Kumkum Devi v. The Union Of India

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.4633 of 2026 ====================================================== Kumkum Devi wife of Sri Anil Kumar Singh, resident of village- Poswan, P.S. Agion Grahani, District- Bhojpur at present residing at Housing Colony, Chandwan, Ara, P.S. Nawada Ara, District- Bhojpur. ... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

1.

The Union of India through its Secretary, Ministry of Railway, Govt. Of India, New Delhi.

2.

The Secretary, Ministry of Railway, Govt. Of India, New Delhi. 3.

The General Manager, Eastern Central Railway Zone, Hajipur, Vaishali, Bihar.

4.

The Divisional Railway Manager, Danapur Mandal, Eastern Central Railway, Danapur, Patna.

5.

The Senior Divisional Personnel Officer Cum Public Information Officer, East Central Railway, Danapur 6.

The Senior Divisional Engineer, Co- Ordinance, Danapur Mandal, Eastern Central Railway, Danapur, Patna.

7.

The Divisional Engineer Line, Danapur Mandal, Eastern Central Railway, Danapur, Patna.

8.

The Assistant Engineer Line, Danapur Mandal, Eastern Central Railway, Danapur, Patna.

9.

The Inspector of Work, Engineering Branch, Eastern Central Railway, Danapur Mandal, Branch Ara, District-Bhojpur. 10.

The District Collector, Bhojpur, Ara.

11.

The District Land Acquisition Officer, Bhojpur, Ara. 12.

The Circle Officer, Udwant Nagar, Bhojpur, Ara. ... ... Respondent/s ====================================================== Appearance :

For the Petitioner/s :

Mr. Shivam Aniket, Advocate For the Respondent/s :

Mr. Additional Solicitor General For the Resp. No. 2 :

Mr. Rabindra Kumar Priyadarshi, Advocate ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJIV ROY ORAL ORDER 18-04-2026 Heard the parties.

2. The present petition has been preferred for the following relief(s):

2/4 "for issuance of appropriate writ, Rule or Direction to the respondent authorities particularly to respondent no. 1 to 9 to make payment of the compensation amount on the basis of present Market Value on the date of payment of compensation amount in pursuance to provisions of The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013" along with statutory interest to the petitioner as the land of the petitioner has been taken in possession by the authorities without informing the petitioner or without completing the process of acquisition, as no amount of compensation has been paid by the respondent, and the said writ is also for issuance of direction to the respondent authorities to make payment of compensation to the petitioner for damage of the crops standing upon the land at the time of taking possession in the month of October 2015 and this writ application is also for grant of relief or reliefs as the petitioner is found entitled."

3. The matter relates to Khata No. 402 (Old Khata No.

3/4

195) Khesara No. 88 (Old Khesara No. 74) (Area 7.50 decimals) in the Mauza-Bhelai, District-Bhojpur. The petitioner claims to have purchased the land from one Kameshwar Singh (not been made party-respondent in the present case) in the year 2006 and fourteen years later, rent receipt has been provided to show that she is having possession over the land. The grievance is that the Indian Railways have grabbed the land and the pillars have come up but no compensation paid.

4. The Circle Officer, Udwantnagar on the objection preferred by the villagers informed vide letter no. 414 dated 06.03.2025 to the District Land Acquisition Officer, Bhojpur at Ara in which it has been recorded that though the Railways claimed the land to be their, the 1874 Railways map do not have any khata/khesra.

5. The petitioner submits that on the basis of said letter issued by the Circle Officer, Udwantnagar, a case is made out in her favour and accordingly, appropriate order be passed.

6. The Indian Railways is represented by Mr. Rabindra Kumar Priyadarshi and the State is also present. Their joint submission is that the petitioner has approached this Court without any document to show that Indian Railways, at any point of time, has moved forward for the acquisition of the land

4/4 in question. In fact, the Railways have complained that some of the villagers are trying to usurp the Railways property. The RTI information which is part of the writ petition also shows the same.

7. Having heard the parties, in the opinion of the Court, the petitioner has failed to make out a case showing that the Railways have come forward and tried to usurp the lands of the petitioner much less the villagers.

8. If the petitioner/villagers have any grievance and/or there is any law and order problem, the appropriate remedy is to move before the Sub Divisional Magistrate of the said area as also for the civil dispute, before a Competent Civil Court.

9. Such disputed question of fact cannot be decided in a writ petition.

10. With the aforesaid observation, the writ petition stands disposed of.

(Rajiv Roy, J) Adnan/- U