Govindbhai Malubhai Patel vs State Of Gujarat
2023 Latest Caselaw 2232 Guj

      C/SCA/18809/2019                            ORDER DATED: 14/03/2023




             IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

              R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 18809 of 2019
                                  With
              R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 19040 of 2019
                                  With
              R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 18814 of 2019
                                  With
              R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 18981 of 2019
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                         GOVINDBHAI MALUBHAI PATEL
                                   Versus
                             STATE OF GUJARAT
==========================================================
Appearance:
MR CHINMAY M GANDHI(3979) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1,2,3,4,5
MR. SAHIL TRIVEDI, AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 1,2
==========================================================

 CORAM:HONOURABLE THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE MR.
       JUSTICE A.J.DESAI
       and
       HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BIREN VAISHNAV

                              Date : 14/03/2023

                           COMMON ORAL ORDER

(PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BIREN VAISHNAV)

1. RULE. Mr. Sahil Trivedi, learned AGP waives

service of Rule on behalf of respondent - State authorities.

With the consent of parties, the matters are taken up for final

hearing.

2. The common issue involved in all these petitions is as

to whether the awards passed in the respective petitions

C/SCA/18809/2019 ORDER DATED: 14/03/2023

need to be modified / amended / revised and the

compensation be recomputed and recalculated qua the lands

of the petitioners by multiplying the market value as

determined under Section 26(1) of the Right to Fair

Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,

Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (hereinafter to be

referred to as 'the Act of 2013' for short) 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 and to determine and pay such

compensation with interest as per the award ratio laid down

by this Court in Special Civil Application No. 8734 of 2019

and other cognate matters decided on 12.09.2019.

3. Since the issues involved in all these petitions are

common and are already decided by this Court in the case of

Dhiraj A. Patel v. State of Gujarat and Ors. reported in

2020 (1) GLR 752, facts in each petitions are not

extensively discussed.

C/SCA/18809/2019 ORDER DATED: 14/03/2023

4. We have heard Mr. Chinmay Gandhi, learned counsel

appearing for the petitioners and learned AGP Mr. Sahil

Trivedi appearing for the State.

5. It is the case of the petitioners in all these petitions

that their lands were acquired under the provisions of the Act

of 2013 and awards were passed in the respective petitions

awarding compensation under the Act. It is undisputed even

as submitted by the learned AGP appearing in the petitions

that the lands which are acquired and the awards which have

been passed in all these petitions, are within the respective

'rural areas' and therefore eligible to a multiplying Factor-2.

6. Multiple orders have been passed by this Court

relying on the decision in the case of Dhiraj A. Patel (supra)

directing the respondents to give a fresh award in all cases

keeping in mind the directions contained in paras 19, 20 and

21 of this judgment in the aforesaid case of Dhiraj A. Patel

(supra).

C/SCA/18809/2019 ORDER DATED: 14/03/2023

7. Considering the submissions made by the learned

counsel for the respective parties, it is indeed surprising that

despite the issue being concluded inasmuch as, the decision

in the case of Dhiraj A. Patel (supra) has been confirmed by

the Supreme Court, this Court has followed the decision in

case of Dhiraj A. Patel (supra) and issued directions to

redetermine the compensation and modify the awards and

pay the amounts to such beneficiaries of the awards by

applying Factor-2 and pay such compensation with all

statutory benefits including solatium under Section 30(1),

interest under Section 30(3) under the Act 2013.

8. The exercise of application of Factor - 2 and

recomputing the compensation by applying Factor - 2 under

Section 26(2) of the Act shall not amount to reviewing or

modifying the award. What is in fact, being undertaken is that

the awards in question irrespective of the parties concerned

are being modified and/or revised by multiplying the market

value as determined under Section 26(1) of the Act of 2013

with Factor-2 as per Section 26(2) of the Act in light of the

C/SCA/18809/2019 ORDER DATED: 14/03/2023

position of law set out in the case of Dhiraj A. Patel (supra).

At this stage, it needs to be noted that in light of the position

of law decided by this Court in that case, the authorities are

expected to apply Factor-2 in all cases where the lands fall

within rural areas and the awards accordingly need to be

modified if the compensation has been paid in such cases by

multiplying the market value and applying Factor-2 without

compelling the parties or the beneficiaries of such awards to

approach this Court.

9. For all the aforesaid reasons, the petitions are

allowed with a direction to the competent authority to give a

fresh award in all cases keeping in mind the decision and the

directions in the case of Dhiraj A. Patel (supra) within a

period of eight weeks from the date of certified copy of this

order being filed by the petitioners before the competent

authority. If the petitioners are entitled to the benefit of

Factor-2, the competent authority is directed to disburse to

the petitioners such amount within 21 days from the date of

such awards.

C/SCA/18809/2019 ORDER DATED: 14/03/2023

10. All the petitions are allowed to the aforesaid extent.

Rule is made absolute to the aforesaid extent. No order as to

costs. Direct service is permitted.

(A.J.DESAI, ACJ)

(BIREN VAISHNAV, J) AMAR SINGH