Gujarat High Court
Godavariben Lavjibhai Bhalodiya vs Deputy Collector (Land ... on 29 June, 2022
Bench: Aniruddha P. Mayee
C/FA/878/2022 ORDER DATED: 29/06/2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 878 of 2022
With
R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 879 of 2022
With
R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 880 of 2022
With
R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 881 of 2022
With
R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 882 of 2022
With
R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 883 of 2022
With
R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 904 of 2022
With
R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 905 of 2022
With
R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 907 of 2022
With
R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 908 of 2022
With
R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 909 of 2022
With
R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 910 of 2022
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GODAVARIBEN LAVJIBHAI BHALODIYA
Versus
DEPUTY COLLECTOR (LAND ACQUISITION) PRANT OFFICER
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Appearance:
MR TEJAS P SATTA(3149) for the Appellant(s) No. 1
for the Defendant(s) No. 2
MS ASMITA PATEL AGP for FA Nos.878/2022 to 905/2022, 908/2022 and
909/2022 for the Defendant(s) No. 1
MR MANRAJ BAROT AGP for FA Nos.907/2022 and 910/2022 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/878/2022 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
28.3.2018 passed by the learned 2 nd Additional Senior Civil
Judge, Jamnagar, judgment and order dated 2.4.2018 passed by
the learned 7th Additional Senior Civil Judge, Jamnagar as well
as common judgment and order dated 28.3.2018 passed by the
learned 2nd 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.
3. Per contra, learned AGP opposed the present appeals. It is
contended that the claimants were given sufficient opportunity
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
C/FA/878/2022 ORDER DATED: 29/06/2022
record.
5. A perusal of impugned judgment and award 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.
6.1 Accordingly, all the First Appeals are hereby allowed. The
impugned judgment and orders are hereby quashed and set
aside and the matters are 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.
C/FA/878/2022 ORDER DATED: 29/06/2022
6.2 The parties are directed to adduce their additional 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
28.3.2018 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
