The High Court modified the Permanent Lok Adalat award by reducing compensation from Rs. 4.5L to Rs. 3L, finding the Adalat erred in accepting 15 acres of damage versus respondents' claim of 10 acres.
The writ petition was allowed in part; compensation modified to Rs. 3,00,000/- with interest at 6% per annum.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
NC: 2023:KHC-D:13308 WP No. 86176 of 2013
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA, DHARWAD BENCH DATED THIS THE 16TH DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2023 BEFORE
THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE M.I.ARUN WRIT PETITION NO. 86176 OF 2013 (GM-RES)
BETWEEN:
…PETITIONERS
(BY SRI MALLIKARJUN S. HIREMATH, ADVOCATE)
AND:
SRI GANGAPPA YALLAPPA DODAWAD, SINCE DECEASED BY HIS L/RS,
GIRIJA A BYAHATTI Digitally signed by GIRIJA A BYAHATTI
ALL ARE RESIDENTS OF MADANABHAVI, TQ & DIST: DHARWAD. (RESPONDENT NO.3 IS REP. AS S.P.A. HOLDER ON BEHALF OF R-1 & 5)
…RESPONDENTS
(BY SRI V.R. DATAR, ADVOCATE FOR R1 TO R6 – ABSENT)
THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO ISSUE A WRIT OF CERTIORARI QUASHING THE ORDER DATED 11.09.2013 AT ANNEXURE-D PASSED BY THE COURT OF THE PERMANENT LOK ADALAT, DHARWAD IN PLA NO.235/2012, AND CONSEQUENTLY DISMISS THE CLAIM PETITION FILED BY THE RESPONDENTS HEREIN FOR COMPENSATION.
THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING
IN ‘B’ GROUP, THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING:
ORDER
Aggrieved by the order dated 11.09.2013 passed by the Court of Permanent Lok Adalat, Dharwad in PLA No.235/2012, the respondents therein have preferred this writ petition.
Inspector’s report does not mention that respondents have sustained the said loss. It is also contended that even otherwise, the respondents made a claim for loss of sugarcane to an extent of 10 acres, but the Tribunal has awarded loss of sugarcane to an extent of 15 acres and the impugned order is liable to be set aside on these grounds.
corroborated by the report of the Village Accountant.
There is no reason to disbelieve the same.
circumstances of the case, based on the evidence let in, the Permanent Lok Adalat has rightly held that there was fire on the lands of the respondents and it resulted in loss of sugarcane to the respondents. However, the question remains whether the Permanent Lok Adalat was correct in holding that sugarcane grown in 15 acres has been burnt. Though the report of Village Accountant shows that about 15 acres of sugarcane belonging to the respondents has been burnt, the respondents themselves have stated in their claim petition that out of 29 acres, that they had grown sugarcane in only about 10 acres of the land and the Permanent Lok Adalat could not have held the same to be a mistake. In my opinion, the Permanent Lok Adalat erred in coming to the conclusion that there was a loss of sugarcane to an extent of 15 acres of land when the respondents themselves in their claim petition claimed
that there was loss of sugarcane grown in 10 acres of land. For that reason, the compensation awarded requires to be proportionately reduced from Rs.4,50,000/- to a sum of Rs.3,00,000/-. Hence, the order of the Permanent Lok Adalat is modified as hereunder:
ORDER
ii. The respondents herein are entitled to a total compensation of Rs.3,00,000/- with an interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of petition before the Permanent Lok Adalat till realization from the petitioners.
iii. The petitioners are liable to pay to the respondents herein, the said compensation amount after deducting the amount already paid and the balance amount be paid within a period of six weeks from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order.
iv. The amount in deposit shall be stand
transferred to the petitioners for the purposes of dispersal to the respondents.
Sd/JUDGE
RSH / Ct-mck List No.: 1 Sl No.: 23
2 issues framed by the court
Whether the Permanent Lok Adalat erred in determining the extent of sugarcane burnt at 15 acres when respondents claimed only 10 acres.
Whether the compensation awarded by the Permanent Lok Adalat required modification due to overestimation of damaged area.
The Managing Director, HESCORP, Hubli
The Executive Engineer (EL), HESCORP, Dharwad
Sri Gangappa Yallappa Dodawad
M.I. Arun
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
