SC sets aside Punjab & Haryana HC order for ‘uniform’ damages for Haryana landowners

The Supreme Court has set aside the Punjab and Haryana High Court's verdict which justified uniform damages for the land used for the Right of Way (ROW) by a 400 KV power transmission line in Haryana, saying it would not be a proper methodology for assessing damages to landowners under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.

A Bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Rajesh Bindal asked the high court to reconsider the matter according to the law.

Writing the judgment for the Bench, Justice Bindal said, “Some portion of land may be close to a National Highway or State Highway or some other roads; some may be close to Abadi, whereas some portion of land may be falling within rural areas where the land is used only for agricultural purpose and with no connectivity by roads as such. Applying a uniform rate for the entire transmission corridor would not be a proper methodology for assessing fair compensation to which the landowners are entitled to.”

The order came on petitions challenging a February 24, 2023, judgment of the High Court on the ground that while determining the compensation, the High Court erred in treating diverse lands identically as it relied on the collector's rate for one village (Rai, Sonepat) and applied it across the entire 100 km stretch. In fact, the dispute was over damages caused by erection of transmission towers and overhead lines that affected land in Sonepat and Jhajjar districts of Haryana.

On behalf of the contractor challenging the high court’s order enhancing the damages, senior counsel Nidhesh Gupta argued that the entire contract was of Rs 44 crore while the damages, if computed in accordance with the high court’s order, would exceed the contract amount, making it unviable.

The Bench accepted Gupta’s arguments that there was no basis for assessment of huge compensation on account of use of the land for erection of towers and drawing of the power lines. The area beneath the transmission lines could be utilised by the landowners subject to certain restrictions and the ownership of the land was not transferred, Gupta contended.

Disputes arising from erection of transmission towers and overhead lines, including those regarding damages/compensation, are governed by the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, and are adjudicated by the District Judge. The orders of the District Judge are deemed 'final,' with no statutory right of appeal.

In view of this legal position, the top court recommended to the Centre to consider introducing a statutory appeal against the compensation awarded by the District Judge under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 for land used to provide ROW for power transmission lines.

“We are of the opinion that these issues need to be examined by the Law Commission of India and the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, so as to determine whether a statutory remedy of appeal should be provided against judgments/orders passed under Sections 16(3) and 16(4) of the 1885 Act, the Petroleum Act or any other similar statute,” it said.

The Bench noted that because of the existing legislative gap that has created an absence of an appellate remedy, affected parties invoked writ jurisdiction under Articles 226/227 to approach high courts which cannot reappreciate evidence.

In its August 19 verdict, it directed the top court’s Registry to forthwith send a copy of the order to the Secretary, Legislative Department of the Union Ministry of Law and Justice to examine the issue regarding the remedy of statutory appeal and take appropriate steps.