Gujarat HC Fines ASI Officials Rs 1 Lakh In Dholavira Land Acquisition Case
Gujarat high court said ASI failed to pay compensation to Dholavira landowners despite submitting four to five undertakings.
Published : January 20, 2026 at 5:42 PM IST
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday fined officials of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) of Rs one lakh for failing to pay compensation to landowners in a land acquisition case in Dholavira village in Gujarat's Kutch district.
The ASI had filed an application in the High Court seeking condonation of delay. However, during the hearing, it came to light that the applicants had concealed the filing of an execution application from the court. Subsequently, Justice Moksha Thakkar's bench dismissed ASI's application and fined all officials.
The case is related to a land acquisition project in Dholavira village. The landowners had initiated legal proceedings due to non-payment of adequate compensation. In 2023, the Bhachau court ordered higher compensation after which, the claimants filed an execution application to receive the compensation. During this process, the ASI assured the court that the compensation would be paid. Despite giving undertakings four to five times, the compensation remained unpaid for a long period. The ASI then filed an application in the High Court regarding the delay in payment of compensation.
Advocate Jignesh Kumar Nayak, representing defendants entitled to compensation, appeared in court challenging ASI's application. He presented detailed facts before the court through an affidavit.
In its judgment, the High Court stated that facts related to the execution application had been concealed from the court, undertakings to pay compensation were not fulfilled and the petitioners' conduct demonstrated negligence towards the legal process. Based on these points, the High Court dismissed the ASI's application and imposed a collective fine of Rs one lakh on all petitioners.
Also, the fine must be deposited in the High Court within three weeks, the order stated. After verification, the amount will be given to the claimants, it added.
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