APHC010232922018 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3333] WEDNESDAY, THE 15th DAY OF JULY 2026 PRESENT THE HONOURABLE SMT JUSTICE V.SUJATHA WRIT PETITION NO: 10228/2018 Between: 1. BOLLU NAGABHUSANAM, S/O NARSAIAH, AGED ABOUT 76 YRS. R/O SREEDHARAVELERU VILLAGE, KUKUNOOR MANDAL, WEST GODAVARI DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH. 2. BOLLU RUKMINAMMA, W/O BOLLU NAGABHUSANAM, AGED ABOUT 70 YRS. R/O SREEDHARAVELERU VILLAGE, KUKUNOOR MANDAL, WEST GODAVARI DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH. 3. BOLLU SRINIVASA RAO, S/O BOLLU NAGABHUSANAM, AGED ABOUT 55 YRS. R/O SREEDHARAVELERU VILLAGE, KUKUNOOR MANDAL, WEST GODAVARI DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH. 4. SMT. BOLLU PADMA, W/O BOLLU SRINIVASA RAO, AGED ABOUT 45 YRS. R/O SREEDHARAVELERU VILLAGE, KUKUNOOR MANDAL, WEST GODAVARI DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH. ...PETITIONER(S) AND 1. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, REP.BY ITS SECRETARY, IRRIGATION DEPARTMENT (POLAVARAM PROJECT), GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH, SECRETARIAT, AMARAVATHI, GUNTUR DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH. 2. THE LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER AND SUB COLLECTOR, 2 VS,J W.P.No.10228 of 2018 KUKUNOOR, WEST GODAVRI DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH. THE LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER, POLAVARAM PROJECT, KUKUNOOR, WEST GODAVRI DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH. 3. THE LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER, POLAVARAM PROJECT, KUKUNOOR, WEST GODAVRI DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH. 4. BOLLU KRISHNA ARJUN RAO, S/O. BUTCHAIAH, AGED ABOUT 63 YEARS, OCC BUSINESS, R/O. BURGHAMPAHAD, BHADRADRI KOTHAGUDEM DISTRICT. 5. BOLLU SRINIVASA RAO, S/O. BUTCHAIAH, AGED ABOUT 55 YEARS, OCC BUSINESS, R/O. H.NO. 744, BURGAMPAHAD, BHADRADRI, KOTHAGUDEM DISTRICT, TELANGANA STATE. 6. BOLLU LAKSHMANA RAO, S/O. BUCHAIAH, AGED ABOUT 74 YEARS, R/O. D.NO.4-9-3/AKN/P84NP, AKASH NAGAR, PRAGATHI NAGAR, VIJAYA NAGAR COLONY, HAYATHNAGAR, K.V RANGAREDDY DISTRICT, TELANGANA. RR 4 TO 6 ARE IMPLEADED AS PER COURTS ORDER DT. 01.07.2026 IN I.A.NO.2 OF 2018 AND I.A.NO.1 OF 2026 ...RESPONDENT(S): Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed therewith, the High Court may be pleased to to issue an appropriate writ, order or direction, particularly one in the nature of Mandamus, declaring the Notices issued by the 2nd respondent herein Ri.Ka.No.A/98/2016 dt. 17-2-2018 and also Notice No.A/98/2016 dt. 21-3-2018 as illegal, arbitrary, unreasonable, violative of principles of natural justice, contrary to the provisions of Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 and also violative of Articles 14, 21 and 300-A of the Constitution of India and issue a consequential direction to the respondents herein not to give effect to the same and pass IA NO: 1 OF 2018 Petition under Section 151 CPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court may be pleased to 3 VS,J W.P.No.10228 of 2018 stay the Notices issued by the 2nd respondent herein Ri.Ka.No.A/98/2016 dt. 17-2-2018 and also Notice No.A/98/2016 dt. 21-3-2018, pending disposal of the above writ petition and pass IA NO: 2 OF 2018 Petition under Section 151 CPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court may be pleased to implead the petitioner as Respondent No. 4 in W.P.No. 10228 of 2018 and pass IA NO: 1 OF 2026 Petition under Section 151 CPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court may be pleased May be pleased to implead us as respondent Nos.5 and 6 in W.P No. 10228 of 2018 as well as in the LA’s and pass IA NO: 2 OF 2026 Petition under Section 151 CPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court may be pleased maybe pleased to Permit the petitioners to file Additional affidavit in the WP No. 10228 of 2018 and pass Counsel for the Petitioner(S): 1. P PRABHAKAR RAO Counsel for the Respondent(S): 1. GP FOR LAND ACQUISITION (AP) 2. SOMISETTY GANESH BABU 3. P VISHNUVARDHANA REDDY 4. GP FOR IRRI AND CAD (AP) The Court made the following: 4 VS,J W.P.No.10228 of 2018 ORDER: This Writ Petition came to be filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeking the following prayer: “…to issue an appropriate writ, order or direction, particularly one in the nature of Mandamus, declaring the Notices issued by the 2nd respondent herein Ri.Ka.No.A/98/2016 dt. 17-2-2018 and also Notice No.A/98/2016 dt. 21-3-2018 as illegal, arbitrary, unreasonable, violative of principles of natural justice, contrary to the provisions of Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 and also violative of Articles 14, 21 and 300-A of the Constitution of India and issue a consequential direction to the respondents herein not to give effect to the same and pass…” 2. The petitioners’ lands admeasuring Acs.10.13 cents situated in S.Nos.93, 98, 106, 111, 135 of Sridharaveleu village, Kukunoor mandal, West Godavari district were acquired by the Government due to submergence under Polavaram Irrigation Project. While the respondent authorities were initiating steps to award compensation to the petitioners, the respondent Nos.4 and 5 filed W.P.No.39055 of 2016 before this Court questioning the award proceedings; the said writ petition was disposed of on 08.03.2017 directing the petitioners and respondent Nos.4 and 5 to raise all objections before the 2nd respondent. However, as the respondent Nos.4 and 5 did not raise any objection before the 2nd respondent, the 2nd 5 VS,J W.P.No.10228 of 2018 respondent, after conducting due enquiry and after considering the evidence on record, passed an award vide Roc.No.A/90/2016, dated 24.03.2017 in respect of the petitioners’ lands and thereafter, the 2nd respondent has also deposited the compensation amount into the petitioners’ individual bank accounts. 3. Thereafter, the respondent Nos.4 and 5 filed W.P.No.12154 of 2017 before this Court questioning the award dated 24.03.2017, which was disposed of along with W.P.No.12119 and 12169 of 2017 by way of a common order dated 01.08.2017, wherein, this Court observed as under: “…However, it came to light that though this Court granted an order of status quo, in W.P.No.12169 of 2017 the amount was already disbursed, whereas in other two writ petitions i.e., W.P.Nos.12119 and 12154 of 2017 the amount was not disbursed. If that is so, liberty is given to the petitioners to approach the competent authority constituted under Section 51 of the Land Acquisition Act for determining the rights of the petitioners and the respondents 6 and 7 inter se and pass appropriate orders in accordance with law determining the right to receive compensation for the lands acquired by the Government. It is needless to observe that the respondents 2 and 3 shall send the record to the competent authority for determination and the competent authority shall dispose of the claims in accordance with law, within a period of six (6) months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order, giving due opportunity to the parties. Till the determination of the claims by the competent 6 VS,J W.P.No.10228 of 2018 authority, there shall be status quo with regard to disbursement of the amount covered by the awards…” 4. The case of the petitioners is that by the time this Court has passed the said common order i.e., on 01.08.2017, compensation amounts were already disbursed to the petitioners accounts in the month of March, 2017. While the matter stood thus, the 2nd respondent, issued a notice on 17.02.2018 directing the petitioners to repay the compensation amount received by them as if it is directed by this Court in the common order dated 01.08.2017. Immediately, the petitioners submitted an explanation on 26.02.2018 stating that this Court has never directed the respondent authorities to recover the compensation from the petitioners pursuant to the award dated 24.03.2017 and as such, requested to withdraw the said notice. In spite of submitting an explanation to the show cause notice dated 17.02.2018, the 2nd respondent has issued the impugned notice dated 21.03.2018 on the same grounds, aggrieved by which, the petitioners filed the present writ petition. 5. When the writ petition came up for admission on 29.03.2018, this Court granted stay of all further proceedings pursuant to the notices issued by the 2nd respondent on 17.02.2018 and also the notice bearing No.A/98/2016, dated 21.03.2018 pending disposal of the writ petition. 7 VS,J W.P.No.10228 of 2018 6. Heard Sri. P. Prabhakara Rao, learned counsel for the petitioners, learned Assistant Government Pleader for Revenue and Sri. Somisetty Ganesh Babu, learned counsel for respondent Nos. 4 to 6. 7. Perused the entire material available on record. It can be seen that the subject lands, allegedly belonging to the petitioners, were acquired by the 2nd respondent for the purpose of developing Polavram Irrigation Project and while the respondent authorities were initiating steps to pay compensation to the petitioners herein, the respondent Nos.4 and 5 filed W.P.No.39055 of 2016 before this Court questioning the said action of the respondent authorities, wherein this Court passed a final order on 08.03.2017, directing the petitioners herein as well as the respondent Nos.4 and 5 to raise objections before the 2nd respondent herein. Pursuant to the said order, as the respondent Nos.4 and 5 failed to raise any objection, the 2nd respondent, considering the documents submitted by the petitioners, passed an award vide Roc.No.A/90/2016, dated 24.03.2017 holding that the petitioners are entitled for compensation of Rs.59,02,730/- and Rs.64,65,008/-. 8. Subsequently, in the month of April, 2017, the respondent Nos.4 and 5 approached this Court by filing W.P.No.12154 of 2017 seeking a direction to the respondent authorities not to release the compensation amount in favour of the petitioners herein or any third 8 VS,J W.P.No.10228 of 2018 parties. The said writ petition was heard by this Court along with W.P.Nos.12119 and 12169 of 2017 and a common order was passed on 01.08.2017, granting liberty to the petitioners therein to approach the competent authority constituted under Section 51 of the Land Acquisition Act for determining the rights of all the parties therein and the competent authority was directed to pass appropriate orders in accordance with law, determining the right to receive compensation for the lands acquired by the Government. Furthermore, the Court granted status quo with regard to disbursement of the amount covered by the awards, till determination of claims by the competent authority. It is to be noted that in the said common order, this Court has specifically observed that in W.P.No.12169 of 2017, the amounts were disbursed to the concerned, but whereas in two other writ petitions i.e., W.P.Nos.12154 and 12119 of 2017, the amounts were not disbursed.. 9. The present impugned notices were issued to the petitioners on 17.02.2018 and 21.03.2018, directing them to repay the amount received as compensation, to the Sub-Collector, Kukunoor by demand draft. It is the case of the petitioners that by the time the common order dated 01.08.2017 was passed by this Court granting status quo with regard to disbursement of amounts covered under the respective awards, the compensation amount of Rs.59,02,730/- and Rs.64,65,008/- was 9 VS,J W.P.No.10228 of 2018 already credited in the petitioners’ bank account. In support of the same, the petitioners filed an additional affidavit enclosing the transaction statement of the petitioners’ bank account bearing account Nos.32709264917 and 32709266663 of State Bank of India, Charla road, Bhadrachalam branch. A perusal of the same would go to show that the said amounts were credited to the petitioners’ bank accounts on 04.05.2017, which is admittedly before passing of the common order dated 01.08.2017. 10. It is the case of respondent Nos.4 to 6 that pursuant to the directions of this Court in the common order dated 01.08.2017, they have approached the Court of the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Authority, Vijayawada Region, Vijayawada by filing I.A.No.63 of 2019 under Section 64 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 with a plea to direct the 2nd respondent herein, to refer the matter to the Court of the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Authority, Vijayawada Region, Vijayawada under Section 64 read with 77 of the Act, 2013. The said application was allowed on 06.08.2019 and the 2nd respondent was directed to make a reference under Section 64 of the Act, 2013 within one month from the date of receipt of the said order. It is further brought to the notice of this Court that the application filed under 10 VS,J W.P.No.10228 of 2018 Section 64 of the Act, 2013 is still pending consideration before the competent authority. 11. In such a case, in the absence of any order from the competent authority determining the right of the parties to receive compensation, the 2nd respondent cannot issue the impugned notices dated 17.02.2018 and 21.03.2018 directing the petitioners to repay the amount credited in their bank account on 04.05.2017. It is pertinent to observe that amounts were already credited in the petitioners’ bank account on 04.05.2017, but, whereas, a common order was passed by this Court on 01.08.2017, which is subsequent to disbursement of the amounts. In such a case, until the rights of the respondent Nos.4 to 6 are determined by the competent authority, the respondents cannot direct the petitioners to repay the compensation amount already credited to their bank account. 12. In view of the above facts and circumstances, instead of keeping the writ petition pending, this Court feels it appropriate to dispose of the writ petition by directing the 2nd respondent to pass appropriate orders pursuant to the petition filed by respondent Nos.4 to 6 under Section 64 of the Act, 2013, as expeditiously as possible, preferably within a period of three (3) months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. Until finalization of the said petition, the respondent authorities are 11 VS,J W.P.No.10228 of 2018 directed not to proceed further pursuant to the notices dated 17.02.2018 and 21.03.2018. 13. Accordingly, with the above direction, this writ petition is disposed of. There shall be no order as to costs. Consequently, Miscellaneous Petitions, if any, pending in this Petition shall stand closed. _____________________ JUSTICE V.SUJATHA 15.07.2026 Gss