IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) WEDNESDAY, THE FOURTEENTH DAY OF SEPTEMBER TWO THOUSAND AND ELEVEN PRESENT HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE GHULAM MOHAMMED AND HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR W.P.No.23083 of 2011 Between: Karanam Radha Krishnaiah, S/o Seshaiah, R/o Krishnapatnam village, Muthukuru Mandal, Nellore District. . .Petitioner And 1.The Lok-Adalat Bench, I-Additional Senior Civil Judge, Nellore and two others. .. Respondents HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE GHULAM MOHAMMED AND HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR W.P.No.23083 of 2011 ORDER: ((Per. Hon’ble Sri Justice Ghulam Mohammed) This Writ Petition is filed seeking a Writ of Mandamus declaring the docket order passed by the 1st respondent-Lok- Adalat Bench, I-Additional Senior Civil Judge, Nellore, dated 06.06.2011 in LAOP.No.76 of 2009 as being illegal and arbitrary and consequently sought for a direction to the 1st respondent to record the compromise and pass award in terms of compromise. Brief facts of the case are that the petitioner is the owner and possessor of Ac.0.30 cents of land situated in Survey No.586/1 of Krishnapatnam village Reach-18, Muthukuru Mandal of Nellore District. It is stated that the Government issued notification under Section 4 (1) of the Land Acquisition Act (for short ‘the Act’) dated 05.09.2006 for acquisition of Ac.72.16 cents of land in Sy.Nos.584 to 620 of Krishnapatnam village for the purpose of establishment of Ultra Mega Power Project at Krishnapatnam. It is further stated that the Land Acquisition Officer issued notification under Section 6 of the Act dated 18.12.2007 confirming the acquisition of the land of the petitioner in question. Subsequently, the petitioner filed an affidavit in form No. IV along with copies of adangals issued by the Village Revenue Officer before the Land Acquisition Officer. However, the Land Acquisition Officer referred the claim of the petitioner to Civil Court under Section 30 of the Act observing that he has not filed any document in support of his claim and the said reference was numbered as LAOP No.76 of 2009 on the file of the I-Additional Senior Civil Judge, Nellore. It is further stated that the Land Acquisition Officer and the petitioner herein filed a joint memo before the 1st Additional Senior Civil Judge, Nellore, in LAOP No.76 of 2009 along with terms of compromise, accepting payment of Rs.2,31,400/- as compensation for the land in question. However, the Lok Adalat-I-Additional Senior Civil Judge, Nellore, passed a docket order dated 06.06.2011 refusing to record the compromise on the ground that the petitioner failed to produce any documentary evidence viz., pattadar pass book, title deed and adangals to prove his title over the acquired land in question. Aggrieved by the same, the present writ petition has been filed by the petitioner-claimant. Learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that the Land Acquisition Officer has erroneously referred the mater under Section 30 of the Act to Civil Court even though he recognized the ownership of the petitioner over the land in question. He further submits that when the matter was taken on file by the Civil Court, nobody came forward to claim title for the land owned and possessed by the petitioner. He further submits that the Lok- Adalat has no option except to pass an award in terms of compromise arrived by the parties and in support of the said contention he relied upon a decision of a Division Bench of this Court in Sanjay Kumar V. Secretary, City Civil Court Legal Services Authority, Hyderabad[1]. We have considered the respective contentions of the parties and perused the impugned docket order passed by the Lok-Adalat Bench at Nellore and other material available on record. The 3rd respondent-Land Acquisition Officer and the petitioner herein filed a joint memo before the I-Additional Senior Civil Judge, Nellore, to refer the matter to Lok-Adalat, Nellore, as both the parties want to settle the matter before it and accordingly the matter was referred to the 1st respondent Lok-Adalat. Before the 1st respondent-Lok-Adalat, the 3rd respondent-Land Acquisition Officer and the petitioner herein filed a compromise memo stating that the 3rd respondent-Land Acquisition Officer acquired an extent of Ac.0.30 cents of land belonging to the petitioner and that the petitioner herein has agreed for the compensation fixed by the Land Acquisition Officer and that the 3rd respondent-Land Acquisition Officer has no objection to pass an award for Rs.2,31,400/- in favour of the petitioner herein. The said compromise memo is signed by both parties and their Counsel. However, the Lok Adalat-I-Additional Senior Civil Judge, Nellore, passed the impugned docket order dated 06.06.2011 refusing to record the compromise on the ground that the petitioner failed to produce any documentary evidence to prove his title over the acquired land in question. In the aforesaid decision relied upon by the learned Counsel for the petitioner, the Division Bench of this Court held as under: “It may be taken as well settled that the award of Lok- Adalat is administrative act of incorporating the terms of compromise or settlement agreed by the parties in the presence of Lok-Adalat and Lok-Adalat does not sit in adjudication of the dispute.” For the aforementioned reasons and in view of the judgment of a Division Bench of this Court referred supra, we are of the opinion that this writ petition is liable to be allowed. Accordingly, the Writ Petition is allowed and the impugned docket order dated 06.06.2011 is hereby set aside and the 1st respondent-Lok Adalat is directed to record the compromise and pass award in terms of the compromise arrived at by the parties. No order as to costs. __________________________ GHULAM MOHAMMED, J ____________________ SANJAY KUMAR, J 14.09.2011 Gsn. [1] 2010 (3) ALT 289 (D.B)