Meghalaya HC directs District and Sessions Judge, Shillong to decide on excess payment to owners of land for Umroi airport expansion 

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaFebruary 28, 2025

The Meghalaya High Court has given three months time to the District and Sessions Judge, Shillong to decide the question of excess payment of Rs 9 crore as compensation to owners of the land acquired for the purpose of extension of the Umroi airport. 

The bench comprising Chief Justice IP Mukerji and Justice W Diengdoh in its order passed after hearing a PIL on Wednesday said, “In those circumstances, we request the learned District and Sessions Judge, Ri -Bhoi District to transmit this case to the learned District and Sessions Judge, Shillong, who is also the Special Judicial Officer under the Land Acquisition Act, who shall treat the same as a Reference and decide the question of excess payment of land acquisition compensation following due procedure upon taking necessary evidence, hearing the parties and by a reasoned decision within three months of communication of this order.” 

“The decision of the learned judge shall be duly transmitted to this Court by the office of the District Court and also circulated to all parties to enable us to deal with the matter in accordance with the said judgment of the Supreme Court. All subsisting interim orders in this application will continue,” it said while directing the State not to disburse the balance 20 per cent of the compensation to the owners without the leave of the Court.

At the request of the Supreme court to the Chief Justice by its order dated August 2, 2017, the High Court had directed the District Judge, Ri Bhoi to conduct the enquiry into the matter.

The second report of the District Judge, Ri Bhoi had revealed that a sum of  Rs 25,70,80,258/ -, representing 80 per cent of the compensation has been received by the owners. There is no dispute that the owners in due course would also receive the balance 20 per cent.

According to the said report, a sum of about Rs 9 crores in excess of the market value has been received by the owners.

In view of this, the bench said, “By the tenor of the said Supreme Court order, the scope of this application has been widened not only to make an enquiry into the alleged excess sum paid but also to fix responsibility on and take action against the land officials responsible for such illegal act, if proved. The highest Court directed us to decide the matter on the judicial side.”

“Now, this report of the District Judge that Rs 9 crore had been paid in excess to the owners can best be described as an expert opinion on the available evidence or a piece of evidence like an enquiry report or an assessment of mesne profits by a Special Reference which ought to be subject to proof and thereafter determination of the exact excess amount paid, if any, in a civil jurisdiction,” it said while adding that to come to a final conclusion only on the basis of the report of the District Judge without giving an opportunity to the affected parties or the beneficiaries of the report to disprove those findings or to establish those findings in a proper proceeding, would not be a judicious act.