1 CGHC010146842022 2026:CGHC:36534 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPC No. 2181 of 2022 1 - Mohan Lal Dubey S/o Late Shri Ramratan Dubey Aged About 71 Years R/o Tulsi Awas 2/26, Raj Kishore Nagar, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 2 - Smt. Neera Bai, W/o Late Shri Tulsira Dubey, Aged About 71 Years R/o Village Raak, Tehsil Masturi, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 3 - Smt. Rekha Bai W/o Tulsinram Dubey, Aged About 43 Years R/o Village Raak, Tehsil Masturi, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 4 - Laxmi Narayan Dubey S/o Latre Shri Tulsiram Dubey Aged About 17 Years Through Legal And Natural Guardian Smt. Rekha Bai Aged Aged 43 Years W/o Tulsiram Dubey, R/o Village Raak, Tehsil Masturi, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 5 - Omprakash, S/o Late Shri Tulsiram Dubey Aged About 15 Years Through Legal And Natural Guardian Smt. Rekha Bai, Aged About 43 Years, W/o Tulsiram Dubey, R/o Village Raak, Tehsil Masturi, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 6 - Rohini, D/o Late Shri Tulsiram Dubey Aged About 20 Years R/o Village Raak, Tehsil Masturi, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 7 - Santosh Kumar Tiwari S/o Late Shri Shivkumar Tiwari, Aged About 48 Years R/o Village Malhar, Tehsil Masturi, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 8 - Vijay Kumar Tiwari S/o Late Shri Shivkumar Tiwari, Aged About 45 Years R/o Village Malhar, Tehsil Masturi, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 9 - Gayatri Bai D/o Late Shri Shivkumar Tiwari, Aged About 43 Years R/o Village Malhar, Tehsil Masturi, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. ... Petitioner(s) RAGHVENDRA JAT Digitally signed by RAGHVENDRA JAT 2 versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Secretary, Government Of Chhattisgarh, Department Of Revenue And Disaster Management, Mantralaya, Mahanadi Bhawan, Atal Nagar, Raipur, Chhattisgarh. 2 - Colletor, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 3 - Sub Divsional Officer (Revenue), Masturi, District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh. 4 - Sub Divisional Officer (Revenue), Mastru, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 5 - Managing Director, National Thermal Power Corporation, Ntpc Super Thermal Power Plant, Seepat, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 6 - Hemant Kumar Sharma, S/o Late Shri Slikram, Aged About 70 Years R/o Kila Ward Juna Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 7 - Smt. Mandakini Bai W/o Late Shri Malikram, R/o Kila Ward, Juna Bilaspur, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 8 - Smt. Kaushilya Bai W/o Late Shri Shivshankar Aged About 72 Years R/o Kila Ward, Juna Bilaspur, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 9 - Smt. Krishna Devi, W/o Late Shri Ramashankar Aged About 74 Years R/o Kila Ward, Juna Bilaspur, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 10 - Anand Kumar Sharma, S/o Late Shri Ramashankar Aged About 53 Years R/o S-9 Choubey Colony Sarkanda, Bilaspur,chhattisgarh. 11 - Prafulla Kumar Sharma S/o Late Shri Ramashankar Aged About 51 Years R/o S-10 Choubey Colony Sarkanda, Bilaspur,chhattisgarh. 12 - Pranav Kumar Sharma, S/o Late Shri Ramashankar Aged About 49 Years R/o Village Raak, Post Kaudiya, Tehsil Mastuyri, District Bilaspur,chhattisgarh. 13 - Pawan Kumar Sharma S/o Late Shri Ramashankar, Aged About 48 Years R/o Village Raak, Post Kaudiya, Tehsil Mastuyri, District Bilaspur,chhattisgarh. 14 - Prashant Kumar Sharma, S/o Late Shri Ramashankar Aged About 47 Years R/o Village Raak, Post Kaudiya, Tehsil Mastuyri, District Bilaspur,chhattisgarh. 3 15 - Bhagwati Bai D/o Ramashankar, W/o Jhamman Shukla, Aged About 47 Years R/o Ac 16, Choubey Colony, Sarkanada, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 16 - Laxmi Bai D/o Late Shri Ramashankar Aged About 46 Years R/o Village Raak, Post Kaudiya, Tehsil Mastuyri, District Bilaspur,chhattisgarh. 17 - Narmada Bai D/o Late Shri Ramashankar Aged About 45 Years R/o Village Raak, Post Kaudiya, Tehsil Mastuyri, District Bilaspur,chhattisgarh. 18 - Durga Bai D/o Late Shri Ramashankar, Aged About 44 Years R/o Village Raak, Post Kaudiya, Tehsil Mastuyri, District Bilaspur,chhattisgarh. 19 - Pushpanjali Bai D/o Late Shri Ramashankar, Aged About 43 Years R/o Village Raak, Post Kaudiya, Tehsil Mastuyri, District Bilaspur,chhattisgarh. ... Respondent(s) For Petitioner(s) : Ms. Anushka Sharma, Advocate on behalf of Ms. Anubhuti Marhas, Advocate. For Respondent(s)/State : Mr. Anmol Sharma, Panel Lawyer. For Respondent No. 5 : Mr. Anuroop Panda, Advocate. For Respondent No. 6. : Mr. H.V. Sharma, Advocate. For Respondents No. 10, 12 to 14 and 16 to 19. : Mr. Anurag Agrawal, Advocate on behalf of Mr. Abhijeet Mishra, Advocate. Hon’ble Mr. Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad Order on Board 17/08/2026 1. By way of this petition, the petitioner has prayed for following reliefs:- 4 “10.1 That this Hon'ble Court be pleased to call for the entire records from the respondents for its kind perusal. 10.2 That this Hon'ble Court be pleased to issue a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to compensate the petitioners for the damages suffered and pay the compensation of Rs. 16,14,838 along with 18% interest per annum thereon from 30/11/2000. 10.3 That this Hon'ble Court be pleased to direct the state authorities to take strict actions against the culprits and compensate the petitioners for the harassment and mental agony. Cost of litigation may also be awarded and the respondents be directed to compensate the petitioners by paying adequate compensation for the economic and mental harassment caused to them. 10.4 That any other order or orders, direction or directions, writ or writs, as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit under the facts and circumstances of the case may also be issued in favour of the petitioner against the respondents. 10.5 That costs of the petition may also be awarded to the petitioner.” 2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that, pursuant to the award dated 30.11.2000, the compensation amount has been paid to a person who, according to the petitioner, was not entitled to 5 receive the same. It is further submitted that, in this regard, the petitioner has filed an application before the concerned Collector- cum-Land Acquisition Officer under Section 84(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, seeking reference of the matter to the competent authority for appropriate adjudication. The said application is stated to be pending consideration. 3. Learned counsel for respondent No.5 submits that the compensation amount in respect of the acquisition of land for the NTPC Sipat Project was deposited by NTPC with the concerned Land Acquisition Officer, and the same was thereafter disbursed to the concerned persons by the Land Acquisition Office in accordance with the orders passed by the competent authority/Court. It is further submitted that respondent No.5 has no role in determining the entitlement of the respective claimants or in the disbursement of the compensation amount and, therefore, has no liability or role to play in the present matter. Accordingly, the petition, insofar as respondent No.5 is concerned, deserves to be dismissed. 4. Learned counsel for respondent No.6 submits that the petitioners are seeking recovery of the compensation amount paid to respondent Nos.6 to 19 in respect of the lands acquired for the NTPC Sipat Project, although the title and entitlement in respect of the acquired lands are still under dispute in the pending civil proceedings. It is submitted that the petitioners have suppressed 6 the material fact regarding the pendency of the title dispute and that there is no final judgment or decree declaring the petitioners to be entitled to the compensation amount. It is further submitted that the earlier civil suit was restored and subsequently dismissed in default, and an application seeking restoration of the said suit is presently pending before the concerned Civil Court. Therefore, the entitlement of the parties to the compensation amount is subject to the final adjudication of the pending civil proceedings, rendering the present petition premature and not maintainable. Accordingly, the petition deserves to be dismissed. 5. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record. 6. Having considered the submissions advanced by learned counsel for the parties and having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, particularly the fact that the petitioner has already submitted an appropriate application before the concerned Collector-cum-Land Acquisition Officer seeking reference of the matter to the competent authority, and further considering the submission that the matter has already been referred to the SDO- cum-Land Acquisition Officer, this Court is of the considered view that, at this stage, the relief sought for by the petitioner cannot be granted. The petitioner is, therefore, relegated to pursue the remedy before the concerned authority, which shall consider and decide the petitioner’s grievance strictly in accordance with law. 7 7. Considering that the matter has remained pending since the year 2020, the concerned Land Acquisition Officer is directed to consider and decide the pending application expeditiously, preferably within a period of 60 days from the date of receipt of a copy of this order, in accordance with law. It is made clear that this Court has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the claim of either party, and the competent authority shall take an independent decision on the basis of the material available on record. 8. With this observation and direction, the writ petition is disposed of. Sd/- (Amitendra Kishore Prasad) Judge Raghu Jat