PATNA: The Supreme Court has dismissed the special leave petitions (SLPs) on merit and disposed of pending applications of land owners against the April 22, 2019 Patna high court order related to landowners’ claim of higher compensation for their land acquired in Rajgir.
The apex court order earlier this month has saved over ₹3000-crore of the central and Bihar governments, as it has set at rest the controversy over claim of huge amount as enhanced compensation for land by the landowners of Rajgir.
A number of land owners at Rajgir whose lands were acquired by the district authorities of Nalanda for construction of the ordinance factory under Ministry of Defence filed several writ petitions, claiming higher compensation.
“As a result of this, the Bihar Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Authority/ Tribunal, Patna, headed by a district judge, had earlier passed the Award in the year 2018 for payment of more than four times the value of land with interest for around more than one thousand acres of land and started recovery proceedings against the State Government and Central Government under which more than Rs. 3000 Crores was required to be paid,” said former additional solicitor general (ASG) of India SD Sanjay.
The then ASG, Sanjay advised the Defence Ministry to file an appeal before the division bench of the Patna high court even though there was more than three years of delay. “I was convinced that since the acquisition was completed before coming into force of the new land acquisition Act, the earlier order of the single-judge was not appropriate and consequently the Award passed by the Land Tribunal suffered from error of law,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}The then ASG, Sanjay advised the Defence Ministry to file an appeal before the division bench of the Patna high court even though there was more than three years of delay. “I was convinced that since the acquisition was completed before coming into force of the new land acquisition Act, the earlier order of the single-judge was not appropriate and consequently the Award passed by the Land Tribunal suffered from error of law,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}The Division Bench of Patna high court presided by the then Chief Justice AP Sahi and Justice Anjana Mishra vide its detailed judgment on April 22, 2019 allowed the appeal of Union of India and set aside not only the judgment of single judge but also the award wrongly enhancing the compensation many times the value of the land which in all would have been more than ₹3000 Crores to be shared by the central and the state governments.
“Thereafter the land owners preferred appeal before the Supreme Court which was heard by a bench presided over by Justice AN Khanwilkar and Justice CT Ravi Kumar, which after considering the judgment of Patna high court, dismissed the appeal on merits,” Sanjay said.