In Brief
The Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board entered land with the owner's consent in 1991 to build water supply infrastructure. In a 2016 writ petition, the High Court directed fair and reasonable compensation be paid. The District Collector fixed Rs. 200/- per sq. ft., paying Rs. 1,11,80,723/- total. The landowner then filed a contempt petition, and the Single Judge fixed compensation at Rs. 600/- per sq. ft. The Supreme Court held the Single Judge erred by entertaining the contempt petition (the original direction had been complied with) and by traveling beyond the original order to impose new compensation rates. Public money cannot be extracted through contempt proceedings. The appeal was allowed and the High Court orders set aside."
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