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TMI Blog2019 (9) TMI 1480X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Act, is bad in law, and consequently that Section 3J of the National Highways Act, 1956 be struck down as being violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India to this extent. 3. The facts of one of these appeals may be taken up as illustrative of the points for consideration in all these appeals. In Union of India & Anr. v. Tarsem Singh & Ors. (Civil Appeal No. 7064 of 2019 @ SLP (C) No.9599 of 2019), a notification dated 24.12.2004 was issued under Section 3A of the National Highways Act, 1956 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), intending to acquire land belonging to the Respondents for the purpose of four-laning National Highway No.1-A on certain stretches of the JalandharPathankot section as well as the Pathankot-Jammu section falling within the State of Punjab. On 11th July, 2005, the said lands were declared to have vested in the State pursuant to Section 3D(2) of the said Act. On 5th October 2006, the competent authority under the Act passed an Award in which compensation was calculated at Rs. 4,219/- per marla or Rs. 6.75 lakhs per acre. As this Award was disputed by the Respondents, an Arbitrator was appointed under the Act, who then arrived at a figure of Rs. 1. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ply. According to him, the Division Bench of the Rajasthan High Court in Banshilal Samariya vs Union of India 2005-06 Supp RLW 559, correctly distinguished this line of cases and equally correctly followed a line of judgments under various state town planning Acts, the Requisitioning and Acquisition of Immovable Property Act, 1952 and the Defence of India Act, 1971 to arrive at the conclusion that solatium and interest need not be paid in cases covered under the National Highways Act. He further argued that given the fact that market value on the date of publication of the Section 3A notification was to be given at the full market rate, there could be no fundamental right violated as solatium and interest that are granted are mere statutory rights which can be awarded if the statute so enjoins, and equally need not be awarded where a separate special statute expressly excludes them. He also contended, somewhat feebly, that since only strips of land adjoining the National Highways were required to be acquired, in many cases, the landowners would have properties which would not be subject to acquisition left with them, obviating any need to pay solatium to them. Finally, he also refe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d property was to be acquired, which, therefore, obviated payment of any solatium. They, therefore, relied upon the line of authorities which struck down provisions of statutes which did not grant solatium where land was acquired without first being requisitioned. They also took us through the judgment of the Division Bench of the Rajasthan High Court and pointed out that this basic distinction between the two sets of applicable precedents was not properly appreciated, leading the High Court to follow the wrong line of authority. On merits, they argued that in some cases in the Supreme Court itself, the then Solicitor General, Shri Ranjit Kumar, expressly stated that solatium will be paid to some of the persons who are covered by notifications under Section 3A of the National Highways Act. This apart, as was correctly observed by the Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the impugned judgment, the National Highway Authority being "State" under Article 12 of the Constitution of India, cannot file objections in certain cases and accept arbitration awards in others. In any case, no case has been made out under the limited jurisdiction to challenge arbitral awards unde ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ve the above objectives and alsoas both Houses of Parliament were not in session and the President was satisfied that circumstances existed which rendered it necessary for him to take immediate action, the National Highways Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 1997 was promulgated by the President on the 24th day of January, 1997. 6. The Bill seeks to replace the aforesaid Ordinance." 8. Pursuant to this, the amendments that were made to the National Highways Act, 1956 with which we are directly concerned, are set out hereinbelow: "3. Definitions. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,- (a) "competent authority" means any person or authorityauthorised by the Central Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, to perform the functions of the competent authority for such area as may be specified in the notification; (b) "land" includes benefits to arise out of land andthings attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth. 3A. Power to acquire land, etc. - (1) Where the Central Government is satisfied that for a public purpose any land is required for the building, maintenance, management or operation of a national highway or pa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... land should be acquired for the purpose or purposes mentioned in sub-section (1) of section 3A. (2) On the publication of the declaration under subsection (1), the land shall vest absolutely in the Central Government free from all encumbrances. (3) Where in respect of any land, a notification has beenpublished under sub-section (1) of section 3A for its acquisition but no declaration under sub-section (1) has been published within a period of one year from the date of publication of that notification, the said notification shall cease to have any effect: Provided that in computing the said period of one year, the period or periods during which any action or proceedings to be taken in pursuance of the notification issued under sub-section (1) of section 3A is stayed by an order of a court shall be excluded. (4) A declaration made by the Central Government undersub-section (1) shall not be called in question in any court or by any other authority. 3E. Power to take possession.- (1) Where any land has vested in the Central Government under sub-section (2) of section 3D, and the amount determined by the competent authority under section 3G with respect to such land has bee ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... by an agent or by a legal practitioner referred to in sub-section (2) of section 3C, before the competent authority, at a time and place and to state the nature of their respective interest in such land. (5) If the amount determined by the competent authorityunder sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) is not acceptable to either of the parties, the amount shall, on an application by either of the parties, be determined by the arbitrator to be appointed by the Central Government. (6) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the provisions ofthe Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (26 of 1996) shall apply to every arbitration under this Act. (7) The competent authority or the arbitrator whiledetermining the amount under sub-section (1) or subsection (5), as the case may be, shall take into consideration- (a) the market value of the land on the date ofpublication of the notification under section 3A; (b) the damage, if any, sustained by the personinterested at the time of taking possession of the land, by reason of the severing of such land from other land; (c) the damage, if any, sustained by the personinterested at the time of taking possession of the land, by reason of th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the attendance of anyperson and examining him on oath; (b) requiring the discovery and production of anydocument; (c) reception of evidence on affidavits; (d) requisitioning any public record from any court oroffice; (e) issuing commission for examination of witnesses. 3J. Land Acquisition Act 1 of 1894 not to apply.- Nothing in the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 shall apply to an acquisition under this Act." 9. Keeping in view the object of reducing delay and speedy implementation of highway projects, the amended National Highways Act does away with any "award" by way of an offer to the landowner. Post the notification under Section 3A, objections are to be heard by the competent authority, whose order is then made final. The moment the authority disallows the objections, a report is submitted to the Central Government, and on receipt of such report, the Central Government, by a declaration, states that the land should be acquired for the purpose mentioned in Section 3A. The important innovation made by the Amendment Act is that vesting is not postponed to after an award is made by the Competent Authority. Vesting takes place as soon as the Section 3D declaration is made. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... his disinclination to part with the land. The mere fact that he is negotiating for sale of the land would show that he is willing to part with the land. The owner is free to settle terms of transfer and choose the buyer as also to appoint the point of time when he would be receiving consideration and parting with his title and possession over the land. But in the compulsory acquisition the landowner is deprived of the right and opportunity to negotiate and bargain for the sale price. It depends on what the Collector or the court fixes as per the provisions of the Act. The solatium envisaged in subsection (2) "in consideration of the compulsory nature of the acquisition" is thus not the same as damages on account of the disinclination to part with the land acquired." Thus, the solatium that is paid to a landowner is on account of the fact that a landowner, who may not be willing to part with his land, has now to do so, and that too at a value fixed legislatively and not through negotiation, by which, arguably, such land owner would get the best price for the property to be sold. Once this is understood in its correct perspective, it is clear that "solatium" is part and parcel of co ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 100% of the market value multiplied by various factors, depending on whether the land is situated in a rural or urban area, constitutes minimum compensation package to be given to those whose land is acquired. The Fourth Schedule to this Act, to be read along with Section 105, expressly includes under Item 7, the National Highways Act, 1956. In Item 9, this Schedule also includes The Requisitioning and Acquisition of Immovable Property Act, 1952. By a notification dated 28th August, 2015 issued under Section 105 read with Section 113 of the 2013 Act, it is provided that the 2013 Act compensation provisions will apply to acquisitions that take place under the National Highways Act. The result is that both before the 1997 Amendment Act and after the coming into force of the 2013 Act, solatium and interest is payable to landowners whose property is compulsorily acquired for purposes of National Highways. This is one other very important circumstance to be borne in mind when judging the constitutional validity of the 1997 Amendment Act for the interregnum period from 1997 to 2015. Article 31-C 13. Articles 31-C and 39(b) of the Constitution of India read as under: "31C. Saving of l ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the fact that Sanjeev Coke (supra) adopted the reasoning of Krishna Iyer, J. in State of Karnataka vs Shri Ranganatha Reddy (1977) 4 SCC 471 and not the reasoning of the majority judgment of Untwalai, J. who stated that he must not be understood to agree with all that has been said by Krishna Iyer, J. in his judgment. The Court, therefore, referred the matter to seven learned Judges. When the matter came up before the seven learned Judges, reported in (2013) 7 SCC 522, this Court held that the statement made in Sanjeev Coke (supra), followed by several other judgments, that the "material resources of the community" would include privately owned resources, would be prima facie incorrect and hence the matter was referred to nine learned Judges of this Court, which reference is still pending. We have not deemed it necessary to refer this case to be tagged along with the reference to nine learned Judges, as we will assume for the purpose of this case that Article 31-C, as originally enacted, continues to exist and that the "material resources of the community" would include private property as well. 14. Shri Divan next referred us to State of Tamil Nadu vs L. Abu Kavur Bai (1984) ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ct, 1973 and the Tinsukhia and Dibrugarh Electric Supply Undertakings (Acquisition) Act, 1973 were challenged. These being nationalisation measures, this Court held that these enactments were entitled to the protection of Article 31-C. This nationalisation statute, again, is very far removed from the Amendment Act, 1997 to the National Highways Act. 16. It is well-settled that in order that a law avail of the protection of Article 31-C, it is not necessary that any declaration be made in that behalf. (See State of Maharashtra vs Basantibai Mohanlal Khetan (1986) 2 SCC 516 at 530). It is also important to remember that in order that a law be shielded by Article 31-C, the said law must have a direct and rational nexus with the principles contained in Article 39(b). (See Assam Sillimanite Ltd. vs Union of India 1991 Supp 3 SCR 273 at 290) 17. An example of a law which claimed the benefit of Article 31-C, but was denied such benefit is set out in Dr K. R. Lakshmanan vs State of Tamil Nadu (1996) 2 SCC 226 as follows: "44. The main object for which the Club was established is to carry on the business of race-club, in particular the running of horse-races, steeplechases or races of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... onomic system of the Madras Race Club". What is meant by the economic system of the Madras Race Club is not known. Even if it is assumed that betting by the punters at the totalizator and with the bookmakers is part of the economic system of the Madras Race Club, it has no relevance to the objectives specified in Article 39(b) and (c). We are, therefore, of the view that reference to Article 39(b) and (c) in the aims and objects and in Section 2 of the Act is nothing but a mechanical reproduction of constitutional provisions in a totally inappropriate context. There is no nexus so far as the provisions of the 1986 Act are concerned with the objectives contained in Article 39(b) and (c) of the Constitution. We, therefore, hold that the protection under Article 31-C of the Constitution cannot be extended to the 1986 Act." This is despite the fact that the impugned enactment, namely, the Madras Race Club (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertaking) Act, 1986 contained a declaration that it was enacted to give effect to the policy of the State under Article 39(b) and (c). 18. When we examine the Objects and Reasons which led to the 1997 amendment of the National Highways Act, we do not ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... asoning in the judgment, appears to take the view that while the provision for the takeover in the principal Act might amount to a power to acquire, however, the objects of the Amending Act of 1976, which merely sought to beat down the price could not be said to be part of that power and was, therefore, incapable of establishing any nexus with Article 39(b). There is, we say so with respect, a fallacy in this reasoning." The test of Article 31-C's protection being accorded only to those provisions which are basically and essentially necessary for giving effect to the objects of Article 39(b) is lifted from Akadasi Padhan vs State of Orissa 1963 Supp. (2) SCR 691, where this Court held, with reference to Article 19(6), that qua laws passed creating a State monopoly, it is only those essential and basic provisions which are protected by the latter part of Article 19(6). This Court stated the test thus: "17. In dealing with the question about the precise denotation of the clause "a law relating to", it is necessary to bear in mind that this clause occurs in Article 19(6) which is, in a sense, an exception to the main provision of Article 19(1)(g). Laws protected by Article 19(6) a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... basically and essentially necessary to carry out the object of the Amendment Act, would not receive the protective umbrella of Article 31-C and, therefore, any infraction of Article 14 can be inquired into by the Court. Article 14 - Discrimination 19. The sheet anchor of the case of the Respondents is the Constitution Bench judgment in P. Vajravelu Mudaliar vs Special Deputy Collector for Land Acquisition (1965) 1 SCR 614 and Nagpur Improvement Trust vs Vithal Rao (1973) 1 SCC 500. It is, therefore, most important to advert to these two decisions in some detail. 20. In P. Vajravelu Mudaliar (supra), the Madras Legislature amended the Land Acquisition Act providing for acquisition of land for housing schemes by laying down principles for fixing compensation different from those prescribed in the principal Act. These differences are set out in the judgment as follows: "The next question is whether the amending Act was made in contravention of Article 31(2) of the Constitution. The amending Act prescribes the principles for ascertaining the value of the property acquired. It was passed to amend the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, in the State of Madras for the purpose of enabling ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ces between persons owning lands in the Madras city or between the lands acquired which have a reasonable relation to the said object. It is suggested that the differences between people owning lands rested on the extent, quality and the suitability of the lands acquired for the said object. The differences based upon the said criteria have no relevance to the object of the Amending Act. To illustrate: the extent of the land depends upon the magnitude of the scheme undertaken by the State. A large extent of land may be acquired for a university or for a network of hospitals under the provisions of the principal Act and also for a housing scheme under the Amending Act. So too, if the housing scheme is a limited one, the land acquired may not be as big as that required for a big university. If waste land is good for a housing scheme under the amending Act, it will equally be suitable for a hospital or a school for which the said land may be acquired under the principal Act. Nor the financial position or the number of persons owning the land has any relevance, for in both the cases land can be acquired from rich or poor, from one individual or from a number of persons. Out of adjacent ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ublic purposes? 28. It would not be disputed that different principles of compensation cannot be formulated for lands acquired on the basis that the owner is old or young, healthy or ill, tall or short, or whether the owner has inherited the property or built it with his own efforts, or whether the owner is politician or an advocate. Why is this sort of classification not sustainable? Because the object being to compulsorily acquire for a public purpose, the object is equally achieved whether the land belongs to one type of owner or another type. 29. Can classification be made on the basis of the public purpose for the purpose of compensation for which land is acquired? In other words can the Legislature lay down different principles of compensation for lands acquired say for a hospital or a school or a Government building? Can the Legislature say that for a hospital land will be acquired at 50% of the market value, for a school at 60% of the value and for a Government building at 70% of the market value? All three objects are public purposes and as far as the owner is concerned it does not matter to him whether it is one public purpose or the other. Article 14 confers an indiv ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... otherwise, in P. Vajravelu Mudaliar (supra), despite the fact that the object of the Amendment Act was to acquire lands for housing schemes at a low price, yet the Amendment Act was struck down when it provided for solatium at the rate of 5% instead of 15%, that was provided in the Land Acquisition Act, the Court holding that whether adjacent lands of the same quality and value are acquired for a housing scheme or some other public purpose such as a hospital is a differentiation between two sets of landowners having no reasonable relation to the object sought to be achieved. More pertinently, another example is given - out of two adjacent plots belonging to the same individual one may be acquired under the principal Act for a particular public purpose and one acquired under the Amending Act for a housing scheme, which, when looked at from the point of view of the landowner, would be discriminatory, having no rational relation to the object sought to be achieved, which is compulsory acquisition of property for public purposes. 24. Nagpur Improvement Trust (supra) has clearly held that ordinarily a classification based on public purpose is not permissible under Article 14 for the pu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s. 27. However, it was argued that a line of judgments have distinguished P. Vajravelu Mudaliar (supra) and Nagpur Improvement Trust (supra) and that this line of judgments should be followed in preference to the aforesaid two judgments. 28. In Union of India vs Hari Krishnan Khosla 1993 Supp (2) SCC 149, this Court upheld the Requisitioning and Acquisition of Immovable Property Act, 1952 and stated that non-grant of solatium and interest which were otherwise grantable under the Land Acquisition Act would not render the 1952 Act constitutionally infirm. The Court undertook a minute distinction between the Land Acquisition Act on the one hand and the 1952 Act on the other. Thus, the Court stated: "43. Coming to dissimilarities, in the case of requisition, one of the important rights in the bundle of rights emanating from ownership, namely, the right to possession and enjoyment has been deprived of, when the property was requisitioned. It is minus that right for which, as stated above, the compensation is provided under Section 8(2), the remaining rights come to be acquired. 44. In contradistinction under the Land Acquisition Act, as stated above, the sum total of the rights, n ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 1983, allowed by this Court on January 31, 1983) no doubt was a case of acquisition under the Defence of India Act, 1962 but it contains no discussion. It has already been noticed that the award of solatium is not a must in every case as laid down in Prakash Amichand Shah case [(1986) 1 SCC 581]" 29. Similarly, in Union of India vs Chajju Ram (2003) 5 SCC 568, a case which arose under the Defence of India Act, 1971, this Court followed Hari Krishnan Khosla (supra), finding that the provisions of the Defence of India Act were in pari materia to those of the 1952 Act. The Court, therefore, held: "25. Here it is not a case where existence of the Acquisition Act enables the State to give one owner different treatment from another equally situated owner on which ground Article 14 was sought to be invoked in First Nagpur Improvement Trust case [(1973) 1 SCC 500]. The purposes for which the provisions of the said Act can be invoked are absolutely different and distinct from which the provision of the Land Acquisition Act can be invoked for acquisition of land. In terms of the provisions of the said Act, the requisition of the land was made. During the period of requisition the owner o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ear 1984. In terms of sub-section (2) of Section 23 of the Land Acquisition Act, therefore, solatium is paid in addition to the amount of market value of the land. 30. We are, therefore, of the opinion that the classification sought to be made for determination of the amount of compensation for acquisition of the land under the said Act vis-à-vis the Land Acquisition Act is a reasonable and valid one. The said classification is founded on intelligible differentia and has a rational relation with the object sought to be achieved by the legislation in question." 30. We may hasten to add that a Division Bench of this Court in H. V. Low and Company Private Ltd. vs. State of West Bengal (2016) 12 SCC 699 has found on a prima facie examination that the case of Chajju Ram (supra) requires reconsideration. 31. For our purposes, it is enough to state that the line of judgments under the 1952 Act and the Defence of India Act, 1971, which contained a two-step process, namely, requisition which may be followed by acquisition, are wholly distinguishable for the reasons stated in those judgments. As was stated in Chajju Ram (supra), the object of a Requisition Act is completely differ ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he local authority has to bear a part of the expenses of development. It is in one sense a package deal. The proceedings relating to the scheme are not like acquisition proceedings under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. Nor are the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 made applicable either without or with modifications as in the case of the Nagpur Improvement Trust Act, 1936. We do not understand the decision in Nagpur Improvement Trust case [(1973) 1 SCC 500 : AIR 1973 SC 689 : (1973) 3 SCR 39] as laying down generally that wherever land is taken away by the government under a separate statute compensation should be paid under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 only and if there is any difference between the compensation payable under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and the compensation payable under the statute concerned the acquisition under the statute would be discriminatory. That case is distinguishable from the present case. In State of Kerala v. T.M. Peter [(1980) 3 SCC 554 : AIR 1980 SC 1438 : (1980) 3 SCR 290] also Section 34 of the Cochin Town Planning Act which came up for consideration was of the same pattern as the provision in the Nagpur Improvement Trust Act, 193 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sent here nor pressed. Indeed, the State, realising the force of this facet of discrimination, offered, expiratory fashion, both before the High Court and before us, to pay 15%, solatium to obliterate the hostile distinction. 22. The core question now arises. What is the effect even if we read a discrimination design in Section 34? Is plastic surgery permissible or demolition of the section inevitable? Assuming that there is an untenable discrimination in the matter of compensation does the whole of Section 34 have to be liquidated or several portions voided? In our opinion, scuttling the section, the course the High Court has chosen, should be the last step. The court uses its writ power with a constructive design, an affirmative slant and a sustaining bent. Even when by compulsions of inseverability, a destructive stroke becomes necessary the court minimises the injury by an intelligent containment. Law keeps alive and "operation pull down" is de mode. Viewed from this perspective, so far as we are able to see, the only discriminatory factor as between Section 34 of the Act and Section 25 of the Land Acquisition Act vis-à-vis quantification of compensation is the nonpaym ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... answer to this question was that Section 11-A could not be so applied as the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act referred to the Land Acquisition Act as legislation by way of incorporation and not legislation by way of reference. In the present case, the Land Acquisition Act, by virtue of Section 3J of the National Highways Act, does not apply at all. The controversy in the present case does not, in any manner, involve whether the Land Acquisition Act applies by way of incorporation or reference. This case is also, therefore, wholly distinguishable. Further, the 'self-contained code' argument based on this judgment cannot be used as a discriminatory tool to deny benefits available to landowners merely because land has to be acquired under a different Act, as has been held in Nagpur Improvement Trust (supra). 35. Shri Mukul Rohatgi, learned Senior Advocate appearing on behalf of the Union of India and NHAI, has stated that under Section 3G(2) of the National Highways Act, where the right of user or any right in the nature of an easement on land is acquired under the Act, there shall be paid to the owner and any other person whose right is so affected, an amount calculated at 10 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ompensation to be made on account of the acquisition of land under this Act; and a person shall be deemed to be interested in land if he is interested in an easement affecting the land; xxx xxx 9. Notice to persons interested.- (1) The Collector shall then cause public notice to be given at convenient places on or near the land to be taken, stating that the Government intends to take possession of the land, and that claims to compensation for all interests in such land may be made to him. (2) Such notice shall state the particulars of the land soneeded, and shall require all persons interested in the land to appear personally or by agent before the Collector at a time and place therein mentioned (such time not being earlier than fifteen days after the date of publication of the notice), and to state the nature of their respective interests in the land and the amount and particulars of their claims to compensation for such interests, and their objections (if any) to the measurements made under section 8. The Collector may in any case require such statement to be made in writing and signed by the party or his agent. (3) The Collector shall also serve notice to the sameeffec ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the principal Act, in section 105,- (i) for sub-section (3), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:- "(3) The provisions of this Act relating to the determination of compensation in accordance with the First Schedule, rehabilitation and resettlement in accordance with the Second Schedule and infrastructure amenities in accordance with the Third Schedule shall apply to the enactments relating to land acquisition specified in the Fourth Schedule with effect from 1st January, 2015."; (ii) sub-section (4) shall be omitted." It is only when this Ordinance lapsed that the notification dated 28th August, 2015 was then made under Section 113 of the 2013 Act. This notification is important and states as follows: "MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT ORDER New Delhi, the 28th August, 2015 S.O. 2368(E).- Whereas, the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (30 of 2013) (hereinafter referred to as the RFCTLARR Act) came into effect from 1st January, 2014; And whereas, sub-section (3) of Section 105 of the RFCLTARR Act provided for issuing of notification to make the provisions of the Act relating to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... der the said enactments in the interest of the land owners; Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 113 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (30 of 2013), the Central Government hereby makes the following Order to remove the aforesaid difficulties, namely;- 1. (1) This Order may be called the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Removal of Difficulties) Order, 2015. (2) It shall come into force with effect from the 1st day of September, 2015. 2. The provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, relating to the determination of compensation in accordance with the First Schedule, rehabilitation and resettlement in accordance with the Second Schedule and infrastructure amenities in accordance with the Third Schedule shall apply to all cases of land acquisition under the enactments specified in the Fourth Schedule to the said Act. [F.No. 13011/01/2014-LRD] K. P. KRISHNAN, Addl. Secy." It is thus clear that the Ordinanc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... his Court. This order is quoted by us in full : "In view of the statement made by Shri Ranjit Kumar, learned Solicitor General of India on an earlier date of the hearing that solatium in terms of the impugned order of the High Court would be granted for the instant acquisitions made under the provisions of the National Highways Act, 1956, no subsisting issue remains in the present appeals as also in the special leave petition. The appeals as also the special leave petition are accordingly closed. The respondents - writ petitioners be paid solatium as due in terms of the impugned order(s) along with interest thereon." We were also referred to an order in Sunita Mehra v. Union of India (2016) SCC OnLine 1128, in which this Court held : "6. The only point agitated before us by the learned Solicitor General is that in paragraph 23 of the impugned judgment of the High Court, it has been held that landowners would "henceforth" be entitled to solatium and interest as envisaged by the provisions of Sections 23 and 28 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. In the ultimate paragraph of the impugned judgment it has, however, been mentioned that in respect of all acquisitions made under the N ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is score, the Division Bench judgments that are impugned before us ought not to have allowed solatium and/or interest. Ordinarily, we would have acceded to this plea, but given the fact that the Government itself is of the view that solatium and interest should be granted even in cases that arise between 1997 and 2015, in the interest of justice we decline to interfere with such orders, given our discretionary jurisdiction under Article 136 of the Constitution of India. We therefore declare that the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act relating to solatium and interest contained in Section 23(1A) and (2) and interest payable in terms of section 28 proviso will apply to acquisitions made under the National Highways Act. Consequently, the provision of Section 3J is, to this extent, violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India and, therefore, declared to be unconstitutional. Accordingly, Appeal @ SLP (C) No. 9599/2019 is dismissed. 42. Coming to the individual appeals in the case, Shri Mukul Rohatgi has raised essentially 11 grounds, which, according to him, require the Court's attention. We will deal with each of these grounds seriatim hereinbelow: Ground 1: That the acq ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... P (C) No. 15486/2019; SLP (C) No.14491/2019; SLP (C) No. 21662/2019; SLP (C) No. 21696/2019;SLP (C) No. 21657/2019; SLP (C) No. 21664/2019; SLP (C) No.21666/2019; SLP (C) No. 21671/2019; SLP (C) No. 21682/2019;SLP (C) No. 21675/2019; SLP (C) No. 21670/2019; SLP (C) No.21673/2019; SLP (C) No. 21663/2019; SLP (C) No. 21695/2019;SLP (C) No. 21691/2019; SLP (C) No. 21692/2019; SLP (C) No. 21693/2019; SLP (C) No. 10210/2019 In these matters, this ground has not been taken and argued in the Section 34 petitions filed in these cases. Further, assessment, in any case, of the land in question, relates to the date of the original notification. Therefore, these appeals stand dismissed. Ground 3: That exemplars of faraway villages in other districts were relied upon to enhance compensation. SLP (C) No. 15478/2019; SLP (C) No. 15482/2019; SLP (C) No.15472/2019; SLP (C) No. 15470/2019; SLP (C) No. 15442-15443/2019; SLP (C) No. 15488/2019; SLP (C) No. 15444-15445/2019; SLP (C) No. 15487/2019; SLP (C) No. 15479/2019;SLP (C) No. 15477/2019; SLP (C) No. 15485/2019; SLP (C) No.15474/2019; SLP (C) No. 15446/2019; SLP (C) No.15447/2019; SLP (C) No. 21688/2019; SLP (C) No.15471/2019;SLP (C) No. 15 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd dismissed. SLP (C) No. 15472/2019 In this matter, this ground has not been taken in the Section 37 appeal. Therefore, this appeal also stands dismissed. SLP (C) No. 15478/2019 In this matter, this ground has been taken up in the Section 34 petition, and the High Court, noting that the landowner gave up his claim on loss of structure awarded at the rate of Rs. 50,000 by the Arbitrator, held that no further adjudication is necessary on this point. Therefore, no interference is required, and this appeal also stands dismissed. SLP (C) No. 15482/2019; SLP (C) No. 15487/2019; SLP (C) No. 15479/2019; SLP (C) No. 15477/2019; SLP (C) No. 15474/2019; SLP (C) No. 15466/2019; SLP (C) No. 15446/2019; SLP (C) No. 15447/2019; SLP (C) No. 21688/2019; SLP (C) No. 15471/2019;SLP (C) No. 15448/2019; SLP (C) No. 15450/2019; SLP (C) No.21690/2019; SLP (C) No. 15486/2019; SLP (C) No. 21662/2019; SLP (C) No. 21691/2019 In these matters, though this ground has been argued in the Section 34 petition, as this ground is factual, no patent illegality arises. Therefore, these appeals stand dismissed. Ground 6: That compensation for shifting expenses was granted SLP (C) No. 15478/2019; SLP ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 1/2019; SLP (C) No. 21670/2019; SLP (C) No. 21663/2019; SLP (C) No. 9602/2019; SLP (C) No. 21687/2019; SLP (C) No. 21683/2019; SLP (C) No. 21689 /2019; SLP (C) No. 9604/2019; SLP (C) No. 21696/2019 In these matters, this ground has not been taken and argued in any of the Section 34 petitions. Therefore, these appeals stand dismissed. Ground 10: That compensation on account of severance of land was awarded SLP (C) No. 15470/2019; SLP (C) No. 15479/2019; SLP (C) No. 15471/2019 In these matters, this ground has not been taken and argued in any of the Section 34 petitions. Therefore, these appeals stand dismissed. SLP (C) No. 10210/2019 In this matter, this ground has not been taken in the Special Leave Petitions. Therefore, this appeal stands dismissed. SLP (C) No. 15485/2019; SLP (C) No. 15474/2019; SLP (C) No. 15447/2019; SLP (C) No. 15486/2019; SLP (C) No. 21691/2019 In these matters, though this ground has been taken in the Section 34 petition, no patent illegality arises. Therefore, these appeals stand dismissed. Ground 11: That compensation on account of loss of business was awarded SLP (C) No. 15487/2019; SLP (C) No. 21675/2019 In these matters, this ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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