STATE OF BIHAR Vs. CHINIBAS MAHTO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BOTH the appeals have been preferred by the State against the judgment dated 21st September, 1998 and the award dated 3rd November, 1990, passed by the Land Acquisition Judge, Chas, in L.A. Reference Case Nos. 360 of 1976 and 1 of 1989.

(2.) THE lands, in question, were acquired by the State in the year, 1960 -61 in favour of the Bokaro Steel Plant, Bokaro. A number of awards were prepared in favour of different claimants and many of them, being dissatisfied with the award amount, moved for reference under Sec.18 of the Land Acquisition Act. On similar issues, judgments having already been delivered by Division Bench of this Court (Ranchi Bench of Patna High Court), following those judgments, the Land Acquisition Judge answered the two reference in favour of the claimants and held that the claimants are entitled for compensation at the rate of Rs. 8,000.00 per Acre for paddy land and Rs. 6,000.00 per Acre for Gora land. The judgment of the Division Bench, on the basis of which references were answered, related to some other lands, acquired by the State for same purpose in favour of the Bokaro Steel Plant, at that relevant point of time. The Division Bench 'sjudgment, not having been challenged by the State before the Supreme Court, has already reached finality. The appeals, which are pending before the High Court for about fifteen years, could not be taken up due to pendency of large number of cases and shortage of Judges.

(3.) SEC . 89 was inserted by Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Act, 1999 with effect from 1st July, 2002 and provision was made enabling the Court to find out, if there exists element of settlement, which may be acceptable to the parties, to formulate the terms of settlement and give them to the parties for their observation and after receiving the observation of the parties, to formulate the terms of a possible settlement and to refer the same for settlement through alternative forum for resolution (Alternative Dispute Resolution - ADR).