Ghulam Mohammad vs Ut Of J&K And Others
2023 Latest Caselaw 993 j&K

                                                                      Sr. No. 130


               HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH
                             AT JAMMU


                                                    WP(C) No. 1263/2023

Ghulam Mohammad                                         ....Petitioner/Appellant(s)

                    Through :- Mr. P. N. Bhat, Advocate.


         V/s

UT of J&K and others                                             ....Respondent(s)


                   Through :- Ms. Nazia Fazal, Advocate with
                              Ms. Monika Kohli, Sr. AAG
                              Ms. Pallavi Sharma, Advocate with
                              Mr. Ravinder Gupta, AAG.
Coram: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAHUL BHARTI, JUDGE

                                    ORDER

17.05.2023

A bunch of writ petitions came to be disposed of by writ court in terms

of order dated 06.06.2017, one of the writ petition so disposed of was OWP No.

698/2012 filed by the petitioner herein.

In terms of the aforesaid judgment, the land acquisition exercise which

had come to be initiated in terms of Section 4 (1) notification dated 23.07.2000

came to be set at naught under an impression that the land acquisition exercise

pursuant to the said notification had not come to an end and was still in currency.

In terms of this judgment, the writ respondents were directed to proceed with the

acquisition after taking resort to the provisions of the section 5A of the Land

Acquisition Act, Svt. 1996 to be concluded within a period of six months.

The petitioner feeling aggrieved that six months period was not

adhered to come forward with the contempt petition CPOWP no. 48/2018 which

remained pending on the docket of this Court only to be disposed of in terms of

an order dated 07.09.2022 by taking into consideration statement of facts filed in

the case from where it came to be divulged to the petitioner that the judgment

dated 06.06.2017 of the writ court above referred passed in the bunch of writ

petitions including that of the writ petition came to be reviewed and recalled in

terms of an order dated 21.02.2018 in a review petition RPOWP No. 02/2018

filed by one Mohd. Abdullah Choudhary.

Since the review of judgment dated 06.06.2017 at the instance of only

one person for very obvious reasons left the other co-petitioners or for that

matter the petitioners in the bunch of other writ petitions uninformed so the

petitioner came to know about the reversal of judgment dated 06.06.2017 only

upon the dismissal of the contempt petition in terms of order dated 07.09.2022.

The petitioner has come up with the present writ petition feeling and

carrying dissatisfaction that while portion of his compensation assessed is still

remaining unpaid and that the site, of the structure which came to be acquired

and for which the structure acquisition the compensation came to be assessed

and paid, has not been assessed, as such, the petitioner through the writ petition

is seeking a direction unto the respondents to the said effect.

This Court cannot allow the petitioner to overreach the provisions of

Land Acquisition Act Svt. 1996, which though now repealed but still in the light

of the saving provisions of Re-organization Act, 2019 is deemed to be

continuing in operation so as to attend the transactions of the time when the Land

Acquisition Act, Svt. 1990 was in currency as such, the writ petition is held to be

not maintainable as the petitioner in case has any grievance with respect to un-

assessed land site of his property in the context of the award passed in the case

then the remedy is to approach the Collector concerned for seeking reference and

seek remedy there for.

The petitioner is, thus, well within his right to invoke the said remedy,

if so advised.

Dismissed as above.

(RAHUL BHARTI) JUDGE

JAMMU 17.05.2023 Shivalee