Court Mandates Time-Bound Demarcation of Acquired Land to Facilitate Disbursement of Statutory Compensation Awards

The petitioners are the recorded owners of land at Khasra No. 110/8, area 0.54 dismil, situated in village Sirgitti, Bilaspur

The land was acquired for the construction of a railway overbridge, and an award was passed on 22-06-2020, followed by a supplementary award on 13-06-2021

Despite these awards, the petitioners claimed that no compensation had been paid

Consequently, the petitioners applied for the disbursement of the award and the demarcation of the subject land.

Although the Tahsildar (Respondent No. 5) constituted a team of revenue officers for demarcation on 12-11-2025 and a notice was issued by the Revenue Inspector on 05-01-2026, the demarcation process was never completed

The petitioners approached the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution seeking directions for the disbursement of the award and the completion of the demarcation

Whether the Court should exercise its writ jurisdiction to direct the revenue authorities to complete the demarcation of the acquired land within a stipulated timeframe to facilitate the disbursement of the compensation award

The court exercised its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, which empowers the High Court to issue writs for the enforcement of legal rights and the performance of statutory duties by public authorities

The court relied on the principle that administrative and revenue authorities are duty-bound to execute their own orders (such as demarcation orders) within a reasonable timeframe, especially when such inaction hinders the realization of compensation for land acquisition

The court observed a "sorry state of affair" regarding the administrative delay, noting that despite the Tahsildar constituting a team for demarcation in November 2025 and issuing notices in January 2026, the process remained stalled without justification

Since the respondents expressed no objection to the limited prayer for a time-bound demarcation, the court determined that judicial intervention was necessary to resolve the impasse

The court reasoned that for the award amount to be properly processed and the rights of the parties to be settled, the physical boundaries of the acquired land must first be legally established through the pending demarcation process

the court directed that representatives of the South East Central Railway (Respondents No. 1 to 3) must be notified and kept present during the demarcation process to ensure transparency and finality

No specific order was passed regarding the immediate disbursement of the award, as it remained contingent upon the completion of the directed demarcation