Litigants lose Rs 1 lakh for filing frivolous PIL

AHMEDABAD: Two litigants from Bharuch district lost Rs 1 lakh for questioning a compensation of over Rs 100 crore to a Parsi family by the state government for acquiring the family’s land.
The high court, which doubted the bonafide of petitioners Kanaksinh Parmar and Jayantibhai Bamaniya and asked them to deposit Rs 1 lakh to proceed ahead with their PIL, ordered to confiscate the amount for filing a PIL to overreach earlier court orders.
According to advocate Anshin Desai, the Jahangirji Contractor’s forefathers were granted huge parcel of land in three villages – Manad, Eksal and Kesrol in Vagra taluka of Bharuch – by the British government in 1887 on 999-year lease.
A century later, the government wanted to develop the land for Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC). The acquisition process took place and a consented award of over Rs 100 crore was given to the Contractor family. When some of the farmers and labourers raised objection, they too got a little share of few crores of rupees with consent from all parties. The villagers moved the high court, but failed in 2012.
In 2013, two persons whose fathers were given compensation, filed PIL and argued that since the land was leased out by the British, the Gujarat government was not required to pay compensation for the land owned by it. They alleged fraud on part of the Contractor family as well as land acquisition officers for causing huge loss to state exchequer.