MOHAN CHARAN DAS AND Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal by the Petitioner against the decision of the Arbitrator (District Judge, Puri) appointed under Orissa Act XVIII of 1948 awarding compensation at the rate of Rs. 400/ - per acre for the acquisition of the Petitioner's lease -hold property in Bhubaneswar, under the provisions of that Act for the development of the New Capital area. The acquisition took place in three installments on 11 -8 -1950, 21 -11 -1952 and 3 -4 -1953. The property acquired is just opposite to the Railway Station at Bhubaneswar, which has undoubtedly gone up very much in value ever since the construction of the New Capital in that area. The Petitioner claimed compensation at Rs. 7000/ - per acre whereas the Government estimated the compensation at Rs. 50/ - per acre. Reference was then made to the Arbitrator (District Judge of Puri) appointed under the Act on 27 -7 -1954. On 2 -4 -1955 the Petitioner through his advocate applied for permission to deliver certain interrogatories to the opposite party and the Arbitrator passed the following order in the order sheet of that day.

(2.) RULE 16 of the Rules framed under the said Act says that the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply to all proceedings before the Arbitrator, except where there is any inconsistency with those rules. Here there is no inconsistency at all, and hence the provisions of Order 11, Code of Civil Procedure, dealing with interrogatories would apply with full force. These interrogatories have great value here, because in them the Petitioner had given a complete list of several instances of sale of land near the disputed land by the Government themselves to various private parties during the years 1950, 1951 and 1952, and has also given full particulars of the sales and the numbers of the documents. These recent sales of similar lands in the vicinity have great importance in estimating the market value of the disputed property and the Government ought to have given their reply to the interrogatories if they challenged the correctness of the statements contained therein. The Arbitrator also should have insisted on the replies being furnished or else he should have taken further action according to law.

(3.) THE appeal is allowed, the award of the Arbitrator is set aside and the case is remanded to the Arbitrator (District Judge of Puri) for further hearing from the stage at which it was when the interrogatories were filed by the Petitioner on 2 -4 -1955. Government may be given reasonable opportunity to file their counter, if any, to those interrogatories and then both parties may be given further opportunity, if so desired, to adduce all available evidence relevant to the question and then the case may be disposed of according to law. The evidence already on record and the opinion of the two assessors, namely, the Executive Engineer and Shri B. C. Das may also be taken into consideration by the Arbitrator while giving his final award. Costs will abide the result.