Bombay High Court
The State Of Maharashtra vs Krishna @ Mahadu Dharma Hulgunde on 3 April, 2017
Bench: M.S. Sonak
904-fa-208-1992 with connected matters-final.doc
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
FIRST APPEAL NO.208 OF 1992
WITH
CIVIL APPLICATION NO.2995 OF 1992
WITH
FIRST APPEAL NO.208 OF 1992
The State of Maharashtra ..Appellant/Applicant
V/s.
Smt.Sharadabai Ganesh Oze ..Respondent
----
Mr.Yogesh Y. Dabke, AGP for Appellant/Applicant-State.
----
WITH
FIRST APPEAL NO.952 OF 1992
The State of Maharashtra & Anr. ..Appellants
V/s.
Shri.Narayan Damodar Bhonde & Ors. ..Respondents
----
Mr.Yogesh Y. Dabke, AGP for Appellant/Applicant-State.
----
WITH
FIRST APPEAL NO.38 OF 1993
The State of Maharashtra ..Appellant
V/s.
Shri.Shankar Narayan Naik & Ors. ..Respondents
----
Mr.Yogesh Y. Dabke, AGP for Appellant/Applicant-State.
----
WITH
FIRST APPEAL NO.115 OF 1994
WITH
CIVIL APPLICATION NO.164 OF 1996
IN
FIRST APPEAL NO.115 OF 1994
N.S. Kamble page 1 of 19
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The State of Maharashtra
Thr. Special Land Acquisition Officer ..Appellant
V/s.
Sonyabapu Bala Bidave
Through His Power of Attorney
Chandrakant Tukaram Bidave & Anr. ..Respondents
----
Mr.Yogesh Y. Dabke, AGP for Appellant/Applicant-State.
Mr.Nikhil Pujari h/f Mr.P.N. Joshi for the Respondents
----
WITH
FIRST APPEAL NO.556 OF 1994
The State of Maharashtra
Thr. Spl. Land Acquisition Officer ..Appellant
V/s.
Shri. Lalchand Moharsing Agarwal & Anr. ..Respondents
----
Mr.Ameet A. Palkar, AGP for Appellant/Applicant-State.
Mr.Rupesh Lanjekar for the Respondents.
----
WITH
FIRST APPEAL NO.601 OF 1994
The State of Maharashtra ..Appellant
V/s.
Gopala Dharma Udar ..Respondent
----
Mr.A.A. Palkar, AGP for Appellant/Applicant-State.
Mr.Nikhil Pujari h/f Mr.P.N. Joshi for the Respondent.
----
WITH
FIRST APPEAL NO.604 OF 1994
The State of Maharashtra ..Appellant
V/s.
Krishna @ Mahadu Dharma Hulgunde ..Respondent
----
Mr.Ameet A. Palkar, AGP for Appellant/Applicant-State.
----
N.S. Kamble page 2 of 19
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WITH
FIRST APPEAL NO.605 OF 1994
The State of Maharashtra ..Appellant
V/s.
Kacharu Govind Mandhe ..Respondent
----
Mr.Ameet A. Palkar, AGP for Appellant/Applicant-State.
Mr.Nikhil Pujari i/b Mr.P.N. Joshi for Respondent No.2.
----
WITH
FIRST APPEAL NO.608 OF 1994
The State of Maharashtra ..Appellant
V/s.
Yashwant Dharma Udar (Deceased)
Thr. Lrs. 1) Eknath Yeshwant Udar
& Ors. ..Respondents
----
Mr.Ameet A. Palkar, AGP for Appellant/Applicant-State.
----
WITH
FIRST APPEAL NO.616 OF 1994
The State of Maharashtra ..Appellant
V/s.
Kalu Gangaram Farake (Deceased)
Thr. Lrs. a) Kalubai Kalu Farake & Ors. ..Respondents
----
Mr.Ameet A. Palkar, AGP for Appellant/Applicant-State.
----
WITH
FIRST APPEAL NO.617 OF 1994
The State of Maharashtra ..Appellant
V/s.
Kashiram Soma Udar & Ors. ..Respondents
----
Mr.Ameet A. Palkar, AGP for Appellant/Applicant-State.
----
N.S. Kamble page 3 of 19
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WITH
FIRST APPEAL NO.619 OF 1994
The State of Maharashtra ..Appellant
V/s.
Govind Ragho Dighe (Deceased)
Thr. Lrs 1.Valyabai Govind Dighe & Ors. ..Respondents
----
Mr.Ameet A. Palkar, AGP for Appellant/Applicant-State.
----
WITH
FIRST APPEAL NO.620 OF 1994
The State of Maharashtra ..Appellant
V/s.
Bhika Rama Dighe ..Respondent
----
Mr.Ameet A. Palkar, AGP for Appellant/Applicant-State.
MR.Nikhil Pujari i/b Mr.P.N. Joshi for the Respondent.
----
WITH
FIRST APPEAL NO.621 OF 1994
The State of Maharashtra ..Appellant
V/s.
Rama Amruta Udar (Deceased)
Thr. Lrs.
a) Ganpat Rama Udar & Ors. ..Respondents
----
Mr.Ameet A. Palkar, AGP for Appellant/Applicant-State.
----
CORAM : M. S. SONAK, J.
DATE : 03 APRIL 2017
ORAL JUDGMENT :
1. Heard Mr.Yogesh Dabke and Mr.A.A. Palkar, AGP for
the appellants/applicants-State and Mr.Mr.Nikhil Pujari and
Mr.Rupesh Lanjekar learned counsels for the respondents-claimants.
N.S. Kamble page 4 of 19
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2. These appeals relate to the year 1992-1994. They
challenge the awards made by the Reference Court in land
acquisition cases of the year 1981-1989. Most of these appeals have
not even been admitted mainly because no proper steps were taken
by the appellant/State Government in the matter of service of
notices upon the respondents, clearance of office objections, to bring
on record legal representatives of the deceased respondents and
such other reasons. Even as of today, in most of the first appeals, the
Registry remark is that the matters are unready or under objections.
3. The significant feature of all these matters is that the
compensation amount even after enhancement by the Reference
Court ranges between Rs.786/- to Rs. 19,188/- in its entirety. This
is the compensation payable to the respondents-landlosers for the
compulsorily acquisition of their properties between the year 1981
and 1989. The Chart indicating the total compensation amount
involving in these appeals is set out herein:-
Sr.No No. of Appeal Compensation
Amount
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4. In the past, opportunities were granted to the State
Government to take steps, so that the matters could be taken up for
consideration. However, till date, no proper steps have been taken.
That apart, learned AGPs submit that since the State is an
impersonal agency, further indulgence may be granted in the
matters.
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5. There are several matters, in which, the entire compensation
does not exceed even Rs.20,000/-. Such matters are pending in the
Court, since last several years. However, learned AGPs, expressed
their inability to furnish any list of such pending appeals stating that
the exercise would involve scrutiny of all the appeals instituted by
the State Government in land acquisition matters. The Registry also
has its own constraints, though, the Registry is now sorting out year-
wise matters. These are first appeals, which relate to the year 1992-
1994.
6. Taking into consideration the circumstance that these appeals
are of the year 1992-1994, the appeals are unready mainly because
of failure on the part of the State Government to take steps, the
quantum of compensation ranges between Rs.786/- to Rs.19,188/-,
it is not possible to grant any further indulgence to the State
Government on the ground that it is an impersonal agency. It is to
be noted that the State has compulsorily acquired the lands of the
respondent-claimants. Despite, the compensation amount being so
paltry, the State has carried the matters in appeal. On account of
pendency of these appeals primarily because no steps have been
taken by the State Government, the respondent-claimants have been
deprived of the meagre compensation awarded to them by the
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reference court. Such approach on the part of the State Government
can hardly styled as reasonable approach.
7. In pursuing such appeals, the State Government, by now, has
surely spent amounts, which are far in excess of what the impugned
awards which require the State Government to pay the respondents-
landlords for the compulsory acquisition of their lands. The State
Government has incurred expenses not merely towards typing,
stationary and court fees, but also towards legal fees for pursuing
these matters for almost last 25 years. Valuable judicial time has
also been consumed since these matters come up on several
occasions.
8. It is possible that such appeals are instituted, as other wise,
the rate determined by the Reference Court is cited as a precedent in
other land acquisition cases, where the stakes might be considerably
higher. It is also possible that such appeals are preferred, so that,
the pleas of estoppel or waiver are not raised by the parties. In order
to address such issues, the State Government, can always formulate
some policy on the lines of similar policies formulated by the Central
Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), so that, the interests of the State are
suitably protected and at the same time, landlosers, who have been
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awarded such meagre amounts of compensation are not
unnecessarily deprived of the said amount or forced to contest the
appeals before the High Court. The CBDT, has formulated the
policies, which discourage the institution of the appeals under
Section 260-A of the Income Tax Act 1961, where the tax effect is
below the specified limit, which is presently stated to be Rs.20 lakhs.
Such policies, which are reflected in circulars address the concerns
of the revenue and at the same time, prevent undue hardship to
the tax payers, particularly where the stakes are less than specified
limit. Such policies also, greatly assist in the reduction of pointless
litigation before the higher Courts.
9. The appeals in such matters are also routinely instituted
because none of the officials are prepared to take any responsibility.
The officials invariably take the stance that it is better that the Court
decides such matters. Thereafter, however, hardly any steps are
taken to process such appeals, as a result of which, they remain
pending for years together.
10. Though not directly relevant, it is to be noted that Section
96(4) of the C.P.C., provides that no appeal shall lie, except on a
question of law, from a decree in any suit of the nature cognizable
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by Courts of Small Causes, when the amount or value of the subject-
matter of the original suit does not exceed [Rs.10,000/-]. Similarly,
in terms of Section 102 of the C.P.C., no second appeal shall lie from
any decree, where the subject matter of the original suit is for
recovery of money not exceeding Rs.25,000/-. This means that even
in litigation involving private parties, there is curtailment of right to
appeal, where the monetary stakes are paltry. There is no reason as
to why some policy, consistent with these provisions should not be
formulated, particularly in matters of compulsory acquisition of land
where, the stakes are so minimal. The entire compensation awarded
by the Reference Court in these matters is so meagre that it might
not even suffice travel, lodging and boarding expenses of the
respondents-claimants to Mumbai. To require the landlosers, whose
lands have been compulsorily acquired by the State Government to
contest such appeals at this point of time, hardly appears a
reasonable course of action to adopt.
11. In Dilbagh Rai Jarry V/s. Union of India & Ors. -
(1974) 3 Supreme Court Cases 554, the Hon'ble Supreme Court,
speaking through Justice Krishna Iyer, after reference to the
National Policy on State litigation evolved at a Conference of Law
Ministers of India way back in 1957, lamented that the State
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Government routinely disregards such policies and institute appeals,
which result in staggering litigation costs and staggering litigation
volumes.
12. In Urban Improvement Trust, Bikaner V/s. Mohan Lal -
(2010) 1 Supreme Court Cases 512, the Hon'ble Supreme Court
noted that unwarranted litigation by the Government and statutory
authorities basically stems from the two general baseless
assumptions by their officers. First, all claims against the
Government/statutory authorities should be viewed as illegal and
should be resisted and fought up to the highest court of the land.
Second, if taking a decision on an issue could be avoided, then it is
prudent not to decide the issue and let the aggrieved party approach
the Court and secure a decision in the matter. The reluctance to take
decisions, or tendency to challenge all orders against them, is not
the policy of the Governments or statutory authorities, but is
attributable to some officers who are responsible for taking decisions
and/or officers in charge of litigation. Their reluctance arises from
an instinctive tendency to protect themselves against any future
accusations of wrong decision making, or worse, of improper
motives for any decision making. Unless their insecurity and fear is
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addressed, officers will continue to pass on the responsibility of
decision making to courts and Tribunals.
13. In Gurgaon Gramin Bank V/s. Khazani & Another - (2012)
8 Supreme Court Cases 781, the bank carried the matter of award
of compensation of Rs.15,000/- towards death of a buffalo, right
upto to the Hon'ble Supreme Court. When the matter came up for
hearing on 9 July 2012, the Hon'ble Supreme Court required the
bank to file an affidavit disclosing the amount bank had spent till
date on the dispute. The Hon'ble Supreme Court noted that the
amount spent was Rs.12,950/-, excluding money spent by the bank
officers for their to and fro journey from the lawyer's office, District
Forum, State Forum, National Commission and finally, the Hon'ble
Supreme Court. The amount also did not include the legal fees paid
to the advocates before all these fora and the Hon'ble Supreme
Court. In such circumstances, the Hon'ble Supreme Court made
scathing comments upon the approach of the bank and dismissed
the matter with costs of Rs.10,000/-.
14. In land acquisition matters, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has
held in Bhusawal Municipal Council V/s. Nivruti Ramchandra
Phalak and Others - (2015) 14 Supreme Court Cases 327, that the
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State should not drag a poor uprooted claimants even for payment
of a paltry amounts up to the higher Courts, thereby wasting public
money in such luxury litigation without realising that poor litigants
cannot afford the exorbitant costs of litigation and, when no
superior officer of the State is accountable for such reasonable
conduct. The Hon'ble Supreme Court has held that a farmer's life is
a tale of continuous experimentation and struggle for existence.
Mere words or a visual can never convey what it means to live a life
as an Indian farmer. Unless one experiences their struggle, that
headache he will never know how it feels. The risks faced by the
farming community are many; they relate to natural calamities such
as drought and floods; high fluctuation in the prices of input as well
as output, over which he has no control whatsoever; a credit system
which never extends a helping hand to the neediest; domination by
middlemen who enjoy the fruits of a farmer's hard work; spurious
inputs, and the recent phenomenon of labour shortages, which can
be conveniently added to his tale of woes. Of late, there have been
many cases of desperate farmers ending their lives in different parts
of the country. The Principles of Economics provides for the
producer of a commodity to determine his prices but an Indian
farmer perhaps is the only exception to this principle of economics,
for even getting a decent price for their produce is difficult for them.
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15. This is what 126th Report of the Law Commission of India,
1988 has to say about the reckless manner in which the State
Government routinely files its appeals:
2.5. The litigation is thus sometimes engendered by failing to
perform duty as if discharging a trust. Power inheres a kind of
trust. The State enjoys the power to deal with public property.
That power has to be discharged like a trust keeping in view the
interests of the cesti que trust. Failure on this front has been
more often commented upon by the court which, if it was taken
in the spirit in which it was made, would have long back
energised the Government and the public sector to draw up its
litigation policy. When entirely frivolous litigation reaches the
doorsteps of the Supreme Court, one feels exasperated by the
inaction and the policy to do nothingness evidenced by blindly
following litigation from court to court. Dismissing a Special
Leave Petition by the State of Punjab, the Court observed that
the deserved defeat of the State in the courts below
demonstrates the gross indifference of the administration
towards litigative diligence. The court then suggested effective
remedial measures. It may be extracted:
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4. We would like to emphasize that Government must be made
accountable by parliamentary Social audit for wasteful
litigative expenditure inflicted on the community by inaction. A
statutory notice of the proposed action under Section 80 Code
of Civil Procedure is intended to alert the state to negotiate a
just settlement or at least have the courtesy to tell the potential
outsider why the claim is being resisted. Now Section 80 has
become a ritual because the administration is often
unresponsive and hardly lives up to the parliament's
expectation in continuing Section 80 in the Code despite the
Central Law Commission's recommendations for its deletion. An
opportunity for setting the dispute through arbitration was
thrown away by sheer inaction. A litigative policy for the State
involves settlement of governmental disputes with citizens in a
sense of conciliation rather than in a fighting mood. Indeed, it
should be a directive on the part of the State to empower its law
officer to take steps to compose disputes rather than continue
them in court. We are constrained to make these observations
because much of the litigation in which governments are
involved adds to the case load accumulation in courts for which
there is public criticism. We hope that a more responsive spirit
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will be brought to bear upon governmental litigation so as to
avoid waste of public money and promote expeditious work in
courts of cases which deserve to be attended to.
Nearly a decade has passed since the observations but not a leaf
has turned, not a step has been taken, and the Law Commission
is asked to deal with the problem!
2.6. A little care, a touch of humanism, a dossier of
constitutional philosophy and awareness of futility of public
litigation would considerably improve the situation which today
is distressing. More often it is found that utterly unsustainable
contentions are taken on behalf of Government and public
sector undertakings.
(emphasis supplied)
16. The National Litigation Policy formulated by the Central
Government also provides that the Government must cease to be a
compulsive litigant. The philosophy that matters should be left to
the courts for ultimate decision has to be discarded. The easy
approach, "Let the Court decide," must be eschewed and condemned.
The purpose of the policy is to reduce the Government litigation in
Courts so that valuable court time would be spent in resolving other
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pending cases. This would assist in achieving the goal of the
National Legal Mission to reduce the average pendency time from
15 years to 3 years. This policy provides that prioritisation in
litigation has to be achieved with particular emphasis on welfare
legislation, social reform, weaker sections and senior citizens and
other categories, which require assistance from the State
Government. Surely, the landlosers, whose lands have been
compulsorily acquired by the State and who are now awarded such
meagre amount by way of compensation, fall in the category of
persons referred to in the National Litigation Policy. If this policy is
to mean anything in practice, then, emergent steps are necessary,
particularly in first appeals in the present nature.
17. The aforesaid National Litigation Policy was considered by the
Apex Court in the matter of Urban Improvement Trust, Bikaner v.
Mohan Lal 2010 (1) SCC 512 in the following manner:
The Central Government is now attempting to deal with this
issue by formulating realistic and practical norms for defending
cases filed against the Government and for filing appeals and
revisions against adverse decisions, thereby eliminating
unnecessary litigation. But it is not sufficient if the Central
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Government alone undertakes such an exercise. The State
Governments and the statutory authorities, who have more
litigations than the Central Government, should also make
genuine efforts to eliminate unnecessary litigations. Vexatious
and unnecessary litigations have been clogging the wheels of
justice for too long, making it difficult for courts and tribunals
to provide easy and speedy access to justice to bona fide and
needy litigants.
18. There is really no case made out at this length of time to grant
any further indulgence to the State Government. The appeals are
accordingly dismissed.
19. For the aforesaid reasons, as also for the reasons set out in the
order dated 6 February 2017 in Civil Application No.5080 of 2001
and connected matters, all these appeals are dismissed.
20. In First Appeal No. 208 of 1992, it appears that the cross-
objections were filed by the respondents. However, the cross-
objections have already been dismissed for non-prosecution and till
date, no restoration is also applied for.
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21. The learned AGPs are requested to forward a copy of this
order to the Chief Secretary, State of Maharashtra, who shall
consider formulating a policy, so that land acquisition matters in
which the stakes do not exceed some specified limit, say of
Rs.25,000/- or even some higher limit, are either not filed in the
High Court or, if already filed, are withdrawn without any further
wastage of time.
22. In these matters, however, it is made clear that the rates
determined by the Reference Court may not be taken as approved by
this Court, particularly, taking into consideration the circumstances
in which the First Appeals have been dismissed.
23. All the First Appeals are dismissed. The Civil
Applications, if any, do not survive and the same are also disposed
of accordingly. There shall however, be no order as to costs.
(M. S. SONAK, J.)
N.S. Kamble page 19 of 19
