Kamala Phukan vs The State Of Assam And 2 Ors
2022 Latest Caselaw 1166 Gua

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GAHC010057902022




                              THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT
   (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)

                                  Case No. : WP(C)/2300/2022

            KAMALA PHUKAN
            W/O- SRI DZEN PHUKAN, R/O- AMERIGOG , 9TH MILE, DIST- KAMRUP (M),
            ASSAM, REP. BY HER DULY CONSTITUTED ATTORNEY,
            DEBAJIT KUMAR BARUAH
            AGE 62 YRS, S/O LATE AJIT KUMAR BARUAH, R/O- NILMONI PHUKAN
            PATH, CHRISTIAN BASTI, GUWAHATI- 781005, DIST- KAMRUP (M), ASSAM



            VERSUS

            THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 2 ORS
            REP. BY THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM,
            REVENUE AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT, DISPUR,
            GUWAHATI-6., ASSAM

            2:THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER
             KAMRUP (M)
             GUWAHATI-781001
            ASSAM

            3:THE LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER
             KAMRUP (M)
             GUWAHATI-781001
            ASSA

Advocate for the Petitioner   : S ALI

Advocate for the Respondent : GA, ASSAM
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                                     BEFORE
                    HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY

                                        ORDER

Date : 01.04.2022

Heard Mr. S. Ali, learned counsel for the petitioner; Mr. P. S. Deka, learned Standing Counsel, Revenue Department for the respondent no. 1; and Mr. R. Talukdar, learned Junior Government Advocate, Assam for the respondent nos. 2 & 3.

2. By a notification dated 04.05.2013 [Annexure-V] issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 [since repealed], the State expressed its intention to acquire a number of parcels of land for setting up a Battalion Headquarter of ITBP in Sonapur. Amongst the parcels of land sought to be so acquired, the petitioner's land covered by Dag no. 103 and Patta no. 3 was also included. The possession of the land was taken on 18.06.2015. The petitioner was served a notice [Annexure-IV] by the Land Acquisition Officer & Collector relating to her land in connection with the concerned Land Acquisition case no. 22/2013 asking her to file objection. The process of acquisition had thereafter, proceeded. A number of land owners covered by the said notification had approached this Court by way of a writ petition, W.P.[C] no. 5067/2015 on the premise that they should be paid the compensation in terms of the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 ['the RFCTLARR Act, 2013', for short] as the proceeding did not complete till the year 2015. The said writ petition was disposed of by a judgment and order dated 02.11.2016 [Annexure-VI] by permitting the petitioners therein to submit their applications before the Collector under Section 64 of the RFCTLARR Act, 2013 within a period of 6 [six] Page No.# 3/4

weeks therefrom and in the event any such applications were made the Collector was directed to make a reference to the appropriate authority within a stipulated time period. The consequential reference pursuant to the disposal of the writ petition was registered and numbered as L.A. Ref. Case no. 25/2016. The Court of learned Additional District Judge No. 1, Kamrup [Metro], Guwahati disposed of the said reference case by a judgment and order dated 09.08.2019 [Annexure-X].

3. The case of the petitioner is that she is an octogenarian lady and bed ridden. She is the land owner of a plot of land measuring 21 Bighas and 15 Lessas. In the judgment and order passed in reference case no. L.A. Ref. Case no. 25/2016, the learned reference Court has held that the amount of compensation payable to the landowners of patta landS whose lands were acquired in the acquisition process under reference, should be calculated @ 8,16,000/- per Bigha.

4. Mr. Ali, learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the similarly situated land owners like the petitioner, have already been paid the compensation and the petitioner is also entitled for the compensation amount at the similar rate along with other benefits under RFCTLARR Act, 2013.

5. Issue notice of motion, returnable on 22.04.2022.

6. As Mr. Deka, learned Standing Counsel, Revenue Department has appeared and accepted notice on behalf of respondent no. 1 and Mr. Talukdar, learned Junior Government Advocate has appeared and accepted notice on behalf of respondent nos. 2 & 3, no formal notice need to be issued to the said respondents. Mr. Ali, learned counsel for the petitioner shall furnish requisite no. of extra copies of the writ petition to Mr. Deka and Mr. Talukdar within 3 [three] working days from today.

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7. Mr. Talukdar shall inter alia obtain instructions also on the following aspects :

[i] whether the petitioner's land has already been acquired by the notification dated 04.05.2013; [ii] whether the petitioners in L.A. Ref. Case no. 25/2016 have already been paid the compensation in terms of the judgment and order dated 09.08.2019; and [iii] as to why despite acquisition of the petitioner's land and the possession of it being taken over, the compensation to the petitioner is not paid till date.

List the case on 22.04.2022.

JUDGE

Comparing Assistant