Ashok Jagan Meshram v. State of Maha. Thr. Its Sec. Water Resources Dept. Mantralaya, Mumbai and Others
Case brief
What is this about?
Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench) dismisses two 2024 writ petitions claiming compensation for land held only briefly (31/05/1999 to 03/08/1999) before its formal acceptance as submergence area of the Gosikhurd Irrigation Project. Grounds: (i) land admittedly originally government-owned with no statutory provision recognising compensation entitlement; (ii) delay and laches - petitioners informed in 2012 that no compensation was payable yet filed twelve years later. Relevant searches: Gosikhurd Project oustees/allottees, compensation claims by persons allotted land already identified as submergence area, delay and laches as bar to writ petitions, absence of statutory entitlement for compensation.
What did the court decide?
Once it is admitted that the land for which the petitioners claim compensation was originally owned by the Government, it cannot be said that the petitioners are entitled to compensation.