Ravjibhai Makanbhai vs Deputy Collector And Special Land ...
2022 Latest Caselaw 5745 Guj

     C/FA/862/2022                             ORDER DATED: 29/06/2022



          IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

                     R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 862 of 2022
                                 With
                     R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 863 of 2022
                                 With
                     R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 864 of 2022
                                 With
                     R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 865 of 2022
                                 With
                     R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 866 of 2022
                                 With
                     R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 867 of 2022
                                 With
                     R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 868 of 2022
                                 With
                     R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 869 of 2022
                                 With
                     R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 870 of 2022
                                 With
                     R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 871 of 2022
                                 With
                     R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 872 of 2022
                                 With
                     R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 873 of 2022
                                 With
                     R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 874 of 2022
                                 With
                     R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 875 of 2022
                                 With
                     R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 876 of 2022
                                 With
                     R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 877 of 2022
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                  RAVJIBHAI MAKANBHAI
                         Versus
DEPUTY COLLECTOR AND SPECIAL LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER AND
               RAHABILITATION (IRRIGATION)
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Appearance:
MR TEJAS P SATTA(3149) for the Appellant(s) No. 1
for the Defendant(s) No. 2
MR MANRAJ BAROT AGP for the Defendant(s) No. 1
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 CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANIRUDDHA P. MAYEE
                  Date : 29/06/2022
                   ORAL ORDER

Admit. Learned AGP waives service of admission for the respondent State.

C/FA/862/2022 ORDER DATED: 29/06/2022

2. Mr. Tejas Satta, learned advocate for the appellants, submits that the present First Appeals may be disposed of as they are arising out of a common judgment and order dated 17.3.2018 passed by the learned 13th Additional Senior Civil Judge, Jamnagar whereby the reference cases were ordered to be disposed of as rejected without any interference to the awarded amount of compensation to the claimants in the respective cases.

2.1 It is also submitted by Mr. Satta, learned advocate for the appellants, that the right of the appellants to adduce evidence in support of their case was closed by the learned reference Court and the matters were then posted for opponents evidence. Even the opponents did not produce any evidence in support of their case. He further submits that despite framing of issues, the reference Court has not assessed the amount of compensation independently in each case, but has only referred to the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act. He drew the attention of the Court to para-15 of the impugned judgment, which is reproduced hereinbelow:-

"15. So in view of the aforesaid discussion and reasons, the applicant cannot be said to have proved that the award passed by the Collector is inadequate or disproportionate since the applicant has not led any evidence to prima facie provide that the said amount of compensation awarded by the Collector is inadequate or disproportionate. Conversely the opponents have also not led any evidence to prove that there exist no cause of action remained in favour of the applicant against opponents. So it transpires to this Court both the parties have failed to prove their respective submission by leading evidence in the Court and hence, the issue No.1 to 4 are accordingly answered in NEGATIVE."

3. Per contra, learned AGP opposed the present appeals. It is contended that the claimants were given sufficient opportunity

C/FA/862/2022 ORDER DATED: 29/06/2022

by the learned reference Court to adduce the evidence in support of their case, however, it was not produced and therefore, the learned reference Court has rightly come to the conclusion that the compensation as awarded by the Collector was just and proper and the appeals should be dismissed.

4. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.

5. A perusal of para-15 (supra) shows that the learned reference Court has simply disposed of the land reference cases in absence of any evidence by either of the parties and the only reason for disposing of the reference cases is that both the parties have failed to prove their submissions by leading evidence and therefore, no interference is called for in the awarded amount.

6. In view of above, this Court is of the opinion that in the land reference cases, it is the duty of the learned reference Court to go into the issue of awarding compensation and to assess the same for its adequacy in the background that the claimants have lost possession of their land. In the present case, no such exercise has been undertaken by the learned reference Court. In the premise, the impugned judgment and orders are hereby set aside and the matters are remanded back to the learned reference Court for determining the entitlement of the land owners to just, reasonable and adequate compensation, which can be determined only after examining the evidence adduced by the parties. In the interest of justice, the present appellants deserve an opportunity to produce additional evidence in respect of their entitlement to adequate compensation.

       C/FA/862/2022                            ORDER DATED: 29/06/2022




6.1    Accordingly, all the First Appeals are hereby allowed. The

impugned common judgment and order is hereby quashed and set aside and the matter is remanded to the learned reference Court for fresh consideration in accordance with law with a liberty in favour of the parties to adduce oral as well as documentary evidence in support of their case.

6.2 The parties are directed to adduce their evidence within 6 weeks from the date of first appearance before the learned reference Court. The reference Court is also directed to decide the reference cases as expeditiously as possible and not later than 31.12.2022.

6.3 It is also seen from the record that the learned reference Court had granted number of opportunities to the appellants with respect to production of evidence, however, they remained negligent. Therefore, this Court is of the opinion that if any enhancement is made by the learned reference Court in the remand proceedings, the appellants shall not be entitled to any interest from the date of impugned judgment till today, i.e. from 17.3.2018 to 29.6.2022.

6.4 The parties are directed to cooperate with the learned reference Court in early disposal of the reference cases.

Present First Appeals are allowed for the aforesaid reasons and accordingly stand disposed of. There shall be no order as to costs.

(ANIRUDDHA P. MAYEE, J.) KAUSHIK D. CHAUHAN