Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 1: High Court imposed Rs 10 lakh as penalty on the Government for not paying compensation in lieu of land for the public purpose.
The land from the actual owner had been taken way back in 2017 for construction of a bridge in Bandipora district of north Kashmir.
The division bench of Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Javed Iqbal Wani directed the government to assess and determine the compensation of the land in question and pay the same to the land owner-Shabir Ahmad.
The officials of R&B department in its reply admitted that the land has been taken over for the purposes of construction of the Steel Girder Bridge and that grant of compensation was under consideration as per the stamp duty rate.
“The aforesaid facts and circumstances clearly reveal that the private land of the petitioner has been taken over by the respondents forcibly without the consent of the petitioner and without taking recourse to any procedure prescribed in law and the compensation is still consideration”, court said
The court said, it clearly reveals that the officials have violated the basic human right of the petitioner and deprived him of his property without following any procedure of law.
“In view of the above, the respondents are liable to be penalized for violating the basic human right of the petitioner and at the same time to pay compensation of the land at the stamp duty rate prevalent today as well as the rental compensation for its use and occupation from the year 2017 till date,” reads the order
The court accordingly directed the officials to assess and determine the compensation of the land payable to the private person within a period of 6 weeks and make payment within a further period of 3 months.
“The respondents (officials) at the same time shall also pay token rental compensation for the use and occupation of the aforesaid land from the year 2017 till 2021 i.e., 05 years @ Rs. 1.00 lac per year within 3 months from today,” Coury directed.
Court also said that in addition to this as on account of violation of the right to property of the petitioner which is guaranteed by the Constitution, the respondents are directed to pay special penalty of Rs. 10.00 lakhs to the petitioner within a period of three months.
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