Peddanna vs The State Of Telangana
2021 Latest Caselaw 2706 Tel

           THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE K.LAKSHMAN

                WRIT PETITION NO.23029 OF 2021

ORDER:

Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner, learned

Government Pleader for Irrigation & Command Area Development,

learned Government Pleader for Finance & Planning and the

learned Government Pleader for Land Acquisition for the

respondents. With their consent, this Writ Petition is disposed of

at the stage of admission itself.

Aggrieved by the inaction of the respondents in depositing

the decreetal amount to the credit of E.P.No.116 of 2019 in

O.P.No.79 of 2014 on the file of the learned Senior Civil Judge,

Gadwal, Mahabubnagar District, the present Writ Petition is filed.

Learned Government Pleader, on instructions, has stated

that the official respondents are taking necessary steps to deposit

the amounts and that as and when the amounts are received, the

authorities will deposit the compensation amount.

As can be seen from the record, the notification under

Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, was issued way

back on 31.08.2013 and the Award was passed on 11.12.2013.

Subsequently, the compensation amount was enhanced fixing the

market value of the property at one time more than the amount

determined and awarded by the Land Acquisition Officer, by virtue

of the order and decree dated 19.09.2018 passed in O.P.No.79 of

2014 by the learned Senior Civil Judge, Gadwal, and the said order

has become final as no appeal was preferred questioning the same.

Having regard to the above backdrop of the case, this Court

is of the considered view that the authorities cannot take their own

time to deposit the amounts which are already enhanced by the

competent Court. The inaction of the respondents in paying the

enhanced compensation amounts in time to the petitioners, who

are already suffering from loss of their lands, would make them

also to suffer untold hardship and misery and run from pillar to

post for getting the enhanced compensation deposited and incur

expenses for the same. They will also have to incur additional

expenditure for approaching the Court for seeking the required

relief. With the rising inflation, the value of the money will also go

down and the delayed payment of the enhanced compensation will

result in the compensation amount itself losing all the charm and

utility. If the petitioner or similarly situated persons receive the

enhanced compensation within the time, they will be in a position

to use that amount in some other investments and get some

returns over the same.

Further, in Bhimidipati Annapoorna Bhavani v. Land

Acquisition Officer1, while dealing with similar issue, the Larger

Bench of this Court has held as under:

"One of the self-imposed restrictions is that High Court generally refrains from entertaining a writ petition when there is adequate and efficacious alternate remedy available to a party, and, when such alternate remedy available is a statutory remedy, such statutory remedy has been duly exhausted. Availability of such alternate and efficacious or statutory remedy itself is not a bar in entertaining a writ petition in the given facts and circumstances. We need not multiply the circumstances in which such discretionary power may be exercised by the Court in such matters despite availability of such alternate, adequate and efficacious remedy.

But the limits as noticed in B.Govinda Reddy v. Revenue

1 2005(3) ALD 233 (LB)

Divisional Officer-cum-Land Acquisition Officer2's case supra by a learned Single Judge of this Court are sufficient that in cases arising out of the Act where the amount of compensation, finally determined has not been paid, a person must first resort to the alternate efficacious remedy of taking out execution and when despite taking out execution proceedings, if there is any delay caused on the part of authorities, resort can be had to filing of a writ petition in this Court and, this Court, while exercising its discretionary jurisdiction, in appropriate cases, may issue directions for immediate deposit of the amount of compensation by the State Government or the authorities on whose behalf the land has been acquired."

At this stage, learned Government Pleader for Land

Acquisition sought four months time from today to deposit the

amount to the credit of the E.P.

For the afore-stated reasons and the law laid down by the

Larger Bench of this Court in the above referred judgment, the

official respondents are directed to deposit the enhanced

compensation amount, in terms of the order and decree, dated

09.07.2019 passed in O.P.No.79 of 2014 by the learned Senior

Civil Judge, Gadwal, to the credit of E.P.No.116 of 2019, as

expeditiously as possible, preferably, within a period of two months

from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.

Accordingly, the Writ Petition is disposed of. There shall be

no order as to costs.

Miscellaneous applications, if any, pending shall stand

closed.

___________________ (K.LAKSHMAN, J)

21st September 2021 RRB

2 1997(5) ALT 561