STATE OF BIHAR Vs. PHATIK MANDAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These 16 Revision petitions have been preferred by the State of Bihar against the Order dated 16.7.1994 passed in LA. Execution Case Nos. 56, 1559 of 1988, 9 of 1989, 57 of 1988, 14 of 1988, 55 of 1988, 47 of 1988, 48 of 1988, 51 of 1988, 50 of 1988, 52 of 1988, 13 of 1988, 58 of 1988, 8 of 1989, and 54 of 1988 rejecting the objections filed by the petitioner as judgment debtor in all the above Execution cases under Section 47 of the Code of Civil Procedure challenging the executability of the decree arisen out of L.A. reference case No. 90 of 1979.

(2.) The facts in brief are that all the Execution cases arise out of the acquisition of 205.15 acres of land for the construction of Khudia Canal by virtue of a Notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act and a declaration under Section 6 of the Act. The Canal passed through 13 villages and, therefore, the acquisition of the land was made in 13 adjoining villages. The Land Acquisition authorities fixed the value of the land acquired and prepared separate awards in the names of the different claimants including the decree holders-Opposite parties in the present case. The claimants were not satisfied with the compensation awarded by the Land Acquisition authorities and as such made an application under Section 18 of the L.A. Act for Reference to the Civil Court for determining the adequacy of the compensation. In total a batch of 258 cases under Section 18 of the Act had been referred including the reference relating to the present Execution proceedings. Reference Judge tried the batch of reference cases analogously excluding three cases which were referred under Section 30 of the L.A. Act and then enhanced the compensation payable to the different awards by a common judgment dated 28.6.1979. While enhancing the compensation the L.A. Judge allowed interest to the awardees on the enhanced compensation at the rate of 6 per cent per annum and also solatium at the rate of 15 per cent as permissible under Section 28 of the L.A. Act, which stood prior to the Amended Act, 1984.

(3.) The awardees on the basis of the awards levied Execution proceedings separately for enhanced compensation and those proceedings have been dismissed on full satisfaction of the payment of enhanced compensation and solatiun on 1.7.1982. The State of Bihar against such enhancement in the L.A. Reference cases had preferred appeals before the High Court, but those appeals were summarily dismissed by the High Court on 6.8.1982.