Case Note & Summary
The petitioners, Youvraj Namdeo Khaladkar and the legal heirs of Limbraj Namdeo Khaladkar, filed a writ petition before the Bombay High Court at Aurangabad seeking a direction to the respondent authorities to pay compensation determined by the Deputy Collector for the acquisition of their land for widening of a national highway. The land was acquired under the National Highways Act, 1956, for the benefit of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The Deputy Collector, Land Acquisition Medium Project No.2, Osmanabad, had determined the compensation amount under Section 3G of the Act, but the acquiring authority, NHAI and its project directors, failed to pay the same. The petitioners approached the High Court contending that the non-payment of the determined compensation was arbitrary and violative of their right to property under Article 300A of the Constitution. The respondents, including NHAI and state authorities, opposed the petition on grounds that are not detailed in the judgment. The court, after hearing the advocates for both sides, held that once compensation is determined under Section 3G of the National Highways Act, 1956, the acquiring authority is under a legal obligation to pay it without delay. The court observed that the failure to pay amounts to deprivation of property without lawful authority. Consequently, the court allowed the writ petition and directed the respondents to pay the determined compensation to the petitioners within a period of eight weeks from the date of the order. The judgment was delivered by a division bench comprising Justice Kishore C. Sant and Justice Sushil M. Ghodeswar, with the opinion authored by Justice Sant.
Headnote
A) Land Acquisition - Compensation - Payment of Determined Compensation - National Highways Act, 1956, Section 3G - The petitioners' land was acquired for widening of a national highway. The Deputy Collector determined compensation under Section 3G, but the acquiring authority failed to pay the amount. The court held that once compensation is determined, the authority is bound to pay it without delay, and non-payment is arbitrary and violative of Article 300A of the Constitution. The court directed the respondents to pay the determined compensation within a specified period. (Paras 1-5)
Issue of Consideration
Whether the respondent-authorities are liable to pay the compensation determined by the Deputy Collector under Section 3G of the National Highways Act, 1956, and whether the petitioners are entitled to a direction for such payment.
Final Decision
The writ petition is allowed. The respondents are directed to pay the compensation determined by the Deputy Collector, Land Acquisition Medium Project No.2, Osmanabad, to the petitioners within a period of eight weeks from the date of the order.
Law Points
- Compensation for land acquisition
- National Highways Act
- 1956
- Section 3G
- Section 3J
- Right to compensation
- Duty of acquiring authority
- Payment of determined compensation
