Imran Khan 20 August 2023

Advice on damages being created to my land.

I want legal advise on a situation on my agricultural land in my village. The situation is - A constant filling through spurious encroachment of a waterbody(Pokhri/Gadhai) is going on under the very nose of the Gram Panchayat, and this filling has resulted in over flow of the water into my adjacent land to the extent that almost 1/3 of my land has submerged into the waterbody and another 1/2 of the remaining land is flooded with stagnant, polluted and hazardous water. Adding to this situation there is drop down electric transformer installed on my land on the very border of the said waterbody, now this transformer though being installed on a plinth is also almost submerged in surrounding clogged water, which I fear will cause a major accident someday. Now the Gram Pradhan along with some supporters are not willing to take action with regards to prevent any accident and when raising complaint the Gram Pradhan Office sites reason that they dont have land to provide for the shifting and asking me to provide the public land as well as the cost of relocating the transformer, in a planned conspiracy they want me to leave around 2000 plus sq.ft of my land to the transformer. Kindly suggest what strategy should I build to legally fight this situation. I have laid many complaints through IGRS to various departments but none are quite interested in resolving the matter and have submitted absurd excuse reports.

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Vishal, Adv-Supreme Court (Advocate Whatsapp 9717985984) 01 October 2023

File a civil case for injunction before Civil Judge and also the case under section 133 CrPC at SDM Court.

For more detailed advice contact Adv Vishal Garg @ 9717985984

LCI Thought Leader Sanjeev Duggal Advocate 27 October 2023

You can file a suit for negligence. Serve legal notice to the defendants as required by law. Proper service ensures that the defendants are aware of the lawsuit and have the opportunity to respond.

The influential judgment in the case of Rylands v. Fletcher (1868) LR 3 HL 330 introduced a novel aspect of English tort law. It laid down the fundamental concept that an individual can be held liable without exceptions if their unconventional use of their property results in harm to someone else's property due to hazardous objects emanating from their land.

In most cases, a person is responsible for any wrongdoing they commit. However, there are specific situations where an individual can be held legally responsible for an incident even if they have taken all reasonable precautions and had no wrongdoing or intent involved. Strict liability is a principle that embodies this concept, holding a person accountable without requiring proof of fault, thereby establishing a form of "no-fault liability."

In the case of Hodgkinson v. Ennor, the defendant had caused pollution in a stream through activities on his own land. While these activities were not illegal, they deviated from the natural way of using the property and resulted in harm to his neighbor. The Court ruled that the defendant was held responsible and based its decision on the principle encapsulated in the Latin maxim "SIo utere two ut alinum non laedas," which means that one must use their property in a manner that does not harm the lawful rights of others. A property owner is generally allowed to utilize their land as they see fit, as long as it does not impede the neighboring landowner's legitimate rights to enjoy their property. If the former infringes upon any legal rights of the latter, then the former shall bear the responsibility for the consequences.

In the case of Central Electricity Supply Utility of Odisha v. Damayanti Samal, 2021 SCC OnLine Ori 166, the Orissa High Court established the settled principle that a person engaged in a hazardous or risky activity that exposes human life is legally obligated under tort law to compensate for injuries suffered by others, regardless of any negligence or carelessness by the managers of that activity. This liability, termed "strict liability" in legal terms, is based on the foreseeable risks inherent in the nature of the activity itself.