Gujarat High Court
Vahaluwala Hafiza Ilyas vs Competent Authority, Nhai, ... on 9 February, 2022
Bench: Niral R. Mehta
C/SCA/2792/2022 ORDER DATED: 09/02/2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 2792 of 2022
==========================================================
VAHALUWALA HAFIZA ILYAS
Versus
COMPETENT AUTHORITY, NHAI, SPECIAL LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER
AND DY. COLLECTOR, BHARUCH
==========================================================
Appearance:
MR AJ YAGNIK(1372) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
for the Respondent(s) No. 3
MR. DM DEVNANI, AGP, ADVANCE COPY SERVED TO GOVERNMENT
PLEADER/PP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
NANAVATI & CO.(7105) for the Respondent(s) No. 2
==========================================================
CORAM:HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. JUSTICE
ARAVIND KUMAR
and
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NIRAL R. MEHTA
Date : 09/02/2022
ORAL ORDER
(PER : HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. JUSTICE ARAVIND
KUMAR)
1. We have heard Mr. A.J. Yagnik, learned Advocate for the
petitioner, Mr. Dharmesh Devnani, learned Assistant
Government Pleader for Respondent No.1, Mr. Maulik
Nanavati, learned counsel for Respondent No. 2 and Mr.
Devang Vyas, learned Assistant Solicitor General for
Respondent No.3.
2. By this Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of
India, the Petitioner has prayed for the following reliefs:
"(A) Your Lordships be pleased to hold and declare that land
acquisition award for Village Manubar annexed at Annexure -
C passed by the respondent Competent Authority and Special
Land Acquisition Officer under section 3(G)(1) of the National
Highways Act, 1956, in connection with acquisition of land for
construction of Vadodara-Mumbai Six/Eight Lane Expressway
and to the extent of determination of compensation as illegal
and unconstitutional and be further pleased to quash and set
C/SCA/2792/2022 ORDER DATED: 09/02/2022
aside the impugned award only to the extent of manner and
method in which the amount of compensation is determined
and the actual amount is awarded without disturbing the
entire land acquisition proceedings;
(B) Your Lordship be pleased to direct the respondent
Competent Authority / Special Land Acquisition Officer and
the respondent National Highway Authority of India, in light of
the ratio laid down by this Hon'ble Court in judgment and
order dated 12.09.2019 passed in SCA No. 8734 of 2019 and
confirmed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court vide order dated
07.01.2021 passed in Special Leave Petition (Civil) Diary No.
18777 of 2020, to apply multiplying factor 2.00 instead of
1.00 and thereby recalculate the compensation and be further
pleased to direct the respondent Competent Authority /
Special Land Acquisition Officer and the respondent National
Highway Authority of India to award the recalculated
compensation within a period of three months from the date
of the order;
(C) Your Lordship be pleased to direct the respondents to
recompute the compensation qua the lands of the petitioner
by multiplying the market value as determined under section
26(1) of the Act of 2013 with Factor 2 as per Section 26(2)
and applying all other statutory benefits including solatium
under section 30(1), interest under section 30(3) of the Act of
2013 and determined and pay such compensation with
interest as per the ratio laid down by this Hon'ble Court in
SCA No. 8734 of 2019 and other cognate matters and as
confirmed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court passed in Special
Leave Petition (Civil) Diary No. 18777 of 2020;
(D) Be pleased to grant ad-interim or interim relief in terms
of Clause B.
(E) To pass any other and further reliefs that may be
deemed fit and proper in the interest of Justice and Equity."
3. It is the contention of learned counsel appearing for the
petitioner that the petitioner is the landholder who has her
respective piece of agricultural lands bearing Survey Block No.
850 and 852 in Village Manubar of Bharuch Taluka of District
Bharuch. For Survey No. 850, out of the total land of the
petitioner about 0.0441 hectares is going under acquisition
C/SCA/2792/2022 ORDER DATED: 09/02/2022
and for Survey No. 852 land admeasuring about 0.1964
hectares is going under acquisition. The respondent - National
Highway Authority of India has undertaken construction of
proposed Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway which is in particular
passes from village Manubar of Taluka Bharuch, District
Bharuch and other villages of the said district. The lands of
the petitioner have gone under acquisition for the proposed
project of the Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway. It is contended
that while calculating the compensation, factor 1 is applied
instead of factor 2. Hence, the present petition. The main
grievance raised in the petition is that erroneously respondent
authority applied factor 1 instead of factor 2.
4. At this juncture, learned counsels appearing for the
respective parties submitted that the issue involved in this
petition is identical to the issue decided by the Coordinate
Bench of this Court in case of Shah Rajesh Manibhai vs.
National Highway Authority of India rendered in Special
Civil Application No.5913 of 2021 dated 23.04.2021. The
said order is further based upon a Division Bench judgment of
this Court dated 12.09.2019 passed in a group of petitions led
by Special Civil Application No. 8734 of 2019, which has since
been affirmed by the Supreme Court as the Special Leave
Petition filed by the State Government has been dismissed on
07.01.2021 in Special Leave Petition (Civil) Diary No. being
18777 of 2020. It is also submitted that the issue in the
present case is identical to the case of Dilipbhai Ganpatbhai
Parmar vs. Competent Authority rendered in Special Civil
Application No.12140 of 2021 dated 27.08.2021. It was,
therefore, submitted that this Petition may also be disposed of,
following the order passed in Special Civil Application No.5913
C/SCA/2792/2022 ORDER DATED: 09/02/2022
of 2021 dated 23.04.2021.
5. Learned counsel for Respondent No. 2- NHAI, further
submitted that as in the other cases if it is found that the
Petitioner is entitled to Factor-"2" being applied for
determination of compensation and other benefits, Respondent
No.2 - Authority shall make deposit within 21 days of such
determination.
6. Thus, following the decision of the Coordinate Bench
rendered in Special Civil Application No.5913 of 2021 dated
23.04.2021, the present Petition is disposed of with the same
directions and terms as contained in the order dated
23.04.2021 passed in Special Civil Application No.5913 of
2021.
7. However, it is clarified that if the Petitioner has moved
for redetermination of compensation before the Arbitrator
under Section 3G (5) of the National Highways Act, 1956, the
Petitioner may not insist for Factor-"2" claim or in the
alternative the respondents may be permitted to appraise the
Arbitrator of the said issue, so that there is no further
multiplicity or complications in the proceedings.
8. The present Petition, therefore, stands disposed of
accordingly. There shall be no order as to costs.
(ARAVIND KUMAR,CJ)
(NIRAL R. MEHTA,J)
AMAR SINGH
