Public Amenity – Sewerage facilities to the area – Claim of petitioner over the land on which the proposed sewerage line was sought to be laid – A resolution was passed by the local body to provide sewerage facilities to the area enclosing a list of streets – The petitioner purchased the property in 2011, inclusive of the road over which the proposed sewerage line was sought to be laid – The sewerage main was laid down both upstream and downstream except to the extent of the 110 meters (land of petitioner) – After various rounds of the litigation, the Division Bench of the High Court directed the State Government to choose a better option so as to minimize the damage that could be caused to the petitioner by laying the sewer main and sewer pumping station in the land of the petitioner – PIL filed on behalf of the residents who sought a direction for the completion of the underground drainage work so as to enable them to have the benefit of a sewerage facility – Division Bench of the High Court disposed of the petition by directing the Board to lay the pipelines and complete the underground drainage – On appeal, held: In the absence of an order of stay, the work of laying the sewerage line was completed – The developmental work which was carried out by the Board is in the form of a public amenity to the residents of the area – The title of the petitioner is not free from doubt since it is the subject matter of a civil dispute – Setting aside the impugned order of the Division Bench would give rise to further complications – Ultimately, the claim of the petitioner at the highest would be for the payment of damages – Therefore, petitioner granted liberty to pursue his rights and remedies for establishing a case of compensation and for the award of damages subject to his rights to the land being established in a competent court – Special Leave Petitions disposed of.
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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