Radhey Shyam And 5 Others vs State Of U P And 3 Others on 19 February, 2020

[Cites 30, Cited by 0]

Allahabad High Court

Radhey Shyam And 5 Others vs State Of U P And 3 Others on 19 February, 2020

Bench: B. Amit Sthalekar, Ali Zamin





HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
 
 

RESERVED
 

 
Court No. - 45
 

 
1. Case :- WRIT - C No. - 23664 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Radhey Shyam And 5 Others
 
Respondent :- State Of U P And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Shyam Surat Shukla
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Hari Keshav
 
Connected with  
 
2. Case :- WRIT - C No. - 22790 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Radhey Mohan Tripathi And 6 Others
 
Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 5 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Achchhey Lal Tiwari,Ajay Kumar Singh
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Pranjal Mehrotra
 
With
 
3. Case :- WRIT - C No. - 24203 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Radhey Shyam Mishra
 
Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Shyam Surat Shukla
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
 
 With
 
4. Case :- WRIT - C No. - 27199 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Wahid And 6 Others
 
Respondent :- State Of U P And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Shyam Surat Shukla,Rakesh Kumar Pandey
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Raghvendra Shankar Srivastava
 

 
With
 

 
5. Case :- WRIT - C No. - 29248 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Alauddin And 19 Others
 
Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Brahm Prakash Mishra
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
 
With
 
6. Case :- WRIT - C No. - 29369 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Diwakar Mishra And 42 Others
 
Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Ashok Kumar Upadhyay
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
 
With
 

 
7. Case :- WRIT - C No. - 29467 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Ram Awadh And 15 Others
 
Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Shyam Surat Shukla
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Hari Keshav
 
With
 
8. Case :- WRIT - C No. - 29956 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Harihar Singh And 08 Others
 
Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 03 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Shyam Surat Shukla
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
 
With
 
9. Case :- WRIT - C No. - 30337 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Ramji Singh And 19 Others
 
Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Dinesh Kumar Singh,Shyam Surat Shukla
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
 
With
 
10.Case :- WRIT - C No. - 30758 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Raghwendra Prasad And 5 Others
 
Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Shyam Surat Shukla
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
 
With
 
11. Case :- WRIT - C No. - 30767 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Suresh And 2 Others
 
Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Shyam Surat Shukla
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
 
With
 
12. Case :- WRIT - C No. - 31679 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Manoj Kumar Singh And 3 Others
 
Respondent :- State Of U P And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Brahm Prakash Mishra
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
 
With
 
13. Case :- WRIT - C No. - 31698 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Dharmendra Singh And 5 Others
 
Respondent :- State Of U P And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Brahm Prakash Mishra
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
 
With
 

 
14. Case :- WRIT - C No. - 32168 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Shiv Prasad Giri
 
Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 4 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Dinesh Kumar Singh
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
 
With
 
15. Case :- WRIT - C No. - 32618 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Kanhaiya Lal And 5 Others
 
Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Dinesh Kumar Singh
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
 
With
 
16. Case :- WRIT - C No. - 33212 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Shiv Sagar Singh And 24 Others
 
Respondent :- State Of U P And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Dinesh Kumar Singh,Rajesh Kumar Singh
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
 
With
 
17. Case :- WRIT - C No. - 33366 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Gopal Singh And 6 Others
 
Respondent :- State Of U P And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Dinesh Kumar Singh
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
 
With
 

 
18. Case :- WRIT - C No. - 33367 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Sushil Kumar Mishra And 6 Others
 
Respondent :- State Of U P And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Ashok Kumar Upadhyay, 
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
 
With
 
19. Case :- WRIT - C No. - 33377 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Virendra Singh And 9 Others
 
Respondent :- State Of U P And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Dinesh Kumar Singh
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
 
With
 

 
20. Case :- WRIT - C No. - 33779 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Akbaal Singh And 4 Others
 
Respondent :- State Of U P And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Dinesh Kumar Singh
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
 

 
With
 
21. Case :- WRIT - C No. - 34193 of 2018
 

 
Petitioner :- Sujeet Kumar Sharma And 3 Others
 
Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Brahm Prakash Mishra
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
 

 
Hon'ble B. Amit Sthalekar,J.

Hon'ble Ali Zamin,J.

(Delivered by Hon'ble B. Amit Sthalekar, J) The controversy involved in the above writ petitions are stated to be identical and connected, therefore, all the petitions were heard together and are being decided by this common order, leading case being Writ petition no. 23664 of 2018.

The petitioners in this writ petition are seeking a direction in the nature of mandamus commanding the respondents to make payment of compensation of land of Khasra no. 843 Kha area 0.0450 hectare, 843 Ga area 0.032 hectare, Khasra no. 515 Gha area 0.089 hectare and Khasra no. 833 Ka area 0.5140 hectare and Khasra no. 637 area 0.3420 hectare situated in village Pargana Kaswar Raja, Tehsil-Raja Talab, District Varanasi in pursuance of the letter of the District Magistrate, Varanasi dated 23.06.2017 as per circle rate of the year 2017-18 at market value.

Briefly stated the facts of the case are that a project for expansion of the width of the Babatpur-Kapsethi Road was initiated by the District Magistrate, Varanasi-Respondent no.2 in 2014 and it is alleged that without consent of the agriculturist, possession of the land of the petitioners was taken on 24.01.2014. It is stated that in pursuance of the said road widening project, the Khasra no. 843 Gha, 515Ga and 844 Ga and Khasra no. 843 Kha, 833Ka and 637 have been utilized and possession of the land taken from the petitioners. It is alleged that no acquisition proceedings were resorted to but it was assured that compensation would be paid on the basis of the circle rate fixed by the authority. It is stated that by a letter dated 05.8.2016, the Assistant Engineer, P.W.D., requested the Sub Divisional Magistrate, Raja Talab, Varanasi to determine the category of land taken for construction of the road in Village Kapsethi, Baradeeh and Kalikadham. It is stated that the circle rate was prepared by the Revenue Authority, (Annexure-3 to the writ petition) and the village Kapsethi is shown at Sr. no. 28. It is also stated that a Writ petition no.2643 of 2017 (Ashok Kumar Dubey Vs State of U.P. and others) was filed by a co-owner of the petitioners against the intended demolition of his construction on the land in question by the P.W.D. The said writ petition was disposed of by a Division Bench of this Court by order dated 19.01.2017 directing the District Magistrate to decide the representation of the petitioner after hearing the parties concerned including the Officers of the Public Works Department. It is stated that the representation of the petitioner was disposed of by the District Magistrate, Varanasi by an order dated 21.4.2017 and the District Magistrate directed the P.W.D. to make payment of compensation to the petitioner Ashok Kumar in respect of his Arazi no. 843 Kha area 0.045 hectare and Arazi no. 515 Gha area 0.089 hectares as per the circle rate. It is further stated that a total amount of Rs. 367 Crores had been sanctioned by the State Government for the Kapsethi-Babatput Rajya Marg as would be evident from the letter of District Magistrate, Varanasi dated 23.6.2017.

According to the petitioners, the circle rate of the land was prepared by the P.W.D. Varanasi for purposes of road construction for the Babatpur to Kachchawa road as per Circle Rate 2017-18, report dated 12.12.2018 in which the rate of land was Rs. 12,000/- per Sq.mt.

On 01.11.2018 when this matter came up before this Bench, the Court passed the following order:-

"Sri Shyam Shurat Shukla files supplementary affidavit in W.P. No. 23664 of 2018 and Sri Dinesh Kumar Singh files supplementary affidavit in W.P. No. 30337 of 2018. Both the affidavits are taken on record.

Sri M.C. Chaturvedi, learned Additional Advocate General and Sri Suresh Singh learned counsel for the respondents pray for and are granted three weeks for examining the matter and to file reply to these affidavits.

So far as the direction of the Court in the earlier order of 17.9.2018 to produce the cheques with regard to the admissible compensation is concerned, learned counsel for the respondents submit that now the payments are to be made through RTGS and not by individual cheques and petitioners have not disclosed their account numbers and, therefore, the admissible compensation cannot be paid to the petitioners. He further submits that the payment of admissible compensation is also subject to the execution of sale deed by each of the petitioners whose lands have been acquired.

Learned counsel for the petitioners have no objection to execution of the sale deeds or for providing the account numbers along with requisite documents of each of the petitioners to the Executive Engineer of the concerned area within 15 days from today.

It is agreed between the parties that the dispute in the bunch of writ petitions is now confined only to the quantum of the compensation to be determined on the question as to whether the land acquired is agricultural land or Abadi land and the rate applicable accordingly. It is, therefore, specifically provided that the execution of the sale deeds and receipt of compensation will not prejudice the right of the petitioners in the writ petition when the writ petitions are finally decided.

Sri M.C. Chaturvedi submits that following writ petitions may be de-linked from the leading W.P. No. 23664 of 2018.

1. W.P. No. 25913 of 2018 (Mohammad Kalim Vs. State of U.P. and 2 others),

2. W.P. No. 26018 of 2018 (Awadh Narayan Singh Vs. State of U.P. and 2 others),

3. W.P. No. 27162 of 2018 (Om Prakash Lal Srivastava Vs. State of U.P. and 2 others),

4. W.P. No. 30303 of 2018 (Bhupendra Pratap Singh and 7 others Vs. State of U.P. and 4 others),

5. W.P. No. 30395 of 2018 (Shiv Prasad Pandey Vs. State of U.P. and 3 others),

6. W.P. No. 30420 of 2018 (Bhupendra Singh Vs. State of U.P. and 4 others),

7. W.P. No. 32788 of 2018 ( Aneesa Begum and 7 others Vs. State of U.P. and 3 others),

8. W.P. No. 32819 of 2018 (Mohd. Jubair Siddique and 2 others Vs. State of U.P. and 3 others) and

9. W.P. No. 34521 of 2018 (Dinesh Narain Mishra and 15 others Vs. State of U.P. and 3 others)

10. W.P. No. 19009 of 2018 (Toofani Vs. Deputy Commissioner and 2 others) Learned counsel for the petitioners in these writ petitions, who are present, are also agreed that these writ petitions may be de-linked from W.P. No. 23664 of 2018 It is accordingly directed that the above mentioned writ petitions be de-linked from this writ petition and shall be listed on 19.11.2018 independently.

List this writ petition on 28.11.2018 along with other connected matters.

Sri Gyanendra Srivastava points out that W.P. No. 17458 of 2018 (Ram Naresh Vs. State of U.P. and others) has already been dismissed on 17.9.2018 and has wrongly been shown in the bunch of these cases connected with W.P. No. 23664 of 2018.

Office is directed to de-link the W.P. No. 17458 of 2018 (Ram Naresh Vs. State of U.P. and others) from the leading W.P. No. 23664 of 2018."

It was thereby understood between the parties that the claim of the petitioners was now confined only to the quantum of compensation to be determined on the question as to whether the land acquired is agricultural land or abadi land and the rate applicable accordingly and it was further made clear that any sale deed executed by the petitioners would not prejudice their right to receive compensation as per law.

In the counter affidavit which has been filed on behalf of the respondents no. 2,3 and 4 it is not disputed that the land of the petitioners Khasra no. 515Gha area 0.089 hectares, Khasra no. 843 Ga area 0.032 hectares and Khasra no. 844 Gha area 0.028 hectares, total area 0.149 hectares situate in village Kapsethi Pargana Kaswar Raja, Tehsil Raja Talab, District Varanasi has been utilized for purposes of road widening. It is also stated that the petitioners have been paid compensation at four times of the circle rate i.e. Rs.4,000/- per Sq.mt. x 4=Rs. 16,000/- per Sq. mt. The case of the respondents further is that in the circle rate 2017-18 notified, Annexure-8 of the writ petition, Kapsethi finds mention at Sr. no. 28, at page 48 of the paper book as per which for agricultural land situate within 200 mts from the road, compensation would be paid at Rs. 40,000/- per 0.001 hectares which works out to Rs. 4,000/- per Sq. mt. and the stand of the respondents, therefore, is that the petitioners are entitled for payment of compensation at Rs. 4,000/- per Sq. mt. of the land acquired and as per scheme of compensation the petitioners have been paid compensation at four times of this circle rate i.e. Rs.4000 x 4= Rs.16,000/- per Sq. mt. as compensation. The relevant document with respect to the area of the land of the petitioners acquired and the rate applicable has been filed as Annexure-1 to the counter affidavit. A supplementary counter affidavit has also been filed by the respondents no. 2,3 and 4 reiterating the same facts.

In the supplementary affidavit dated 01.11.2018, filed by the petitioners their stand is that the District Magistrate in his report dated 15.6.2017, Annexure-6 to the writ petition, had stated that 408 Gatas were affected in the widening of Bhadohi-Kapsethi-Babatpur Marg and the total land occupied by the respondents is 8.33 hectares of land from Tehsil Pindra and 2.98 hectares from Tehsil Raja Talab and that Rs. 364.44 Crore has been determined as the amount of compensation to be paid to the affected land holders. According to the petitioners the circle rate, therefore, works out to Rs. 8326 x 4 = Rs. 33,304/- per Sq. mt. as compensation whereas the respondents have paid compensation at Rs. 4,000 x 4 = Rs. 16,000/- per Sq. mt. only.

A rejoinder affidavit has also been filed by the petitioners in which it it is stated that respondents have treated the land of the petitioners as agricultural land whereas it should be non-agricultural land of which the rate should have been Rs. 9,000/- per Sq. mt. whereas the respondents have calculated compensation at the circle rate of Rs. 4,000/- per Sq. mt. and therefore, taking the value of the land at circle rate of Rs. 9,000/- per Sq. mt., the compensation payable to the petitioners would be Rs. 9,000 x 4 = Rs. 36,000/- per Sq. mt. Reliance has been placed on document, Annexure-1 to the rejoinder affidavit which is dated 01.8.2018 and which refers to land situate near semi urban land or agricultural land from 0.000 hectares to 0.050 hectares i.e. 500 Sq. mt.

We may, refer to this document dated 1.8.2018 which at the outset mentions that the same is in respect of the circle rate to be effective from 01.8.2018. Para 4 of the Committee report dated 1.8.2018, Annexure-1 to the rejoinder affidavit also mentions that for purposes of stamp duty of any registered deed its valuation would be determined having regard to the rates applicable to any other property situate in the area, namely, by way of exemplar. In our opinion, the document filed as Annexure-1 to the rejoinder affidavit has no application to the facts of the present case which is not in respect of determining valuation of Stamp duty but rather is in respect of determination of compensation at circle rate and the circle rate as mentioned in Annexure-8 of the writ petition for 2017-18 for Kapsethi is Rs. 40,000/- for 0.001 hectares for agricultural land situate within 200 metres which comes to Rs. 4,000/- per Sq. mt. It is not the case of the petitioners that the land in question is not agricultural land, therefore, the claim of the petitioners for compensation at Rs. 9,000 x 4 = Rs. 36,000/- per Sq. mt is totally misconceived and without any foundation.

A supplementary counter affidavit has also been filed by the respondents wherein it is stated that there was a typographical error in the report of the Committee Annexure-8 to the writ petition and that the said error was sought to be rectified and a second meeting was called on 21.8.2019 and after extensive consideration of the minutes of the meeting dated 12.2.2018, the Committee has found that after Column no. 7 of the evaluation index, due to typographical error Column no.8/9 had been omitted which relates to determination of rate of agricultural land. Sri Shyam Surat Shukla, learned counsel for the petitioners vehemently submitted that the second Committee report of 21.8.2019 was an attempt to cover up the previous Committee report, Annexure-8 to the writ petition which could not be permitted that the circle rate as mentioned in Column 8 ought to be applied and the subsequent Committee report of 21.8.2019 is an afterthought and an improvement, which ought to be ignored.

On examination of the Committee report, Annexure-8 to the writ petition, we find that indeed after Column no. 7 there is no Column no. 8. Thereafter, there is Column no. 9 and 10 but that itself would not make any difference as far as the present case is concerned. A supplementary rejoinder affidavit has also been filed by the petitioners in reply to the supplementary counter affidavit filed by the respondents. In the present case, it has already been agreed between the parties that this Court is not entering into the merits of the area utilized or the title of the parties to the land in question. The only question to be decided in the present bunch of cases is as to what would be the circle rate to be applied for determining the market value of the land for purposes of determination of compensation payable to the petitioners. From a perusal of the documents on record, particularly Annexure-8 to the writ petition which is the report of the Committee fixing the circle rate for the land in question and other lands for the year 2017-18, the circle rate fixed for Kapsethi for agricultural land measuring 0.001 hectares i.e. 10 Sq. mt is Rs. 40,000/- as per Colunm 9 and therefore, the value of the land would have to be calculated at the rate of Rs. 4,000/- per Sq. mt. as per the circle rate on which the petitioners are themselves relying. It is not the case of the petitioners that the land in question is non agricultural land. In fact Annexure-1 to the writ petition discloses the category of the land of the petitioners as Shreni 1 Ka/Sankramaniye Bhumidhar which is agricultural land and the copy of the Khatauni filed by the petitioners does not disclose that the land has ever been declared as non agricultural land and its user changed under section 143 of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950. Column 7 of the circle rate of 2017 - 18, Annexure-8 to the writ petition prescribes the rate of land as applicable to non agricultural lands which are situate 9 meters or more from the road at the rate of Rs.9,700 per sq. mt. but the same is not applicable to the facts of the present case in view of our above discussion.

In this view of the matter, if the compensation has been determined by the respondents in respect of the land of the petitioners taking the circle rate at Rs. 4,000/- per Sq. mt. for agricultural land and the same has already been paid to the petitioners, we do not find any illegality or infirmity in the same.

The writ petition lacks merit and is accordingly, dismissed.

In Writ petition no. 22790 of 2018, there are seven petitioners who claim to be owners of Khasra no. 416 area 0.0140 hectares, Khasra no. 418 area 0.3060 hectares and Khasra no. 425 area 0.4620 hectares situate in Village Kapsethi, Pargana Kaswar Raja, Tehsil Raja Talab, District Varanasi and are seeking a direction to the respondents for payment of compensation with a further prayer that the respondents be restrained from raising construction of the service road over 892 Sq.mt. of the land of the petitioners.

In the present case it has already been agreed between the parties that this Court is not entering into the merit of the area utilized or the title of the parties to the land in question. The only question to be decided in the present case is as to what would be the circle rate to be applied for determining the market value of the land for the purpose of determination of compensation.

It is not the case of the petitioners that the land in question is non-agricultural land. In fact, Annexure-1 to the writ petition discloses the category of the land as agricultural and the copy of the Khatauni filed by the petitioners does not disclose that the land has ever been declared as non-agricultural and its user changed under Section 143 of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950.

The issue regarding payment of compensation has already been dealt with in leading Writ petition no. 23664 of 2018 (Radhey Shyam and others Vs State of U.P. and others) and the court has held that the petitioners are entitled for payment of compensation at the circle rate for the agricultural land.

The only prayer made in this petition is for payment of compensation in respect of their land utilized for the widening of the Babatpur Kapsethi Road in the year 2014.

Therefore, this writ petition is disposed of with a direction that in case the petitioners have not been paid compensation for their utilized land, they shall be paid compensation of their lands as per the circle rate fixed in the Valuation list of 2017-18 issued by the District Magistrate, Varanasi for the agricultural land in accordance with law within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order.

In Writ petition no. 24203 of 2018 (Radhey Shyam Mishra Vs. State of U.P. and Others), the sole petitioner claims to be owner of Khasra no. 331 area 0.0760 hectares situated in Village-Bajardiha, Tehsil-Raja Talab, District Varanasi and is seeking payment of compensation in pursuance of the letter of the District Magistrate, Varanasi dated 23.06.2017 as per the circle rate of the year 2017-18 at market value with interest.

It is not the case of the petitioner that the land in question is non-agricultural land. In fact, Annexure-1 to the writ petition discloses the category of the land as agricultural and the copy of the Khatauni filed by the petitioner does not disclose that the land has ever been declared as non-agricultural and its user changed under Section 143 of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950.

The only prayer made in this petition is for payment of compensation in respect of their land utilized for the widening of the Babatpur Kapsethi Road in the year 2014.

Therefore, this writ petition is disposed of with a direction that in case the petitioner has not been paid compensation for his utilized land, he shall be paid compensation of their lands as per the circle rate fixed in the Valuation list of 2017-18 issued by the District Magistrate, Varanasi for the agricultural land in accordance with law within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order.

In Writ petition no. 27199 of 2018 (Wahid and others Vs. State of U.P. and Others), the petitioners who are seven in number, claim to be co-owners as well as joint owners of Araji Khasra no. 844Chh area 0.0300 hectare situated in Village Kapsethi, Tehsil Raja Talab, District Varanasi and are seeking payment of compensation in pursuance of letter dated 23.06.2017 issued by the District Magistrate, Varanasi as per the market value with interest from the date of possession. Their further prayer is that the respondents be directed to vacate the land of the petitioners and restore the possession of the petitioners over the said land.

The only prayer made in this petition is for payment of compensation in respect of their land utilized for the widening of the Babatpur Kapsethi Road in the year 2014.

In Writ petition no. 29248 of 2018 (Alauddin and others Vs. State of U.P. and Others), the petitioners who are 20 in number, claim to be co-owners of Araji no. 917Ka Rakba 0.0400 hectare, Araji no. 844 Anga Rakba 0.0300 hectare, Araji 844 Cha Rakba 0.0110 hectare, Araji no. 844 Ja Rakba 0.0110 Hectare, Araji 844 Jha Rakba 0.0110 Hectare situated in Village Kapsethi, Pargana Kaswar Raja Tehsil Raja Talab, District Varanasi and are seeking payment of compensation as per the circle rate of the year 2018-19.

The only prayer made in this petition is for payment of compensation in respect of their land utilized for the widening of the Babatpur Kapsethi Road in the year 2014.

In Writ petition no. 29369 of 2018 (Diwakar Mishra and Others Vs. State of U.P. and Others), the petitioners who are 43 in number and are residents of Village Kundi, Post Kundi Tehsil Pindara, District Varanasi claim to be tenure holders of the plots mentioned in paragraph 3 of the writ petition and are seeking payment of compensation along with the other statutory benefits as provided under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 on the basis of prevailing circle rate of Rs. 9000/- per Sq. mt.

The submission is that the lands of the petitioners were utilized for widening of Babatpur-Kapsethi Marg in the year 2014 and although the construction of the road has been completed but the payment of compensation of the lands of the petitioners which have been utilized by the Government has not been paid to them. The petitioners have moved applications before the respondent authorities but till date they have not been paid any compensation for their utilized land.

The petitioners are claiming compensation of their land at the rate of Rs. 9,000/- per Sq. mt. as per the Circle Rate, 2018 dated 01.08.2018 Annexure-5 to the writ petition. However, we find that this Circle Rate speaks of land falling in semi urban areas within the jurisdiction of Tehsil Pindara, District Varanasi (Development Authority, Awas Vikas Parishad). Item 18 of it refers to the land in Village Kundi. It is mentioned that the rate is applicable for the stretch of highway road from Badgaon triangular crossing, Union Bank and on the other side Yash Hotel and Restaurant through Namapur and Ishipur up to Varuna River bridgeon the both side of the road. It means that this is a portion of the highway which is passing through Development Authority or the Awas Vikas Parishad and is not the land situate in Village Kundi, Tehsil Pindara. Therefore, the claim of the petitioners for payment of compensation at the rate of Rs. 9,000/- per Sq. mt. is thoroughly misconceived and without any foundation. On the other hand, in the short counter affidavit filed by the State respondents the circle rate for payment of compensation in the report dated 26.2.2018 for Bhadohi-Babatpur-Kapsethi National Highway is Rs. 2000/- per Sq. mt. for agricultural land and Rs. 8500/- per sq. mt. for non-agricultural land in Village Kundi. The petitioners have not been able to show that their land has been declared to be non-agricultural under Section 143 of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Acquisition Act and, therefore, they will be entitled to compensation at the rate of Rs. 2000/- per sq. metre and not at the rate of Rs. 9000/- per sq. mt. The petitioners have further denied the claim of the respondents that some plots have not been utilized and some plots are not affected by the project for road widening.

In our opinion, these disputes relating to individual plots or sub-plots as the case may be, can be raised by the petitioners before the authority concerned and we have already held that the court is not entering into the question of rights of individual land holders over the plots or as to where what area has actually been utilized or not utilized by the State Government, since, it has been agreed between the parties that these bunch of writ petitions are confined only to determination of amount of compensation and not the individual rights of the parties.

The issue regarding applicability of circle rate for agricultural land for determination of compensation for the lands utilized in widening and strengthening of Bhadohi-Kapsethi-Babatpur State Highway from two lane to four lane has already been decided in the leading Writ petition no. 23664 of 2018. However, in view of our discussion hereinabove, the circle rate for payment of compensation in the present case being Rs. 2,000/- per sq. mt., the petitioners shall be entitled to compensation on that circle rate.

In this view of the matter, this writ petition is dismissed. However, it is directed that in case, the petitioners are not paid compensation for their utilised land, they shall be entitled for payment of the same at the circle rate fixed by the District Magistrate for the agricultural land i.e. Rs. 2000/- per sq. mt. within a period of two months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order.

In Writ petition no. 29467 of 2018 (Ram Awadh and others Vs. State of U.P. and Others), the writ petition on behalf of the petitioners no. 15 and 16 has already been dismissed vide order dated 26.07.2019. So far as the petitioners no. 1 to 14 are concerned, they claim to be co-owners/owners of Khasra no. 760, 892Kh, 767, 759, 793, 796K, 801 and 754 situated in Village Baradeeh, Tehsil Raja Talab, District Varanasi and are seeking payment of compensation as per the present circle rate.

The only prayer made in this petition is for payment of compensation in respect of their land utilized for the widening of the Babatpur Kapsethi Road in the year 2014.

Therefore, this writ petition is disposed of with a direction that in case the petitioners no. 1 to 14 have not been paid compensation for their utilized land, they shall be paid compensation of their lands as per the circle rate fixed in the Valuation list of 2017-18 issued by the District Magistrate, Varanasi for the agricultural land in accordance with law within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order.

Civil Misc. Substitution Application no. 6 of 2019 dated 26.7.2019 has been filed with the prayer that the petitioners no. 3, 4, 5 and Yogendra Singh (substituted petitioner no. 2/1) be treated to be the legal heirs of petitioner no. 1. It is stated in the affidavit filed in support of the substitution application that the petitioner no. 1 namely, Ram Awadh has died and that he was unmarried and issueless.

No supporting document with regard to the death of the petitioner no. 1 has been filed along with the substitution application. Otherwise also this Court has already held that it is not entering into the questions of title etc., but the case is confined only to the determination of the market value of the land for the purposes of payment of compensation only. Therefore, this application is rejected. The issue of substitution may be raised by the petitioners before the appropriate authority.

In Writ petition no. 29956 of 2018 (Harihar Singh and 8 others Vs State of U.P. and Others), the petitioners who are 9 in number are claiming compensation of land of Khasra no. 761, 753, 769, 734K and 931 situated in Village Baradeeh, Tehsil Raja Talab, District Varanasi as per the present circle rate.

The only prayer made in this petition is for payment of compensation in respect of their land utilized for the widening of the Babatpur Kapsethi Road in the year 2014.

In Writ petition no. 30337 of 2018 (Ramji Singh and 19 others Vs State of U.P. and Others), the petitioners who are 20 in number are claiming compensation of land of Gata no. 523 situated in Village Baradeeh as well as the Gata nos. 410, 196, 380, 390 and 411 situated in Village Haribhanpur, Tehsil Raja Talab, District Varanasi.

The only prayer made in this petition is for payment of compensation in respect of their land utilized for the widening of the Babatpur Kapsethi Road in the year 2014.

In Writ petition no. 30758 of 2018 (Raghwendra Prasad and 5 others Vs State of U.P. and Others), the petitioners who are 6 in number are claiming compensation of land of Khasra no. 933, 954Kha, 770, 1033, 1026 situated in Village Baradeeh, Tehsil Raja Talab, District Varanasi as per the present circle rate.

The only prayer made in this petition is for payment of compensation in respect of their land utilized for the widening of the Babatpur Kapsethi Road in the year 2014.

In Writ petition no. 30767 of 2018 (Suresh and 2 others Vs State of U.P. and Others), the three petitioners are claiming compensation of land of Khasra no. 1123, 1133 and 1135 situated in Village Baradeeh, Tehsil Raja Talab, District Varanasi as per the present circle rate.

The only prayer made in this petition is for payment of compensation in respect of their land utilized for the widening of the Babatpur Kapsethi Road in the year 2014.

In Writ petition no. 31679 of 2018 (Manoj Kumar Singh and 3 others Vs State of U.P. and Others), the four petitioners are claiming compensation of land of Araji no. 407 rakba 0.1980 hectare and Araji no. 408 rakba 0.2030 hectare, Araji no. 388 rakba 0.0730 hectare situated in Village Haribhanpur, Pargana Kaswar Raja, Tehsil Raja Talab, District Varanasi in pursuance of the letter dated 06.07.2017 as per the circle rate for the year 2018-2019.

The only prayer made in this petition is for payment of compensation in respect of their land utilized for the widening of the Babatpur Kapsethi Road in the year 2014.

In Writ petition no. 31698 of 2018 (Dharmendra Singh and 5 others Vs State of U.P. and Others), the six petitioners are claiming compensation of land of Araji no. 796Ga Rakba 0.0400 Hectare and Araji 798 Rakba 0.1210 Hectare, Araji 796 Kha Rakba 0.0450 Hectare, Araji no. 799 Rakba 0.3280 Hectare, Araji no. 775/1650 Rakba 0.0240 Hectare situated in Village Baradeeh, Pargana Kaswar Raja, Tehsil Raja Talab, District Varanasi in pursuance of the letter dated 06.07.2017 as per the circle rate for the year 2018-2019.

The only prayer made in this petition is for payment of compensation in respect of their land utilized for the widening of the Babatpur Kapsethi Road in the year 2014.

In Writ petition no. 32168 of 2018 (Shiv Prasad Giri Vs State of U.P. and Others), the sole petitioner is claiming compensation of his land Khasra Gata no. 1598 area 50 acre situated in Village Baradeeh, Pargana Kaswar Raja, Tehsil Raja Talab, District Varanasi at the present rate.

The only prayer made in this petition is for payment of compensation in respect of his land utilized for the widening of the Babatpur Kapsethi Road in the year 2014.

In Writ petition no. 32618 of 2018 (Kanhaiya Lal and 5 others Vs State of U.P. and Others), the writ petition on behalf of the petitioners no.3, 4, 5 and 6 has already been dismissed vide order dated 26.7.2019. So far as petitioners no. 1 and 2 are concerned, they claim to be tenure holders of plots no. 474 area 0.490, 523 area 0.1540 and 848 area 0.0810 hectares situated in Village Kapsethi, Tehsil Raja Talab, District Varanasi and are seeking payment of compensation at the present rate.

The only prayer made in this petition is for payment of compensation in respect of their land utilized for the widening of the Babatpur Kapsethi Road in the year 2014.

Therefore, this writ petition is disposed of so far as petitioners no. 1 and 2 are concerned with a direction that in case the petitioners have not been paid compensation for their utilized land, they shall be paid compensation of their lands as per the circle rate fixed in the Valuation list of 2017-18 issued by the District Magistrate, Varanasi for the agricultural land in accordance with law within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order.

In Writ petition no. 33212 of 2018 (Shiv Sagar Singh and 24 others Vs State of U.P. and Others), the petitioners are seeking a direction to the respondent no.2 to make payment of compensation at the present rate of their land of Khasra nos. 1114, 1595K, 1556K, 1167, 1545, 1547, 1146, 1148 and 1546 situated in Village Baradeeh, Tehsil Raja Talab, District Varanasi at the present rate.

On 26.7.2019, it was informed to the Court that with regard to plot no. 1556K and 1556 Kha there is a dispute of partition and therefore, this Court had directed the concerned petitioners to approach the Sub Divisional Magistrate and the SDM was also directed to decide the dispute with regard to the shareholdings of the concerned petitioners of the aforesaid plots. However, it has not been informed to the Court as to what happened thereafter.

In this view of the matter it is directed that in case the matter is still pending before the SDM concerned, he shall decide the aforesaid issue within a period of one month from the date of production of a certified copy of this order and thereafter, the concerned petitioners of plots no. 1556K and 1556Kha will be entitled for compensation as per their shareholdings decided by the SDM which shall be paid to them within a further period of three months.

So far as the rest of the petitioners are concerned, in the present case it has already been agreed between the parties that this Court is not entering into the merit of the area utilized or the title of the parties to the land in question. The only question to be decided in the present case is as to what would be the circle rate to be applied for determining the market value of the land for the purpose of determination of compensation.

The only prayer made in this petition is for payment of compensation in respect of their land utilized for the widening of the Babatpur Kapsethi Road in the year 2014.

In Writ petition no. 33366 of 2018 (Gopal Singh and 6 others Vs State of U.P. and Others), the writ petition on behalf of the petitioners no. 1 to 5 has already been dismissed vide order dated 26.7.2019 since it was informed to the Court that the dispute with regard to the apportionment of shares of the claimant is pending before the Civil Judge (S.D.), Varanasi.

So far as the petitioners no. 6 and 7 are concerned, they claim to be tenure holders of plot no. 1552 measuring area 0.0690 hectare situated in Village Baradeeh, Tehsil Raja Talab, District Varanasi and are claiming compensation of their utilized land at the present rate.

The only prayer made in this petition is for payment of compensation in respect of their land utilized for the widening of the Babatpur Kapsethi Road in the year 2014.

Therefore, this writ petition is disposed of so far as petitioners no. 6 and 7 are concerned with a direction that in case the petitioners have not been paid compensation for their utilized land, they shall be paid compensation of their lands as per the circle rate fixed in the Valuation list of 2017-18 issued by the District Magistrate, Varanasi for the agricultural land in accordance with law within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order.

In Writ petition no. 33367 of 2018 (Sushil Kumar Mishra and 6 others Vs State of U.P. and Others), the petitioners are claiming compensation for the plot no. 250Ka area 0.063 hectare situated in the village Kundi, Pargana Pandrah, Tehsil Pindara, District Varanasi and other statutory benefits as provided under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 and the Rules framed therein on the basis of prevailing circle rate of Rs. 9000/-.

On 26.7.2019, the specific case of the State was that the plot no. 250Ka area 0.063 hectare was neither acquired nor utilized in the construction of the National Highway. A compliance-cum-short counter affidavit has been filed wherein it has been stated that the land of the plot no. 250Ka relating to the petitioners has neither been acquired nor utilized for the construction of the National Highway. The report of the Executive Engineer, P.W.D., Varanasi has been filed as Annexure-1 to the affidavit in which also it is mentioned that as per the letter of the ADM, Pindra dated 22.12.2018, the plot no. 250Ka mentioned in the writ petition was not affected by the construction of the National Highway.

No rejoinder affidavit has been filed rebutting the contents of the short counter affidavit nor this specific case of the State has been denied by the petitioners. In this view of the matter, the writ petition lacks merit and is accordingly, dismissed.

In Writ petition no. 33377 of 2018 (Virendra Singh and 9 others Vs State of U.P. and Others), the petitioners are claiming compensation of their utilized land of Gata nos. 896, 923, 895, 768, 932 and 758 situated in Village Baradeeh, Tehsil Raja Talab, District Varanasi at the present rate.

The only prayer made in this petition is for payment of compensation in respect of their land utilized for the widening of the Babatpur Kapsethi Road in the year 2014.

In Writ petition no. 33779 of 2018 (Akbaal Singh and 4 others Vs State of U.P. and Others), the writ petition on behalf of the petitioners no. 1 to 4 has already been dismissed vide order dated 26.7.2019. So far as the petitioner no.5 is concerned he is seeking compensation for plot no. 1556Ka situated in Village Baradeeh, Tehsil Raja Talab, District Varanasi at the present rate.

The only prayer made in this petition is for payment of compensation in respect of their land utilized for the widening of the Babatpur Kapsethi Road in the year 2014.

Therefore, this writ petition is disposed of so far as petitioner no.5 is concerned with a direction that in case the petitioners have not been paid compensation for their utilized land, they shall be paid compensation of their lands as per the circle rate fixed in the Valuation list of 2017-18 issued by the District Magistrate, Varanasi for the agricultural land in accordance with law within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order.

In Writ petition no. 34193 of 2018 (Sujeet Kumar Sharma and 3 others Vs State of U.P. and Others), the petitioners are claiming compensation of land of Araji no. 198 Rakba 0.2520 Hectare situated in Village Haribhanpur (Har Ballampur), Pargana Kaswar Raja, Tehsil Raja Talab, District Varanasi in pursuance of the letter dated 06.07.2017 as per the circle rate for the year 2018-2019.

The only prayer made in this petition is for payment of compensation in respect of their land utilized for the widening of the Babatpur Kapsethi Road in the year 2014.

Order Date :-19.2.2020 Kirti

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Allahabad High Court

Radhey Shyam And 5 Others vs State Of U P And 3 Others on 19 February, 2020

Bench: B. Amit Sthalekar, Ali Zamin