BALGOVIND AND OTHERS Vs. GENERAL MANAGER, WESTERN COAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this petition under Art. 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners challenge the common order passed in Misc. Civil Case No. 6/83, 7/83, 8/83 and 9/83, on 2-5-1984 by the learned District Judge, Surguja.

(2.) Brief facts leading to the petition are that the Collector, Ambikapur, granted surface rights in the land in dispute situate at village Telaikachhar, tahsil Surajpur, to the Western Coalfields. The Collector fixed the compensation at Rs. 21,100/-, Rs. 20,000.00 Rupees 18,000.00 and Rs. 50,000.00 respectively. The petitioners being aggrieved by the amount of compensation, contending that they are entitled to Rs. 3,21,000.00, Rs. 1,52,000.00, Rs. 2,09,500.00 and Rs. 2,80,000.00, moved applications in the Court of the District Judge under Sec. 247 of the M. P. Land Revenue Code, read with Sec. 18 of the Land Acquisition Act for determination of compensation in accordance with the provisions of Sec. 247 of the M.P. Land Revenue Code. Respondent Nos. 1, 2 and 3 after putting in their appearance, inter alia, pleaded that as Sec. 18 of the Land Acquisition Act was not applicable to the cases in hand, the Court could not assume any jurisdiction to entertain the application. It was also submitted that in the absence of any reference from the Collector or the Land Acquisition Officer, an application under Sec. 18 of the Land Acquisition Act could not be made directly to the Court. Various other objections were also raised. The learned District Judge heard the parties on the question of maintainability of the application and after hearing the parties came to the conclusion that the application under Sec. 247 of the M. P. Land Revenue Code read with Sec. 18 of the Land Acquisition Act is not maintainable. The applicants have preferred this petition being aggrieved by the said order.

(3.) Sec. 247 of the M.P. Land Revenue Code provides that the Government is the owner of all minerals under the land. Sec. 247(1) provides that unless it is otherwise expressly provided by the terms of a grant, right to all minerals, mines and quarries shall vest in the State Government, which shall have all powers necessary for the proper enjoyment of such rights. According to subsection (2) of Sec. 247, the right to all mines and quarries includes right of access to land for the purpose of mining and quarrying and the right to occupy such other land as may be necessary for the purposes subsidiary there to and any other purpose which the State Government may declare to be subsidiary to mining and quarrying shall also vest in the State Government. According to sub-section (3), if the Government assigns to any person its right over any mineral, mines or quarries and if it is necessary that for the enjoyment of such rights the powers specified in sub-section (1) and (2) be exercised by such person, the Collector may by an order in writing, subject to such conditions and reservations as he may specify delegate such powers to the person to whom the right has been assigned, provided that no such delegation shall be made until a notice has been duly served on all persons having rights in the land affected and their objections have been heard and considered. According to sub-section (4) of Sec. 247, if, in the exercise of the right, rights of any persons are infringed by occupation or disturbance of the surface of such land, the Government or the assignee shall pay to such persons compensation for such infringement and the amount of such compensation shall be calculated by the Sub-Divisional Officer, or, if his award is not accepted, by the civil Court, as nearly as may be, in accordance with the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. At this stage, we are not concerned with sub-sections (5), (6), (7) or (8) of Sec. 247. We are mainly concerned with sub-section (4) of Sec. 247 of the M. P. Land Revenue Code (referred to as Code hereinafter).