COURT: The Supreme Court of India

CORAM: Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, Justice Vikram Nath

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 14 March 2022

FACTS

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued an order directing all reference courts to accept the amount of land acquisition compensation awarded by the state of Haryana.

In a writ case filed by a landowner seeking compensation for property acquisition, the High Court issued the ruling.

Several claims for compensation release were allegedly made against the state of Haryana and the Haryana Shehari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) in various procedures, including execution cases for land acquisition by the state of Haryana. In order to satisfy such claims, the Chief Administrator, HSVP presented a so-called payment plan to the High Court in the aforementioned writ petition, which included proposals for extended payment schedules, with proposed compliance dates extending to August 15, 2022, October 15, 2022, and December 31, 2022.

After taking note of the abovementioned plan for releasing the amount of compensation, the High Court ordered that all Executing Courts in Haryana refrain from employing coercive measures, and that the Reference Court accept the amount of compensation as recommended by the respondent state.

Aggrieved by the orders the petitioners approached the Supreme Court through a SLP.

ISSUES

Whether the High Court was justified in giving broad directions applicable to all execution matters pending in Haryana while exercising writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India?

Whether the High Court was justified in issuing the impugned directives without giving the petitioner an opportunity to be heard?

JUDGEMENT

The matter required consideration, according to a bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Vikram Nath, who looked into the form and meaning of the assailed order.

The Court, in issuing a notice to the respondents, directed that, in the meanwhile and until future orders, the impugned order’s operation and effect shall be delayed qua the petitioner, and the petitioner shall be free to take whatever legal steps are necessary to recover the sum of compensation.