Daulat Singh Surana and Ors. Vs. First Land Acquisition Collector & Ors.
(Arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 14486-14487 of 2001)
(Arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 14486-14487 of 2001)
Articles 136, 142 – Complete justice – Setting aside of notifica-tions under sections 4 & 6 of Land Acquisition Act – Writ appeal pending- Motion made and Supreme Court directing appropriate adjustment for payment of compensation or to pay damages for possession, during pendency of appeal – High Court accordingly directing collector to fix rent compensation without notice and to pay the said compensation to petitioners – Orders understood by parties contrary to each other. Held that in order to avoid dilatory attitude, orders are set aside. Fresh orders to be passed by division bench. (Para 4)
1. Leave granted.
2. In a proceeding initiated by the state government under the Land Acquisition Act, the High Court quashed the notification under section 4(1) as well as the declaration made under section 6 of the Act. The said order was challenged by the state before a division bench of the High Court in a writ appeal. That writ appeal is still pending. During the pendency of the said writ appeal, a motion was made regarding the condition to be made pendente lite. That motion was disposed of by this Court in a decision which is reported in First Land Acquisition Collector, Calcutta and Ors. v. Daulat Singh Surana and Others (JT 2001 (4) SC 198). The operative portion of this Court’s order is extracted below:
“On the totality of the circumstances, we are of the view that appropriate adjustments could have been made during the pendency of the appeal by giving appropriate directions either for pay-ment of compensation within a particular period or to pay damages for possession of the property during the relevant peri-od.”
Thereafter, the appellants moved an application before the divi-sion bench ‘for appropriate orders’. The impugned order was passed by the division bench on the said application and it reads thus:
“Let the collector, Calcutta not fix the rent compensation with-out due notice to the writ petitioners and that amount of rent compensation be paid to the writ petitioners within a period of two months from the date of communication of this order. Accord-ingly, the application for appropriate order, is thus, disposed of.”
It was difficult for us to comprehend as to what the division bench would have intended. We put it to the learned counsel for the appellant as to what he understood. From the reply submitted, we feel that the understanding is contrary to what the respondent state has understood the order. In order to avoid the possibility of dilatory attitude to be taken by any interested person, we deem it fit to set aside the impugned order to enable the divi-sion bench to pass a fresh order in terms of the directions issued by this Court in the order extracted above. We are sure that the High Court shall pass the orders without any delay. Learned counsel for the state prayed before us that the High Court be requested to dispose of the main appeal itself without further delay. It is open to the state to make such a request before the division bench concerned.
When the impugned order is set aside the consequential order dated 23.7.2001 in C.A.N. No. 5886/2001 in FMAT No. 6/1997 shall also stand set aside. This would enable the division bench to pass fresh orders on the application made by the appellants.
With these observations, the appeals are disposed of.