It is submitted that the District Magistrate has determined the compensation as provided under Section 10(d) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 by order dated 13.7.2016. The order of the District Magistrate was subject matter of challenge in Writ Petition No. 3679 of 2017 by the present petitioner with regard to different set of farmers. The challenge was that the District Magistrate has no power to determine compensation. The judgment in that writ petition dated 5.9.2018 has held that the District Magistrate has the power to determine compensation. It appears that the other set of farmers had approached this Court by filing Writ Petition No. 37675 of 2018 for payment of compensation seeking parity with the earlier order dated 5.9.2018, but the Court by order dated 29.3.2019 has held that such determination with regard to the amount of compensation, determining the value of the trees cut from two different districts, is not in the competence of the Court to decide and, therefore, referred the matter to the committee so constituted which looking into the grievance of the petitioners in that writ petition determined compensation.
