WP/11867/2014 of G.RAMESH,KRM DIST Vs STATE OF AP,PRL.SCY,REVENUE,HYD,AND 4 on 30 December 2022

ORDER:

Conclusion

This is a case where the land of the petitioner situated inSurvey Nos.184 and 186 of Velgipoor Village, EllanthakuntaMandal, Karimnagar District, together with a well situated inSurvey No. 184 of the said Village was sought to be acquired byissuing a notification under Section 4(1) and 6 of the LandAcquisition Act, 1894 ("the Act, 1894" for brevity) dated19.O8.2012 and 20.O8.2012 respectively by invoking theurgency clause under Section 17(1) of the Act, 1894. Throughthe said notifications, the possession of the land was also takenover by the respondents for the purpose of construction ofunderground tunnel of Pranahitha Chevella Sujala SravanthiProject Scheme. However, no compensation is paid to thepetitioner and no award is passed till date. Aggrieved by suchinaction on the part of the respondents, the petitionerapproached this Court by filing the [present ]Writ Petition seekinga direction to the respondents to acquire the land that wastaken over by the respondents by invoking the urgency clauseunder Section 17 of the Act, 1894 and to pay compensation forthe same. '- t- ----- d-.,-.\

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2. According to Mr. M. Jagannatha Sarma, learned counselfor the petitioner, the petitioner is the absolute owner andpossessor of a total extent of Acs.6.00 gts i.e. Acs.2.00 gts eachsituated in Survey Nos. 184, 186(AA) and 186(A,4A) of VelgipoorViliage, Ellanthakunta Mandal and that there was a wellexisting in Survey No.184, '"vhich is the source of irrigation forthe entire extent of Acs.6.00 gts of land. Out of the said extentof Acs.6.0O, the land admeasuring Ac.0.32 gts in Survey No.184and Ac.O. 18 gts in Survey No.186 has becn acquired by therespondents by taking over possession together with a wellexisting in Survey No.184 but no compensaijon is paid till date.He further contended that the respondents in the counter statedthat they have intended to delete the subject land from theacquisition proposals on the ground that tl.e surface of the landis available for cultivation and as such there is no necessity topay compensation, but such a plea is not available to therespondents. He further contended that, once possession istaken over by the respondents, the question of withdrawal ofproposal from acquisition does not arise tr the light of Section48 of the Act, 1894. He also placed reliance on a [judgment ]of MSK,J

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the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Indore Development Authority v. Manoharlaf.

3. From a perusal of the counter affidavit, it is noticed thatthere is no dispute about taking over possession of the subjectproperty by the respondents for construction of undergroundtunnel but after having constructed the underground tunnel,the respondents appear to have felt that the surface of thesubject land is available to the petitioner to cultivate and assuch, there is no necessit5r to acquire the subject land andintended to delete the same from the acquisition proposal. Forthat reason, the respondents stated to have not passed anyaward nor [paid ]compensation to the petitioner. The relevantportion from the counter affidavit filed by the respondents readsas under:-

"Further, it is submitted that, the Special Collector, LA, SRSP,Hyderabad has physically inspected the Lands including thelands in Sy.No.184, 186 and 23ll existing in Sy.No.184 which arecoming under ground tunnel for Pranahita Chevella SujalaSravanthi Project Scheme in the limits of Velgipur Village ofEltanthakunta Mandal. Duriug tbe physical veriticatloB ofthelands, the Special Collector, L.A., SRSP, Hyderabad has fouadthat these lands are comiug under acquisltlon ofundergrouad tunnel in the llmlts of Velglpur Vtllage ofEllanthakunta Mandal, Karimnagar District lncludlng thelands in Sy.Nos.184, 186 and well as per the requlsition asthe surface lands including subject lands in the presert Wdtpetition are not effecting physically and the said surfacelands are fit for cultivation. In this regatd, the SpecialDeputy Collector, issued letter to the Executive Eagineer,Divisiou No.4 of IFFC, Circle-I, Rekurthy, Kothapally on23.oL.2O13 seeking proposals for deletioa of lands.

r (2o2o) 8 scc 129

Accordingly in response to the said letter the Executive EngineerDivision No.4 of IFFC, Circle-[, Rekurthy, Kothapally, 2013 hassubmitted deletion proposals vide his Lr.No.EE/Divn-4|[FFC/TS/T3l17 2-76/M, Dated 8-12- duly showing the SurveyNumber rvise particulars.'

4. Section 48 of the Act, 1894 enables the Government to withdraw from the acquisition of any land of which possessionhas not been taken, but there is no such provision to withdrawwhen possession was taken. It is settled law that under Section48 of the Act 1894, the question of withdrawal from theacquisition proposal does not arise in respect of land of whichpossession has already been taken by the respondents. Such awithdrawal of proposal for acquisition is only permissible inrespect of the lands of which possession has not been taken bythe respondents. As rightly contended by the learned counselfor the petitioner in the judgment Indore DevelopmentAuthority v. Manoharlal (1 supra), a Constitutional Bench ofthe Hon'ble Apex Court held as under:- "Under Section 48 of the 1894 Act, withdrawal of theland acquisition proceedings was permissible only if thepossession has not been taken under Section 16 or 17(1).Section [.18 ]is extracted hereunder:

"48. Completion of acquisltion not compulsory, butcompensatlon to be awarded uhen not completed - (1) Exceptin the case provided for in Section 36, the Govemrnent shall be atliberty to withdraw from the acquisition of any land of whichpossession has not been taken.

(2) Whenever the Government withdrarvs from any suchacquisition, the Collector shall determine the amount ofcompensation due for the damage suffered by the owner inconsequence of the notice or of any proceedings thereunder, andshall pa-.u such amount to the person interested, together with allcosts reasonably incurrcd by him in the prosecution of theproceedings under this Act relating to the said lard.

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MSK,J

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(3) The provisions of Part III of this Act shall apply, sofar as may be, to the determination of the cempensation payableunder this section.'In case possession has been taken, there cannot be anywithdrawal from the land acquisition proceedings under the 1894Act."

In the light of the law laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Courtholding that in case possession has been taken, there cannot beany withdrawal from the land acquisition proposals under theAct, 1894.

5. The stand of the respondents is that there is no necessityto acquire the subject land and their further action in not takingup the further proceedings by passing award under the Act,1894 for payment of compensation is bound to be deciared asillegal and highly arbitrary and violative of Articles 14, 21 and300A of the Constitution of India. Further, the respondentshaving dispossessed the petitioner from his patta land as earlyas in the year 2012, failed to pay compensation till date norcommunicated anything to the petitioner, about their intentionnot to acquire etc. Such an action on the part of respondents isnothing but an atrocity on the petitioner and such an action onthe part of the State is liable to be condemned with iron hand.If this Court remains as silent spectator to such acts oflawlessness, this Court would be failing in its duty to dischargethe obligation cast on it under the Constitution of India. As the \

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Act, 1894 is already repealed w.e.f. 01.01.2014, the respondentsare bound to initiate acquisition of the subject land, which isalready taken over by the respondents undcr the provisions ofthe Right to Fair Compensation and Transparenry in LandAcquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 ("theAct, 2013" for brevity).6. Accordingly, the Writ Petition is allowed with costsdirecting the respondents to initiate proceedings for acquisitionof the subject land admeasuring Ac.0.32 gts in Survey No. 184and Ac.0.1B gts in Survey No. 186 of Velgipoor Village,Ellanthakunta Mandal, Karimnagar District, together with awell existing in Survey No.184 and pass an award under Section23 of the Act, 2013 and pay compensation to the petitioner.The entire exercise, as directed above, shall be completed 'a'ithina period of six (6) months from the date of receipt of a copy ofthis order.

The costs are quantified at Rs.50,00O/ - (Rupees fiftythousand only) payable to the petitioner within a period of one(1) month from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.Mlscelianeous applications, if any, pending shall stand closed.

MEMORANDUM OF COSTS

w.P.NO.11867 0F 2014Costs Quantified by The Hon'bte CourtRs 50,0001 (Rupegs Fifty Thousand Onty)Costs Quantified by The Hon'bte CourtRs 50,0001 (Rupegs Fifty Thousand Onty)Payable to the Petitioner within a period bfOne (1) month from the date of receipt of acopy of this order.One (1) month from the date of receipt of acopy of this order.

Rs. Ps

50,000-00

Sd/.MOHD SANAULLAH ANSARIASSISTANT REGISTRAR//TRUE COPY// sEcloN 6FrtcenV ,I\One fair copy to the Hon'ble SRI JUSTICE MUMl,llNENl SUDHEER KUMAR(For His Lordship's Kind Perusal)To,1. The Principal Secretary, Revenue Department (Land Acquisition) The State ofTelangana, Secretariat, Hyderabad.2. The Special Collector, L.A. Unit, S.R.S.P., Sd Pada Project andJ.C.R.G.L.l.P., Huda Complex, Taranaka, Hyderabad.3. The Special Deputy Collector, L.A. Unit, S.R.S.P., F.F.C. ll., LMD Colony,Karimnagar.4. The Collector, (Land Acquisition), Karimnagar, Karimnagar district.5. The Tahsildar, Ellanthakunta Mandal Karimnagar District.6. 11 L.R. Copies7. The Under Secretary, Union of lndia, Ministry of Law, Justice and Companyaffairs, New Delhi.8. The Secretary, Telangana Advocates Association Library, High CourtBuildings, Hyderabad.9. One CC to SRI M. JAGANNATHA SARMA, Advocate [OPUC]10.Two CCs to GP FOR LAND ACQUISITION, High Court for the State ofTelangana. [OUT]1 I . Two CD CopiesBNBS et HIGH COURTDATED:3011212022\tIII[a]:.)1t [[tB][ 68]ORDERWP.No.11867 of 2014-*...,-,-.-'ALLOWING THE WRIT PETITIONWITH COSTS\,