The Madras High Court has initiated suo motu contempt of court proceedings against former Chennai Collector J. Vijaya Rani for having violated Supreme Court orders by passing an arbitral award in a dispute over payment of compensation to those whose lands were acquired for widening National Highway 47.
Justice P. Velmurugan ordered issuance of statutory notice to Ms. Rani on the contempt proceedings and directed her to appear before the court on November 6. The judge wrote that the former Collector, in her capacity as the arbitrator, had passed the award despite being informed of an interim stay granted by the Supreme Court.
The judge allowed a writ petition filed by a Project Director of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and set aside the January 24, 2022 order of the Chennai Collector in the arbitration proceedings initiated at the instance of four individuals whose lands were acquired way back in 2007 for the widening of the highway.
Advocate Su. Srinivasan, representing NHAI, brought it to the notice of the judge that a Special District Revenue Officer (Land Acquisition) had determined the compensation on March 28, 2007, but the arbitration petitions were filed only on July 20, 2018, after a gap of 11 years, though the limitation period was just three years.
The arbitrator refused to entertain the petitions in 2018, but the land owners approached the Madras High Court and obtained favourable orders from a single judge. NHAI took the order on appeal, but a Division Bench of the High Court dismissed the appeals on April 25, 2018 and permitted the arbitration proceedings.
A further appeal was filed before the Supreme Court and the latter stayed the High Court’s order on November 19, 2018. Despite the interim stay remaining in operation till date, the Collector had entertained the arbitration petitions and passed orders on them, Mr. Srinivasan complained to Justice Velmurugan.
