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Allowing an application to file a Special Leave Petition (SLP), the Supreme Court on Monday stayed an order by the Punjab and Haryana High Court directing all reference courts to accept the amount of land acquisition compensation as awarded by the state of Haryana.

The order was passed by the High Court in a writ petition by a land owner seeking release of compensation for land acquisition.

Allegedly, the state of Haryana and the Haryana Shehari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) were faced with several claims for release of the amount of compensation in different proceedings, including execution cases for land acquisition by the state of Haryana.

In order to satisfy such claims, a so-called plan for making payment was propounded before the High Court in the said writ petition by the Chief Administrator, HSVP that carried the propositions of extended payment schedules, with proposed dates of compliance extending to August 15 2022, October 15, 2022 and December 31, 2022.

The High Court after taking note of the said plan for release of the amount of compensation had generally restrained all the Executing Courts in Haryana from taking coercive steps; and had further directed that the Reference Court will accept the amount of compensation as per the proposed plan of the respondent state.

M/S Shivanand Real Estate submitted that while exercising writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India in respect of one land owner, the High Court was not justified in issuing general directions applicable to all the execution cases pending in the state of Haryana.

It also submitted that since it was not party to the said writ petition, the High Court was not justified in issuing impugned directions without extending an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner.

A bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Vikram Nath noted that looking into the nature and purport of the impugned order, the matter required consideration.

The Court while issuing notice to the respondents, returnable in two weeks, ordered that in the meanwhile and until further orders, operation and effect of the impugned order shall remain stayed qua the petitioner.

Cause Title: M/s Shivanand Real Estate Pvt Ltd vs The State of Haryana & Ors.