MOHD SHAFT Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) TWO writ petitions listed together for hearing, owe their origin to the failure of the Collector, occasioned in disbursement of the compensation, awarded in their favour by a common award, favouring a number of owners in respect of a big chunk of land, structures, residential and non-residential, acquired on the directions of the state of Jammu and Kashmir for construction of Thein Dam Project at the expense of the State of Punjab, in pursuance of an agreement dated 20-1-1979, arrived at between the State of Jammu and Kashmir and the State of Punjab, inter alia involving acquisition of 30 non-residential structures including the structures of the petitioners in the two writ petitions on hand. Their grievances being similar, both on facts and law, therefore, disposal of both these petitions by this common judgment.

(2.) PARTIES are not at variance that the award has come into being on 14th June 1997 but disbursement of the compensation was made to await re-assessment in all the 39 structures, resultantly litigation by medium of three writ petitions. The objection having failed to prevail on the Court, the petitions were settled by three separate judgments, dated 26-12-2000, 31-8-2001 and 10-9-2001, commanding the Collector respondent to release the payment in favour of the petitioners therein. All the three judgments having attained finality, the compensation was paid to the petitioners therein but the compensation payable to the petitioners herein remains withheld on the similar ground as was urged by the Collector in the above decided writ petitions that is the awaited re-assessment. The said objection stands turned down by the judicial decisions referred above but impliedly, therefore settlement in explicit terms is called for. To achieve the purpose, it is appropriate to extract sub-section (1) of Section 12 of the land Acquisition Act (for short Act) :-12. Award of Collector when to be final. (1) Such award shall be filed in the collector's Office and shall, except as hereinafter provided, be final and conclusive evidence, as between the Collector and the persons interested, whether they have respectively appeared before the Collector or hot, of the true area and the value of the land, and the appointment of the compensation among the persons interested.

(3.) THE language of the section is unambiguous to the effect that the award is final and conclusive evidence, as between the collector and the persons interested, except as provided in the provisions, following section 12 and the relevant being Section 32 of the Act, may be reproduced :-32. Payment of compensation or deposit of same in Court:- (1) On making an award under Section 11, the Collector shall tender payment of the compensation awarded by him to the persons interested entitled thereto, according to the award, and shall pay it to them unless prevented by some one or more of the contingencies mentioned in the next sub-section. (2) If they shall not consent to receive it, or if there be no person competent to alienate the land, or if there be any dispute as to the title to receive the compensation or as to the apportionment of it, the Collector shall deposit the amount of the compensation in the Court, to which a reference under section 18 would be submitted.