Uttarakhand High Court
WPMS/1397/2021 on 24 July, 2021
IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND
AT NAINITAL
ON THE 24TH DAY OF JULY, 2021
BEFORE:
HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE MANOJ KUMAR TIWARI
Writ Petition (M/S) No. 1397 of 2021
BETWEEN:
Yudhbir Singh. ....Petitioner
(By Mr. B.S. Negi, Advocate)
AND:
Union of India and others. ...Respondents
(By Mr. Rakesh Kunwar, Additional C.S.C. for the State
of Uttarakhand and Mr. Naresh Pant, Advocate for
respondent nos.2, 4 & 8)
JUDGMENT
According to the petitioner, he was tenant
in a shop, which was acquired for widening of National
Highway under the provisions of National Highways Act,
1956. Since no compensation was paid to the
petitioner, therefore, he has approached this Court
seeking the following reliefs:
"(i) issue a writ, order or direction in the
nature of mandamus, commanding/
directing the respondents to award the
compensation, damages, including all other
admissible benefits, with interest to the
petitioner.
(ii) issue a writ, order or direction in the
nature of mandamus, commanding/
directing the respondents to consider the
claim of the petitioner of compensation,
rehabilitation, resettlement as per the
National Rehabilitation & Resettlement
Policy, 2007 (Annexure No. 4 to this writ
petition)."
2. Learned counsel for respondent nos.2, 4 &
8 submits that compensation has been paid to the
owner of the shop, therefore, petitioner's claim for
compensation is without any legal basis.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner,
however, has referred to provision contained in Section
3 (c) of Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency
in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement
Act, 2013, which is reproduced below:
"3. Definitions- In this Act, unless the
context otherwise requires,-
(a)....
(b)....
(c) "affected family" includes-
(i) a family whose land or other
immovable property has been
acquired;
(ii) a family which does not own any
land but a member or members of
such family may be agricultural
labourers, tenants including any form
of tenancy or holding of usufruct right,
share-croppers or artisans or who may
be working in the affected area for
three years prior to the acquisition of
the land, whose primary source of
livelihood stand affected by the
acquisition of land;
(iii) the Scheduled Tribes and other
traditional forest dwellers who have
lost any of their forest rights
recognised under the Scheduled Tribes
and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers
(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act,
2006 (2 of 2007) due to acquisition of
land;
(iv) family whose primary source of
livelihood for three years prior to the
acquisition of the land is dependent on
forests or water bodies and includes
gatherers of forest produce, hunters,
fisher folk and boatmen and such
livelihood is affected due to acquisition
of land;
(v) a member of the family who has
been assigned land by the State
Government or the Central
Government under any of its schemes
and such land is under acquisition;
(vi) a family residing on any land in
the urban areas for preceding three
years or more prior to the acquisition
of the land or whose primary source of
livelihood for three years prior to the
acquisition of the land is affected by
the acquisition of such land;"
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner has also
referred to provision contained in Section 3 G (2) of the
National Highways Act, 1956, which reads as under:
"3G. Determination of amount payable
as compensation-
(1).....
(2) Where the right of user or any right in
the nature of an easement on, any land is
acquired under this Act, there shall be paid
an amount to the owner and any other
person whose right of enjoyment in that
land has been affected in any manner
whatsoever by reason of such acquisition an
amount calculated at ten per cent. of the
amount determined under sub-section (1),
for that land."
5. Learned counsel for respondent nos. 2, 4 &
8 then submits that if petitioner has any claim for
compensation, then he has a remedy of approaching
Competent Authority Land Acquisition under Section 3G
(5) of National Highways Act, 1956.
6. Since petitioner has statutory remedy under
Section 3G (5) of National Highways Act, 1956,
therefore, the writ petition is disposed of with liberty to
petitioner to approach Competent Authority Land
Acquisition. If petitioner approaches the Competent
Authority Land Acquisition within three weeks from
today, the Competent Authority Land Acquisition shall
consider and decide petitioner's claim on merits as
early as possible, preferably within a period of one year
from the date of production of certified copy of this
order.
(MANOJ KUMAR TIWARI, J.)
Arpan
