State Of Uttarakhand And Others vs Ram Kumar Gupta

S.K. Mishra, J

The State of Uttarakhand, through its Principal Secretary, Irrigation, has preferred this Intra-Court appeal against the order passed by the learned

Single Judge in Writ Petition (M/S) No. 273 of 2011 dated 29.08.2017.

The simple order that has been passed by the learned Single Judge is as follows :-

“Prima facie, the case of the petitioner is covered under Government Order dated 28.03.2003 read with Government Order dated

15.10.2004. Equals cannot be treated unequally.

Accordingly, the writ petition is allowed. Impugned orders dated 14.01.2011 and 17.01.2011 are quashed and set aside. The Competent

Authority is directed to take a fresh decision in view of the Government Orders dated 28.03.2003 and 15.10.2004 within a period of six

weeks from today.â€​

The learned counsel for the State of Uttarakhand submits that the respondent-writ petitioner is not a land oustee and, therefore, he is not entitled to

grant of bhumidhari rights.

However, it is not disputed that the respondent-writ petitioner has land at Pathri Rau. The said land was acquired by the State of Uttarakhand to

rehabilitate the oustees of Tehri Dam. Though the petitioner was ousted from five acres of land, he was given land to an extent of only two acres.

Therefore, the learned counsel for the petitioner claims that the case of the petitioner should be considered as per the Government Orders dated

28.03.2003 and 15.10.2004.

Therefore, the State of Uttarakhand has filed this Special Appeal.

The State Government, being a model employer and a benevolent landlord, should always be sensitive and a model litigant. Frivolous Special

Appeals should not be filed by the State Government. It appears in this case that the respondent-writ petitioner is a land oustee, and he is being denied

the benefit under the Government Orders dated 28.03.2003 and 15.10.2004 only because he was not a direct land oustee of the Tehri Dam.

In any case, if the State Government has evicted the respondent-writ petitioner from his property for rehabilitation of the land oustee of the Tehri

Dam, then also he is entitled to the benefit that is given to the land oustee of the Tehri Dam.

With the aforesaid observation, we come to the conclusion that there is no merit in this Intra-Court Appeal. Therefore, the same is, hereby,

dismissed.

Urgent certified copy of this judgment be granted to the parties on proper application.