TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The Bombay High Court at Goa, while dismissing the petition filed by the Mopa Vimantall Pidditt Xetkari Samiti, which challenged the Mopa airport Land Acquisition Proceedings, said that the right to property was not a fundamental right, but has been replaced by right to compensation only.
“Right to property in the Constitution was replaced by right to compensation. As such, right to property is no more a fundamental right. Accordingly, the petitioner does not have right to the land, but may have right to compensation in respect of the land,” a judgement passed by a division bench of Justices F M Reis and B R Gavai.
The MVPXS has however vowed to challenge it further even as it expressed sadness about the High Court’s ‘injustice’ in dismissing their petition without settling the legal issues covering the petition.
“In view of the matter, we find that the petition deserves no interference by this Court in its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution. Hence (it is) dismissed. Needless to state, if the petitioner has any other remedy available in law, dismissal of this petition will not come in his way from taking recourse to it,” the order passed on November 19 states.
The petitioners had challenged the government’s action of the applicability of provision of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 to the land which is held by an absolute owner and not by rights granted by the State government.
“The applicability of the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 as well as the provision and rules made under the Goa Land Revenue Code, 1968 is needed to be determined when the land in question belonging to the proprietor without element of the State grant,” Convenor of MVPXS Sandip Kambli said.
“It is the basic contention of the petitioner that the provisions of the Act where the element of estate in land is absent, are not applicable to the lands of the petitioner. It is also the contention of the petitioner that in so far as the present land is concerned, his name is shown as owner, as well as tenant in the record of rights, though the petitioner is proprietor of the land,” the Judge said in his report.
“It is further contended [by the petitioner] that the State has no eminent domain over the land in question and, as such, the proceedings of land acquisition are also not applicable. We do not propose to comment on the validity or otherwise of the submissions made in the petition regarding the legal issues,” the order further read.
However, the court dismissed the plea without commenting on the validity or otherwise of the submissions made in the application.
This has especially aggrieved the farmers, who have however, resolved not to move from their land when they are asked to move.
“We wish to approach the Supreme Court of India with full faith since the order states that the High Court does not wish to touch legal issues involved in the petition,” they said.
We have resolved that we will not move from this land and we refuse to accept their compensation,” convenor Kambli said.
The MVPXS has however stated that they are aggrieved with this order and have said that they will either file a review petition, another suit or approach the Supreme Court.
Kambli also alleged that the government has given compensation to some people who were not legal title holders of the land as well as some people who had no land under their possession were also given compensation.
“They just drew up lists for their compensation purposes randomly placing people’s names and gave out compensation,” he said.
