Key Highlights
- Jharkhand High Court set aside the 2018 order of the Ranchi Tribunal in the Rajrappa land compensation dispute.
- The case concerns 18.19 acres of land acquired for the Rajrappa project in Ramgarh district in 1962.
- The appellants claimed the land was their raiyati property and that compensation had not been paid despite the original claimant receiving a Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) job.
- The High Court allowed additional documents, including parcha and other land records, to be brought on record.
- The court found the additional evidence relevant to a fair decision, particularly as similar documents had helped other raiyats receive compensation.
- The matter has now been sent back to the tribunal for fresh consideration.
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Ranchi: The Jharkhand High Court has set aside a 2018 tribunal order in a land compensation dispute involving 18.19 acres acquired for the Rajrappa project in Ramgarh district and sent the matter back for fresh consideration. The court said additional documents produced by the appellants were important for a fair decision and directed that they be taken on record.
The dispute relates to 18.19 acres in Mauza Sevai, Khata No. 83, covering plot numbers 656, 1134 and 1216. The appellants claimed that the land belonged to their family and was acquired by the Centre on 29th December, 1962, under the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957, for the Rajrappa project. The National Coal Development Corporation (NCDC), which later merged with CCL, was responsible for the compensation.
Family Claimed Job Was Given, Compensation Was Not
The legal heirs of original claimant Tikendra Chaudhary told the court that he had been given a job in CCL in lieu of the acquired land, but the family had not received land compensation. They relied on documents including a hukumnama, parcha, zamindari receipts and government records. The tribunal had rejected the claim in 2018 after finding that the required Form K and related parcha (papers) records had not been produced.
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During the appeal, the family produced the parcha and other documents as additional evidence. The High Court, presided over by Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi, accepted the documents under Order 41 Rule 27 of the CPC, observing that such evidence can be admitted at the appellate stage when it is necessary for a just decision. The court also noted that similar documents had played a decisive role in compensation claims by other raiyats from the same khata and plots. CCL had also acknowledged that the land was acquired and that the original claimant was given employment. The case will now be reconsidered by the tribunal.
