THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE NOOTY RAMAMOHANA RAO WRIT PETITION No. 12595 of 2002 O R D E R: This Writ Petition has been instituted essentially seeking the respondents to refund the excess amount collected arbitrarily from the petitioner between 14.05.2001 and 21.05.2001 and also to declare the notice of demand dated 29.06.2002 as illegal. The case of the petitioner is that he owns land bearing patta Nos. 756 and 714 of Tundurru Village, Bhimavaram Mandal, West Godavari District. Patta No. 756 consists of land situate in Survey Nos. 835 and 847, admeasuring Ac. 11.68 and Ac.6.18 cents respectively. Out of Ac.6.18 cents in Survey No. 847, land of an extent of Ac.3.18 cents is classified as dibba and hence, it is uncultivable. Therefore, the question of raising a demand for this uncultivable land should not have arisen. Patta No. 714 comprises of Ac.0.96 cents of land situate in R.S.No. 841. This lands is a submergible land and hence, the only one crop per year can be raised thereon and hence, land revenue has got to be collected accordingly. The petitioner paid land revenue as well as drainage cess, and drainage maintenance for all the Faslis upto Fasli 1400. He is not due to pay any amount to the State in this regard. In spite of his demonstrating that he is not in arrears, an amount of Rs. 2,806/- has been collected from him, under force. Immediately, on 23.06.1994, he submitted a representation to Jamabandi Officer, Bhimavaram Mandal, pointing out that excess amount has been collected from him unjustly. No action has been taken thereon. He has also submitted a reminder on 02.11.1994 which also did not yield the desired result. Hence, he instituted the present Writ Petition. The Mandal Revenue Officer, Bhimavaram has filed a detailed counter-affidavit in the matter. It was candidly admitted that an amount of Rs.9,565.47 ps. has been collected in excess to the amount liable to be levied and collected from the petitioner for the Fasli years 1404- 1410. This excess collection was due to an error committed while calculating/computing the land revenue payable for the patta lands owned by the petitioner. It is pointed out that Ac.11.68 cents of land owned by the writ petitioner in R.S.No. 835 is in fact classified as Government wet, while the land of an extent of Ac.6.18 cents situate in R.S.No. 847 has been classified as Government dry. It was stoutly disputed in the counter-affidavit that the land of an extent of Ac.3.18 cents out of Ac.6.18 cents in R.S.No. 847 is either covered or classified as dibba. It is specifically asserted that there is no such uncultivable land of an extent of Ac.3.00. The Mandal Revenue Officer has further gone on record that the collected land revenue, water tax demand, drainage charges and drainage maintenance fund as payable by the petitioner have been got re-calculated correctly and thereafter, it has been realized that an amount of Rs.9,565.47 ps. has been collected in excess. In paragraph 9 of page 5, it has been stated as under: “ The excess collection amount of Rs.9,565.47 ps. will be adjusted towards water tax demand of the petitioner’s land as shown hereunder: Fasli year 1411 ……… Rs. 8,930-00 (Full demand amount) Fasli year 1412 ……… Rs. 635-47 (part amouint as against demand) --------------- Total: Rs. 9,565.47 ----------------- In view of the contents of this counter-affidavit, the essential grievance nurtured by the writ petitioner that excess amount has been levied and collected from him, has been held established. The explanation offered by the Mandal Revenue Officer that the calculations have not been correctly made to the respective extents of land which is cultivated by raising paddy and the extent of land covered by fish tanks, deserves to be accepted. However, proper care should have been taken by the revenue administration before unjust demands are raised on citizens. Since the writ petitioner appears to have retired from service as an Executive Engineer, he was fairly articulate enough in trying to point out as to how excess amounts have been collected from him. It is quite possible that several other residents of the villages may not be so capable to articulate their grievances. Therefore, care should be taken by the revenue administration not only while calculating and computing, but also before raising and levying the demand. In view of the assurance held out by the Mandal Revenue Officer that the excess amount of Rs.9,565.47 ps. collected from the writ petitioner is going to be adjusted appropriately against the demands for the future years, I consider that the relief prayed for by the writ petitioner, in essence, has already been secured by him. The writ petitioner has also prayed for certain damages to be imposed on the respondents for their illegal action of levying and collecting excess amount of Rs.9,565.47 ps. Granting damages in the form of exemplary costs is a mode devised by the constitutional Courts to mitigate the injury and hardship caused to the citizens, particularly when their fundamental rights and other human rights have been breached. In all other circumstances, where damages are needed to be accorded for illegal actions of the State or its representatives, the appropriate forum would be a civil Court. Since I have not found any of the fundamental rights and the human rights of the writ petitioner have been breached in the instant case, I do not consider this to be a fit case for grant of exemplary costs to the writ petitioner by way of damages. I, therefore, do not find any justification to grant relief prayed for by the writ petitioner in this regard in the above Writ Petition. It is needless to observe that the writ petitioner is entitled to avail any such remedy as is available to him under law, for securing mitigation of damage sustained by him in the process. The Writ Petition is disposed of. In view of the averments found in the counter-affidavit filed by the Mandal Revenue Officer, Bhimavaram that the excess amount of Rs.9,565.47 ps. collected from the writ petitioner will be adjusted against the demand for the future, no costs. ---------------------------------- (NOOTY RAMAMOHANA RAO, J) 3rd June 2010 ksld