A division bench of Chief Justice J S Khehar and A S Bopanna issued the directive on a contempt petition filed by Krishnappa and others whose land the SWR had acquired for laying a goods track on the Bangalore-Guntakal route, but did not pay the compensation.
In March 2010, the court had ordered the Railways to pay the compensation, which the SWR, did not comply with. Consequently, the farmers moved a contempt petition in the high court in December 2010. The court directed the SWR to deposit the compensation amount – Rs seven crore – with the Land Acquisition Officer of the State Government within six months. The government was to distribute the sum among the beneficiaries.
But the SWR failed to abide by the directive this time as well. It approached the Bench asking for more time to pay. Enraged by this attitude, the Bench asked the SWR to arrange for the sum immediately and pay it by next Friday.
The SWR should pay it from its coffers or Bangalore Divisional Manager Akhil Agarwal should pay the sum from his pocket or risk being sent to jail, the bench said.
Else, he would be sent to jail, the court warned.