In CWP-11921-2023-PUNJ HC- P&H HC declines to grant any interim relief which would scuttle project of development of Punjab Section of Delhi-Katra Expressway including green field connectivity to Amritsar
Justices Lisa Gill & Ritu Tagore [02-06-2023]

Read Order: DARSHAN SINGH AND OTHERS v. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS 

Tulip Kanth

Chandigarh, June 6, 2023: In a case of land acquisition where the petitioners were unaware of the fact that a supplementary award had already been passed, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has not found any ground to grant any interim relief to scuttle the project namely ‘Development of Punjab Section of Delhi-Katra Expressway including green field connectivity to Amritsar’.

The petitioners approached the Division Bench of Justice Lisa Gill & Justice Ritu Tagore contending that residential houses of the petitioners and certain other structures were being demolished without any supplementary award being passed for compensation qua the said structures.

NHAI’s Counsel informed that in so far as residential houses were concerned, there was only one residential house of Darshan Singh son of Baldev Singh and the main structure of the house was outside the alignment with only the boundary wall falling in the alignment. 

In respect to the boundary wall concerned, supplementary award had been passed by the competent authority and award for structures such as tube-well, bore-well etc.,  stood passed in June/August, 2022 but some of the petitioners had not even set up their claim qua the said structures.

The petitioners submitted before the Court that they weren't aware of any supplementary award, which had been passed and neither had they received the compensation thereof. However, they sought to raise other arguments and pleas challenging the very acquisition itself.

The Division Bench noted at the current stage, the arguments were addressed qua interim relief.

“We do not find any ground whatsoever to grant any interim relief at this stage to scuttle the project namely ‘Development of Punjab Section of Delhi-Katra Expressway including green field connectivity to Amritsar’”, the Bench said while adjourning the matter to July 10, 2023.