Pramod Kumar and 10 Others Vs Union of India and 4 Others — Arbitration | Allahabad HC (2023)

Pramod Kumar and 10 Others Vs Union of India and 4 Others — Arbitration | Allahabad HC (2023)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Dismissed

Issue for consideration

Whether the compensation determined by the competent authority under the award dated 15.02.2018 passed under Section 3G of the National Highways Act, along with statutory interest under Section 80 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 from 12.05.2016, can be directed to be disbursed to the writ petitioners.

Court's answer

Since the petitioners had not been dispossessed from their landed property and cannot be dispossessed without deposit of compensation by respondent-NHAI in view of Section 3E of the National Highways Act, 1956, no relief can be granted to the writ petitioners for disbursement of the compensation determined by the competent authority.

Ratio / Principle

The sole prayer made in the writ petition cannot be granted.

Key takeaways

It is open to the writ petitioners to pursue the pending matter under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 before the competent Court.obiter¶13

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Allahabad High Court (Division Bench) dismissed a writ petition whose sole prayer was disbursement of compensation under the award dated 15.02.2018 passed under Section 3G of the National Highways Act, read with the National Highways deposit Rules of 1998 and 2019, together with statutory interest under Section 80 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 from 12.05.2016. Personal affidavits of the District Magistrate, Auraiya and the Project Director, NHAI established that possession of the land (acquired vide notifications dated 13.05.2015 and 12.05.2016) had not been taken and the petitioners had not been dispossessed. Held that the petitioners cannot be dispossessed without deposit of compensation by respondent-NHAI in view of Section 3E of the National Highways Act, 1956, hence no relief of disbursement could be granted while NHAI's challenge to the Arbitrator's award dated 09.09.2021 remains pending before the Civil Court under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Petitioners left free to pursue those pending proceedings.

Neutral Citation No. - 2023:AHC:119105-DB

Court No. - 29

Case :- WRIT - C No. - 34449 of 2022

Petitioner :- Pramod Kumar And 10 Others Respondent :- Union Of India And 4 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Punit Kumar Gupta,Poorva Agarwal,Pranjal Mehrotra,Rakesh Kumar Porwal Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Neeraj Dube,Pranjal Mehrotra

Hon'ble Mrs. Sunita Agarwal,J. Hon'ble Vikas Budhwar,J.

Heard Sri Punit Kumar Gupta, learned counsel for the petitioners, Sri Pranjal Mehrotra, learned Advocate appearing for respondentNHAI and Sri Suresh Singh, learned Addl. Chief Standing Counsel for the State-respondent.

Only relief prayed in the instant writ petition is to disburse the compensation to the writ petitioners under the award dated 15.02.2018 passed under Section 3G of the National Highways Act read with Rule 2 of The National Highways (Manner of Depositing the Amount by the Central Government with the Competent Authority for Acquisition of Land) Rules, 1998 and Rule 3 of The National Highways (Manner of Depositing the Amount by the Central Government; Making requisite funds available to the Competent Authority for acquisition of land) Rules, 2019 along with statutory interest U/s 80 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 from 12.05.2016.

In the personal affidavits of the District Magistrate, Auraiya and also the Project Director, NHAI filed in compliance of the directions issued by this Court, in the instant writ petition, it has come on record that neither the possession of the land in question has been taken by preparation of possession memo nor the petitioners herein have been dispossessed from their properties, which had been acquired vide notifications dated 13.05.2015 and 12.05.2016. The writ petitioners claim that the plots in question are abadi lands and they are contesting the proceedings initiated by the NHAI before the Civil Court under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 against the award passed by the Arbitrator dated 09.09.2021 for affirmation of compensation determined by the competent authority.

It is categorically submitted by the respondents and is proved from

the affidavits filed by them that the acquisition of the land in question is the third phase of acquisition for the development of the area around the National Highway. As the National Highway Authority was aggrieved by the determination of the compensation made by the competent authority under Section 3G, it has approached the Arbitrator under Section 3G (5). On the dismissal of the arbitration application, the proceedings before the Civil Court is pending under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

In the said scenario, once the petitioners had not been dispossessed from their landed property and in any case, they cannot be dispossessed without deposit of compensation by the respondentNHAI in view of Section 3E of the National Highways Act, 1956, no relief can be granted to the writ petitioners herein for disbursement of the compensation determined by the competent authority.

The sole prayer made in the writ petition cannot be granted.

It is open for the writ petitioner to pursue the pending matter under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 before the competent Court.

The writ petition is dismissed accordingly.

Order Date :- 29.5.2023 N.S.Rathour

Digitally signed by :- NIPENDRA SINGH RATHOUR High Court of Judicature at Allahabad