HMT LTD Vs. RUKMINI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) By judgment dtd. 5/9/2019, a Division Bench of the High Court of Karnataka, Bengaluru, allowed Writ Appeal No. 17584 of 2011 and reversed the order dtd. 24/5/2010 passed by a learned Judge dismissing Writ Petition No. 16553 of 2006. The Division Bench directed HMT Ltd., respondent No. 4 in the writ appeal, to vacate and handover the identified land, admeasuring Ac. 4-21 1/2 Guntas in Survey Nos. 21 and 22 of Jarakabande Kaval Village, Bangalore North Taluk, to the appellants/writ petitioners or, in the alternative, the Union of India and officials of its Defence department, along with HMT Ltd., respondent Nos. 1 to 4 in the writ appeal, were held jointly and severally liable to pay the current guidance value of the land, as fixed by the State Government for non-agricultural land in square feet. In addition thereto, they were also held liable to pay rental compensation, calculated from 2/3/1973 till the date of payment along with simple interest thereon @ 6% per annum from the date the writ petition was filed. The Division Bench ordered that in the event its directions were not complied with, respondent Nos. 1 to 4 in the appeal would be jointly and severally liable to pay rental compensation from 2/3/1973 with simple interest thereon @ 6% per annum till the land was redelivered to the appellants/writ petitioners. The Division Bench concluded by stating that this would be an equitable remedy given the facts and circumstances of the case. Thereafter, by order dtd. 13/9/2019, passed upon an application filed by the appellants/writ petitioners, the Division Bench corrected certain errors in its judgment dtd. 5/9/2019.

(3.) These two orders are subjected to challenge by HMT Ltd., on the one hand, and by the Union of India and its officials in its Defence department, on the other. By interim order dtd. 10/1/2020 passed in the SLPs filed by HMT Ltd., this Court stayed the operation of the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court. An order to the same effect was passed on 29/10/2020 in the first SLP filed by the Union of India and its officials in the Defence department.