Lachhman Mandal, aged about 53 years, s/o Kalpu Mandal, r/o House No.13, Kokraha, PO-Devipur v. 1. The State of Jharkhand 2. The Secretary, Department of Land & Revenue, Project
Case Details
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI (Letters Patent Appellate Jurisdiction) L.P.A No. 243 of 2023 ------- Lachhman Mandal, aged about 53 years, s/o Kalpu Mandal, r/o House No.13, Kokraha, PO-Devipur, PS-Devipur, District-Deoghar … Appellant Versus 1. The State of Jharkhand 2. The Secretary, Department of Land & Revenue, Project Building, PO & PS-Dhurwa, District-Ranchi, Jharkhand 3. The Deputy Commissioner, Deoghar, PO & PS-Deoghar, District- Deoghar 4. The S.D.O, Deoghar, PO & PS-Deoghar, District-Deoghar 5. The Land Acquisition Officer, Deoghar, PO & PS-Deoghar, District- Deoghar, Jharkhand 6. The Circle Officer, Devipur, PO & PS-Devipur, District-Deoghar, Jharkhand 7. The B.D.O Devipur, PO & PS-Devipur, District-Deoghar, Jharkhand 8. Officer-in-Charge, Devipur, PO & PS-Devipur, District-Deoghar, Jharkhand ...Respondents With L.P.A No. 234 of 2023 ------- Subhash Prasad Yadav, aged about 33 years, s/o Chandar Mahto, r/o House No. 36e, Chhota Rajasare, PO-Baghmari, PS-Devipur, … Appellant District-Deoghar, Jharkhand Versus 1. The State of Jharkhand 2. The Secretary, Department of Land & Revenue, Project Building, PO &PS-Dhurwa, District-Ranchi, Jharkhand 3. The Deputy Commissioner, Deoghar, PO & PS-Deoghar, District- Deoghar 4. The S.D.O, Deoghar, PO & PS-Deoghar, District-Deoghar 5. The Land Acquisition Officer, Deoghar, PO & PS-Deoghar, District- Deoghar, Jharkhand 6. The Circle Officer, Devipur, PO & PS-Devipur, District-Deoghar, Jharkhand 7. The B.D.O, Devipur, PO & PS-Devipur, District-Deoghar, Jharkhand 8. Officer-in-Charge, Devipur, PO & PS-Devipur, District-Deoghar, Jharkhand ...Respondents With L.P.A No. 245 of 2023 ------- Kamdev Mandal, aged about 62 years, s/o late Manik Mandal, r/o House No.18, Kokraha, PO-Devipur, PS-Devipur, District-Deoghar Versus … Appellant 1. The State of Jharkhand 2 L.P.A No.243 of 2023 & analogous cases 2. The Secretary, Department of Land & Revenue, Project Building, PO & PS-Dhurwa, District-Ranchi, Jharkhand 3. The Deputy Commissioner, Deoghar, PO & PS-Deoghar, District- Deoghar 4. The S.D.O, Deoghar, PO & PS-Deoghar, District-Deoghar 5. The Land Acquisition Officer, Deoghar, PO & PS-Deoghar, District- Deoghar, Jharkhand 6. The Circle Officer, Devipur, PO & PS-Devipur, District-Deoghar, Jharkhand 7. The B.D.O, Devipur, PO & PS-Devipur, District-Deoghar, Jharkhand 8. Officer-in-Charge, Devipur, PO & PS-Devipur, District-Deoghar, Jharkhand ...Respondents With L.P.A No. 249 of 2023 ------- Baldev Kol, aged about 40 years, s/o Kishun Kol, r/o House No.06, Kokraha, PO-Devipur, PS-Devipur, District-Deoghar … Appellant Versus 1. The State of Jharkhand 2. The Secretary, Department of Land & Revenue, Project Building, PO & PS-Dhurwa, District-Ranchi, Jharkhand 3. The Deputy Commissioner, Deoghar, PO & PS-Deoghar, District- Deoghar 4. The S.D.O, Deoghar, PO & PS-Deoghar, District-Deoghar 5. The Land Acquisition Officer, Deoghar, PO & PS-Deoghar, District- Deoghar, Jharkhand 6. The Circle Officer, Devipur, PO & PS-Devipur, District-Deoghar, Jharkhand 7. The B.D.O, Devipur, PO & PS-Devipur, District-Deoghar, Jharkhand 8. Officer-in-Charge, Devipur, PO & PS-Devipur, District-Deoghar, Jharkhand ...Respondents With L.P.A No. 250 of 2023 ------- Md. Izhar Alam, aged about 27 years, s/o Ajad Hussain, r/o village- Chhotarajasar, PO-Baghmari, PS-Devipur, District-Deoghar, Jharkhand … Appellant Versus 1. The State of Jharkhand 2. The Secretary, Department of Land & Revenue, Project Building, PO &PS-Dhurwa, District-Ranchi, Jharkhand 3. The Deputy Commissioner, Deoghar, PO & PS-Deoghar, District- Deoghar 4. The S.D.O, Deoghar, PO & PS-Deoghar, District-Deoghar 5. The Land Acquisition Officer, Deoghar, PO & PS-Deoghar, District- Deoghar, Jharkhand 6. The Circle Officer, Devipur, PO & PS-Devipur, District-Deoghar, Jharkhand 7. The B.D.O, Devipur, PO & PS-Devipur, District-Deoghar, Jharkhand 8. Officer-in-Charge, Devipur, PO & PS-Devipur, District-Deoghar, 3 L.P.A No.243 of 2023 & analogous cases Jharkhand ...Respondents
Legal Reasoning
“9. I have perused the order dated 9th November, 2022 passed by a coordinate Bench of this Court in W.P.(C) No.1145 of 2020, relevant part of which reads as under:- “Learned counsel for the respondent Nos.1 to 3 Mr. Pradeep Kumar, AC to AAG-IV has submitted, that once a land has been acquired by the State, it is upon the State to utilize it for any other purposes. Learned counsel for the respondent no.4, Mr. R.C. P. Sah has submitted, that the land has been acquired for the purpose of industrial area and the same is being granted to the entrepreneur for development of industries, as such the land which has been acquired by Land Acquisition Case No. 07/2009-10 cannot be returned to the petitioners at any cost. Considering the submissions of the learned counsel for the parties, the writ petition is hereby dismissed as the land has been rightly acquired by the State and is being used, in view of the Hon'ble Supreme Court judgment, for development of industrial growth in the State of Jharkhand. Accordingly, the writ petition is hereby dismissed.” 10. Since the present batch of writ petitions involve similar issue as raised in W.P.(C) No.1145 of 2020, which has already been dismissed by a coordinate Bench of this Court vide order dated 9th November, 2022, the same are also dismissed in terms with the said order.” 4. It is stated by Mr. Prabhash Chandra Sinha, the learned AC to GA-III that a Letters Patent Appeal against the order passed in W.P.(C) No. 1145 of 2020 has not been filed. 4 L.P.A No.243 of 2023 & analogous cases 5. In W.P.(C) No. 1145 of 2020, a challenge laid by the persons who were aggrieved by acquisition of their lands in L.A Case No.7 of 2009-10 failed and the said writ petition has been dismissed by relying on “Northern Indian Glass Industries v. Jaswant Singh” (2003) 1 SCC 335 and “Govt. of A.P. v. Syed Akbar” (2005) 1 SCC 558. 6. In the present proceeding, a counter-affidavit has been filed by the District Land Acquisition Officer at Deoghar. In this affidavit dated 14th December 2023, the District Land Acquisition Officer, Deoghar has produced a copy of the communication dated 10th July 2020 referring the matter under section 64 of Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. The said letter refers to several plot numbers and these include the lands belonging to the appellants also. In this letter, the District Land Acquisition Officer has made an observation that the land owners are not showing any interest in receiving the compensation amount. The letter dated 10th July 2020 is reproduced below: mik;qDr&lg&ftyk n.Mkf/kdkjh dk dk;kZy;] nso?kj ¼ftyk Hkw vtZu 'kk[kk½ nwjHkk"k la0 %&06432&232680 QSDl%&06432&232967 i=kad %&655 ¼d½@Hkw v0 fnukad %&10@7@2020 izs"kd] bZ&esy %&[email protected] ftyk Hkw vtZu inkf/kdkjh] nso?kjA lsok esa] iz/kku ftyk ,oa l= U;k;k/kh'k &lg& Hkwfe vtZu iquokZlu ,oa iquO;ZoLFkkiu izkf/kdkj] laFkky ijxuk ize.My] nqedkA fo"k; %& Hkwfe vtZu] iquokZlu vkSj iquO;ZoLFkkiu esa mfpr izfrdj vkSj ikjnf'kZrk dk vf/kdkj vf/kfu;e&2013 dh /kkjk&76 ds rgr~ ekeyk dk vxzlkj.kA izlax % egkfuca/kd >kj[kaM] mPp U;k;ky;] jkaph dk i= la[;k&5646] fnukad& 23-11-2016 ,oa ljdkj ds lfpo] jktLo fuca/ku ,oa Hkwfe lq/kkj foHkkx] >kj[kaM] jkaph ds i=kad&828@fu0jk0] fnukad& 24-11-2016A egk'k;] mi;qZDr fo"k;d ,oa izklafxd i= ds vkyksd esa vkS|ksfxd {ks= fodkl izkf/kdkj] nsohiqj fuekZ.k ifj;kstuk gsrq vftZr Hkwfe] ,y0 ,0 okn la[;k & 25@2004&05] ¼2006 & 07½ ekStk&dksdgjk] Fkkuk la[;k & 176] tekcanh la[;k & 02]03]11]13]21]23]26] nkx la[;k & 444]446]443]430]431]432]433]448]434]436]424]426]439]429]438]441 jdok & 6-65 ,dM+ Hkwfe dk vf/kxzg.k fd;k x;k gSA mDr Hkwfe ,oa Hkwfe ls lacaf/kr ,okMZ la[;k&02]03]04]05]06]07]08]09 ,oa 10 ¼Hkwfe½] ls lacaf/kr iapkfV;ksa dks Hkqxrku uksfVl ,oa fo'ks"k lwpuk fuxZr djus ds mijkar Hkh iapkfV;ksa }kjk Hkqxrku izkIr djus ds fy;s dksbZ vfHk:ph ugha fy;k tk jgk gSA rn~uqlkj mDr ekeyk dk fu"iknu gsrq Hkwfe vtZu 5 L.P.A No.243 of 2023 & analogous cases iquokZlu vkSj iquO;ZoLFkkiu esa mfpr izfrdj vkSj ikjnf'kZrk dk vf/kdkj vf/kfu;e&2013 dh /kkjk&64 ds rgr~ vxzlkfjr fd;k tkrk gSA vuqyXud % fo’oklHkktu] 10@7@20 1- /kkjk 76 ds vUrxZr izi= 1 izfr esaA 2- iapkV dh Nk;kizfr 1 izfr esaA 3- ewY;kadu [kfr;ku dh Nk;kizfr 1 izfr esaA 4- uksfVl dh Nk;kizfrA ftyk Hkw vtZu inkf/kdkjh] nso?kjA Kkikad% 655 ¼d½@Hkw v0] nso?kj] fnukad % 10@7@2020 bZ0A izfrfyfi %& ,okMZ la[;k&,okMZ la[;k&02]03]04]05]06]07]08]09 ,oa 10 ¼Hkwfe½] eka>h eaMy firk&Hkxyq eaMy oxSjg] >e: eaMy o Mkseu eaMy firk&ve`r eaMy oxSjg] cPpq eaMy firk&xksyq eaMy oxSjg] lqxnso eaMy o oklqnso eaMy firk&diwj eaMy oxSjg] [kksjchuk chch o eksfudk chch oxSjg] ftoyky egrks oxSjg ekStk&dksdgjk] Fkkuk ua0&176] vapy&nsohiqj] ftyk&nso?kj dks lwpukFkZ izsf"krA English Translation: “Office of the Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Magistrate, Deoghar (District Land Acquisition Section) Telephone No.:-06432-232680 Fax:-06432-232967 E-mail:[email protected] Letter No.:-655 (ka.)/Bhu. A. Dated:-10/7/2020 From, District Land Acquisition Officer, Deoghar. To, The Principal District & Sessions Judge -cum- Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Authority, Santhal Pargana Division, Dumka. Sub:-Forwarding the matter u/s 76 of the Right to Fair Compensation in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and and Transparency Resettlement Act, 2013. Ref:- Letter No. 5646 dated 23.11.2016 of the Registrar General, High Court of Jharkhand, Ranchi and Letter No. 828/Ni.Ra. dated 24.11.2016 of the Secretary to the Government, Department of Revenue, Registration and Land Reform, Jharkhand, Ranchi. Sir,
Arguments
CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SHREE CHANDRASHEKHAR HON’BLE MRS. JUSTICE ANUBHA RAWAT CHOUDHARY For the Appellants For the State : Mr. D. K. Chakraverty, Advocate (in all cases) : Mr. Prabhash Chandra Sinha, AC to GA-III Mr. Aditya Raman, AC to GA-III ------- Per, Shree Chandrashekhar, J. 14th December 2023 These Letters Patent Appeals have been filed against the order dated 23rd March 2023 passed in W.P.(C) No. 616 of 2020 and batch cases. 2. By a common order dated 23rd March 2023, a batch of writ petitions has been dismissed referring to an order passed in W.P.(C) No. 1145 of 2020. 3. The writ Court dismissed W.P.(C) No. 616 of 2020 and batch cases observing as under:
Decision
In view of the above noted subject and referred letter, I am to say that land measuring area 6.65 acres, Jamabandi Nos. 02, 03, 11, 13, 21, 23, 26, Daag Nos. 444, 446, 443, 430, 431, 432, 433, 448, 434, 436, 424, 426, 439, 429, 438, 441 under Mauza-Kokhara, Thana No.-176 in L.A. Case No. 25/2004, (2006-07) has been acquired for Industrial Area Development Authority, Devipur Construction Project. Even after issuance of payment notice and special notice to the awardees of Award Nos. 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09 and 10 (Land), no interest is being taken by the awardees for receiving the payment. Accordingly, the above matter is being referred u/s 64 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 for disposal. Enclosure: Yours faithfully 1. Form u/s 76 in 1 copy. 2. Photocopy of Award in 1 copy. District Land Acquisition Officer. 3. Photocopy of Valuation Khatiyan Sd/-10.07.20 Deoghar in 1 copy. 4. Photocopy of notice. Memo No. 655 (ka.)/Bhu. A., Deoghar dated-10.07.2020 Copy to:-Award Nos.- 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09 and 10 (Land), Manjhi Mandal S/o Bhagalu Mandal and others, Jhamaru Mandal and Doman Mandal S/o Amrit Mandal and others, Bachhu Mandal S/o Golu Mandal 6 L.P.A No.243 of 2023 & analogous cases and others, Sugdeo Mandal and Basudev Mandal S/o Kapoor Mandal and others, Khorbina Bibi and Monika Bibi and others, Jivlal Mahto and others, Mauza-Kokhara, Thana No. 176, Circle-Devipur for information.” 7. This is stated by the respondents that the appellants have yet not received compensation. Mr. D. K. Chakraverty, the learned counsel for the appellants submits that the appellants have a host of grievances against the acquisition of their lands by the State Government for giving the same to Small Scale Industries. 8. As held by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in “Bangalore Development Authority & Ors. v. R. Hanumaiah & Ors.” (2005) 12 SCC 508, the Land Acquisition Act is a complete Code and, therefore, the appellants cannot maintain a writ petition to challenge the acquisition or to seek any relief in this case which involves serious disputed questions of fact. While so, these Letters Patent Appeals are disposed of with liberty to the appellants to file their objections within 4 weeks under section 64 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 in the pending reference as indicated in the letter dated 10th July 2020, or they may seek remedy as available to them under the Act of 2013. (Shree Chandrashekhar, J.) (Anubha Rawat Choudhary, J.) Amit N.A.F.R