 2022 C/SCA/5913/2021 ORDER Apex Court in SLP (Civil) Diary No. 18777 of 2020 so also the decision of this Court in SCA No. 8734 of 2019 and publish the corrected award under Section 3-G(1) of the Act.
7.1 This shall be done within the period of EIGHT WEEKS, from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.
(MS. SONIA GOKANI, J. ) (VAIBHAVI D. NANAVATI,J) Pallavi/sudhir Page 8 of 8 Downloaded on : Fri Jan 14 03:39:55 IST 2022