The Chhattisgarh High Court dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking cancellation/withdrawal of land acquisition proceedings at Village Kunkuni, District Raigarh.
The PIL filed by one Gopal Singh Judeo further prayed to:-
“1.b. For to take appropriate legal steps to return the land to aboriginal tribes or to the poor tillers.
1.c. For to enquire the entire matter with appropriate authority looking to the State non action and its bureaucratic approach.
1.d. For to direct the State Government to lodge criminal case against the scammers and state officers who were involved and found by the Kunkuni Land Scam Enquiry Committee.
1.e. For formation of Permanent High Power Coordinate Committee to monitor compliance of the Hon’ble Court’s Directions.
1.f. For to call entire records of Land Acquisition of this Land Acquisition proceedings, other land acquisition proceedings of village Kunkuni and its adjoining villages completed or going on to ascertain or to check repeated efforts. Also called the reports of involved firms and companies from appropriate Authority. “
N.K. Malviya ,counsel for the petitioner submits that the petition is filed as a public interest litigation, indicating that the petitioner is a public spirited person and not motivated by personal interests and resides in the village Kharsia, Thana and Tahsil Kharsia, District Raigarh (C.G.). No other petition of the same nature or involving the same issue has either been filed before this Court nor is pending.
It is further submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that after “Kunkuni Land Scam Enquiry Report, about 17 cases under Section 170-B Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code, 1959 were registered. Further cases in the office of Sub-Divisional office, Kharsia were initiated, but the Sub-Divisional Officer has held that both seller and purchaser both belongs to the same Schedule Category, it was also held that they due to lust they have initiated the proceedings under Section 170-B of the Act of 1959. There is non joinder of party i.e. MD CSID has not arrayed, hence dismissed the case on 15.04.2015 against which appeals were filed by villager before the Court of Additional Collector, Raigarh under Section 44 of the Act of 1959, after hearing the appeals, the Additional Collector, Raigarh allowed appeals on 08.04.2016 in-part and remanded with direction re-initiate proceedings after taking fresh amended applications irrespective their case.
It has been pointed out by learned Deputy Advocate General that in an identical matter in which matter pertains to land acquisition process, this Bench had dismissed WPPIL of 2019 (Bodh Ram Sidar vs. State of Chhattisgarh & Others) vide order dated 28.06.2023. Since the facts and issue involved in the present case is identical to that of WPPIL of 2019, this petition may also be dismissed in the same terms.
Having considered the rival submissions made by counsel for the parties and having gone through the materials on record, it is evident that the facts and issue involved in this petition is identical to WPPIL of 2019, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Rajani Dubey deemed it appropriate not to take a view other than what has been taken in WPPIL of 2019.