ANIRUDHA MANOHAR KHOPADE Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners have invoked Sec. 94 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act of 2013') to claim that the impugned letter dtd. 15/11/2025 issued by the respondent No.2 - National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) deserves to be quashed and that the respondents ought to undertake land acquisition proceedings pertaining to the remaining portion of Godown L1 situated at Mauje Bhoirgaon, Taluka - Bhiwandi, District - Thane. The petitioners own some galas in the remaining portion. On the other hand, the respondent - NHAI contends that Sec. 94 of the Act of 2013 is not available to the petitioners in terms of Sec. 105 thereof, as acquisitions undertaken as per the National Highways Act, 1956 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Highways Act') are not covered under the provisions of the Act of 2013. It is contended that even on facts, it can be demonstrated that the petitioners cannot take shelter of Sec. 94 of the Act of 2013, to thwart the construction work of Vadodara Mumbai Expressway, in respect of which maximum work has been completed, but for the stretch concerning Village - Bhoirgaon, Taluka - Bhiwandi, District - Thane.

(2.) It would be necessary to briefly refer to the chronology of events, in the backdrop of which the aforesaid competing claims made by the parties are to be decided.

(3.) The petitioners are owners of some galas in Godown L1 located at Village - Bhoirgaon, Taluka - Bhiwandi, District - Thane. The petitioners have placed on record copies of Index-II and other such documents to demonstrate their ownership in the respective galas. According to the petitioners, when they came across a demolition drive undertaken in respect of structures in the vicinity of Godown L1, they became aware about the acquisition of lands undertaken by the respondent No.4 - Competent Authority of the State for the purposes of the said expressway. On further enquiries, the petitioners became aware about the land acquisition award dtd. 24/11/2023, passed by the Competent Authority for land acquisition in order to make land available to the NHAI for construction of the said expressway as part of a National Highway Project.