1 2026:CGHC:5104 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPC No. 2158 of 2021 1 - Jagannath Prasad Sahu S/o Late Sitaram Sahu Aged About 48 Years R/o Village Madanpur , Tahsil And District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh., District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 2 - Rangnath Sahu S/o Late Shyam Lal Sahu Aged About 53 Years R/o Village Madanpur , Tahsil And District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh. 3 - Shobharam Sahu S/o Late Latelram Sahu Aged About 61 Years R/o Village Madanpur , Tahsil And District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh. ... Petitioner(s) versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Secretary, Department Of Revenue Mahanadi Bhawan, Mantralaya , Atal Nagar, Naya Raipur , District Raipur Chhattisgarh 2 - Project Director Indian National Highway Authorization , Project Operation Unit, Bilaspur , District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh. 3 - Land Acquisition Officer / Sub Divisional Officer (Revenue) Bilaspur , District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh. ... Respondent(s) For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Abhinav Tiwari, Adv on behalf of Mr. Manish Upadhyay, Adv For Respondent No.2 : Mr. Dhiraj Kumar Wankhede, along with Ms. Aishley Shrivastava, Advocates For the State : Ms. Shailja Shukla, G. A. (Hon’ble Shri Justice Sachin Singh Rajput) Order on Board 29/01/2026 1. The petitioners have filed this writ petition seeking for the following relief(s):- 10.1 That, the Hon’ble Court by issuing appropriate writ set aside/ modified the award dated 01.07.2018 in both the case whereby directing the respondent 2 authorities to recalculate and thereafter pass the enhanced compensation amount to the petitioners in accordance with law. 10.2 Any other relief or relief(s) which this Hon’ble Court may think proper in view of the facts and circumstances of the case may also kindly be granted. 2. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the petitioner No.1 is the title holder of the land comprised in Khasra Nos. 1275, 1276, 1277 and 1470/ 2, P. H. No. 17 situated at Village Madanpur, Tahsil Bilaspur, District Bilaspur; petitioner No.2 is the title holder of the land comprised in Khasra No. 1724/ 1, P. H. No.36 situated at Village Ranigaon, Tahsil Kota, District Bilaspur and petitioner No.3 is the title holder of the land comprised in Khasra Nos. 1724/ 2 & 1723, P. H. No.36 situated at Village Ranigaon, Tahsil Kota, District Bilaspur which has been acquired by respondent No. 3 for the purpose of construction of a National Highway. An award dated 01.07.2018 was passed by respondent No. 3, whereby compensation amount of Rs. 12,11,345/- & Rs. 10,86,424/- in favour of the petitioner No.1; amount of Rs. 19,02,122/- in favour of petitioner No.2 and amount of Rs.16,44,300/- & Rs.13,75,520/- were awarded in favour of petitioner No.3. It is contended that the compensation has not been determined in accordance with law, as instead of applying a multiplier of 4, a multiplier of 2 was erroneously applied by respondent No. 3 while passing the award. Therefore, the present writ petition has been filed seeking the aforesaid relief. 3. Per contra, learned counsel for the respondents submit that the award is being challenged as less amount of compensation is being awarded to the petitioners and if the petitioners are aggrieved, they can challenge the same under section 3 G (5) of National Highways Act, 1956 before the Commissioner/Additional Commissioner, Bilaspur (Arbitrator) and by passing the same this writ petition has been filed. Therefore, this writ petition may not be entertained in light of 3 the availability of the alternative remedy. They placed upon the reliance of the judgment of this court passed in WA No. 423/2020 Puriram Kashyap and Ors. Vs. State of Chhattisgarh order dated 12.03.2021. 4. Mr. Tiwari submits that he may be granted liberty to make application before the arbitrator as stated above and who may be directed to decide expeditiously. 5. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record. 6. In view of the above, this writ petition is disposed of, granting liberty to the petitioners to file an application within a period of 45 days from the date of receipt of a copy of this order before the Arbitrator i.e. Commissioner/Additional Commissioner, Bilaspur Division, Bilaspur, in terms of the provisions contained in Section 3G(5) of the Act of 1956. It is expected that the said application shall be decided in accordance with law, after affording an opportunity of hearing to all stakeholders, within a reasonable period of time. Sd/- (Sachin Singh Rajput) JUDGE Parul PARUL MITTAL Digitally signed by PARUL MITTAL Date: 2026.01.30 17:14:42 +0530