Patna High Court
Bhushan RaiversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- PURNENDU SINGH
Holding
The Court held that the petitioners must file individual applications with the District Land Acquisition Officer, providing requisite documents, and the officer must decide the compensation claims within four months; the writ petition is therefore disposed.
Summary
The petitioners, a group of landowners from Manpura village, filed a writ petition seeking a direction for the State of Bihar and the NHAI to pay compensatory amounts for land acquired for the construction of NH‑139(W). They alleged that despite the acquisition process, compensation had not been paid. The State and NHAI counsel argued that the petition lacked specific details of each petitioner's land, making it impossible to adjudicate the claim. The Court directed the petitioners to approach the District Land Acquisition Officer individually, furnishing all relevant documents within four weeks, and ordered the officer to resolve each claim within four months. Consequently, the writ petition was disposed of without an immediate order for compensation, pending the petitioners' individual applications.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioners are entitled to compensation for land acquired for NH‑139(W) under the applicable land acquisition law.
- Whether the Court can directly order payment of compensation in the writ petition absent detailed individual claims.
Subjects
- land acquisition
- compensation
- NHAI
- NH‑139
- civil writ jurisdiction
- Bihar
- procedural order
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.20900 of 2025
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1. Bhushan Rai Son of Late Ram Deni Rai @ Late Ramdent Rai, Resident of
the Village- Manpura, P.O. - Tarwamangarpal, P.S.- Dariyapur in the district
of Saran (Bihar).
2. Ahilya Devi, Wife of Abhimanu Rai, Resident of the Village- Manpura,
P.O.- Tarwamangarpal, P.S.- Dariyapur in the district of Saran (Bihar).
3. Vikash Kumar, Son of Late Awadhesh Rai, Resident of the village-
Manpura, P.O. - Tarwamangarpal, P.S. - Dariyapur in the district of Saran
(Bihar).
4. Jagadish Sah, Son of Late Bajnath Sah, Resident of the Village- Manpura,
P.O. - Tarwamangarpal, P.S. Dariyapur in the district of Saran (Bihar).
5. Veerendra Rai, Son of Late Ram Balak Rai, Resident of the village -
Manpura, P.O. - Tarwamangarpal, P.S.- Dariyapur in the district of Saran
(Bihar).
6. Anil Rai, Son of Late Ramdev Rai, Resident of the Village- Manpura, P.O.-
Tarwamangarpal, P.S.- Dariyapur in the district of Saran (Bihar).
7. Vishwanath Rai, Son of Late Ram Ishwar Rai, Resident of the Village-
Manpura, P.O.- Tarwamangarpal, P.S.- Dariyapur in the district of Saran
(Bihar).
8. Yadunath Mahto, Son of Late Ganesh Mahto, Resident of village-
Mangarpal, (Nuran), P.O. - Tarwamangarpal, P.S.- Dariyapur in the district
of Saran (Bihar).
9. Raj Kishor Mahto, Son of Late Ram Swaroop Mahto, Resident of Village-
Mangarpar, P.O.- Tarwamangarpal, P.S.- Dariyapur in the district of Saran
(Bihar).
10. Ram Sundra Rai, Son of Late Raghu Rai, Resident of the Village- Manpura,
P.O.- Tarwamangarpal, P.S.- Dariyapur in the district of Saran (Bihar).
11. Harendra Prasad, Son of Late Ram Sakal Sah, Resident of the Village-
Manpura, P.O.- Tarwamangarpal, P.S.- Dariyapur in the district of Saran
(Bihar).
12. Rajendra Rai, Son of Ram Nepal Rai, Resident of the village- Darvesha
(Sikandra), P.O. - Tarwamangarpal, P.S.- Dariyapur in the district of Saran
(Bihar).
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
1. The State of Bihar through the Principal Secretary, Revenue and Land
Reforms Department, Govt. of Bihar, Patna.
2. The District Collector-cum-District Magistrate, Saran at Chhapra.
3. The District Land Acquisition Officer, Saran at Chhapra.
4. The Circle Officer at Dariyapur, Saran.
5. The Zonal Director, NHAI, Patna.
Patna High Court CWJC No.20900 of 2025(2) dt.12-01-2026
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... ... Respondent/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Shiv Shankar Prasad Yadav, Advocate
For the State : Mr. Asif Kalim, AC to AAG 12
For the NHAI : Mr. Sriram Krishna, Advocate
Mr. Prabhat Kumar Singh, Advocate
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PURNENDU SINGH
ORAL ORDER
2 12-01-2026 Heard Mr. Shiv Shankar Prasad Yadav, learned
counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner; Mr. Asif Kalim
learned AC to AAG 12 for the State and Mr. Sriram Krishna
along with Mr. Prabhat Kumar Singh, learned counsels for the
NHAI.
2. Petitioners have inter alia prayed for following
reliefs in the paragraphs No.1 of the writ petition:-
“.That through the present application, the
petitioners "PRAY" to the Hon'ble Court do DIRECT all the
respondents in general and the respondent No.03 to 05 in
particular to pay the compensatory amounts to them
against their lands acquired/to be acquired for the
construction of the NH 139 (W) (to be situated from 0 km to
18.077) upto NH-19. Due to the non-payments of the same,
the petitioners as well as other common farmers have got
aggrieved so this application has preferred for needful.”
3. It is the case of the petitioners that process has been
undertaken to acquire the land for the proposed construction of
Patna High Court CWJC No.20900 of 2025(2) dt.12-01-2026
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NH-139(W) but the compensation amount has eluded them.
4. Both the learned State Counsel as also learned
counsel for ‘the NHAI’ submits that the details of the land of the
each petitioner(s) is/are missing and in that background, unless
they approach separately along with all the relevant documents,
it may not be possible for any one much less the respondent no.
3, the District Land Acquisition Officer, Saran at Chapra to
decide it.
5. Learned counsel for the petitioners submit that they
shall be individually approaching the respondent- District Land
Acquisition Officer, Saran at Chhapra within a period of four
weeks.
6. In case, the petitioners approach
separately/individually along with the relevant documents after
hearing all the concerned parties, the respondent-District Land
Acquisition Offier, Saran at Chhapra is duty-bound to take the
matter to its logical conclusion within a period of next four
months.
7. If the petitioner(s) is/are entitled to the
compensation, it goes without saying that the said process has to
be completed at an earliest.
8. The writ petition is disposed of with aforesaid
Patna High Court CWJC No.20900 of 2025(2) dt.12-01-2026
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observation.
9. Interlocutory Application(s), if any, also stands
disposed of.
(Purnendu Singh, J)
Sanjay/-
U
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