Mr. Deepak Garg, Ad vs UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

Judgment

1. The five petitioners invoke the extra-ordinary jurisdiction of this Court by instituting the present writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, 1950, by seeking the following reliefs: a) Issue a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other appropriate writ holding the act of Respondents in depriving the Petitioners Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed By:PRAMOD KUMAR VATS Signing Date:03.02.2025 16:32:20 W.P.(C) 2504/2023 Page 1 of 19 of their property and livelihood as violative of Article 14, Article 21 and Article 300 A of the Constitution of India. b) Issue a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other appropriate writ or directions restraining the respondents from disturbing the peaceful, physical possession of the petitioners over their respective parcels of the subject land; and directing the said respondent not to encroach and demolish / remove crops and cattle from the subject land that belongs to the petitioner; c) A writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction to not disturb the possession of the petitioners on their land till the final disposal of this petition or it is decided by demarcation. d) Issue a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other appropriate writ or directions for calling the revenue record, acquisition record of Village Chak-Chila, District South East, Delhi, and also calling the record of demarcation if any, undertaken by the respondents; e) Cost of the petition may also be awarded in favour of the petitioners and against the respondents.

BRIEF FACTS 2. Shorn of unnecessary details, it is claimed that the five petitioners herein and their predecessors-in-interest, who are farmers and cattlemen, have, since the period of British rule, enjoyed lawful and peaceful possession of the agricultural land situated in the revenue estate of Chak-Chilla, District South-East, Defence Colony, Delhi, which falls on the north-eastern bank of the Yamuna River (hereinafter referred to as ‘subject land’), The petitioners have sought to rely upon the jamabandi records pertaining to the year 2012-2013 (Annexure P-7) issued by the Halqa Patwari, for the purpose of the determination of their ownership over the subject land. 3. It has been brought to the fore that over the last few decades, the territorial scope of the revenue estate of Chak-Chilla has been subjected to continuous alteration as a result of multiple acquisition Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed By:PRAMOD KUMAR VATS Signing Date:03.02.2025 16:32:20 W.P.(C) 2504/2023 Page 2 of 19 and re-acquisition proceedings initiated by the appropriate authorities under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. The chronological record of the land acquisition proceedings pertaining to the area forming part of revenue estate of Chak-Chilla is tabularised hereinunder: Area in question Status Date Purpose 1779 bigha 01 Acquired vide Award passed under section 11 of the LA Act

19.06.1992 Planned Development of Delhi (Channelisation of Yamuna River) 506 bigha 18 biswa (out of acquired land) De-notified notification published under section 48 of the LA Act 248 bigha 11 biswa (out of acquired land) De-notified notification published under section 48 of the LA Act 105 bigha 01 biswa (out of the de-notified portion) Re-acquired Award passed under section 11 of the LA Act

25.01.1995

12.01.1998 - - 31.03.2000 Construction Direct Delhi-Noida (DND) Bridge another bridge River Yamuna connecting DND bridge

4. It is stated that the appropriate authority has constructed the Delhi Noida Direct (DND) bridge, spanning 1780 meters, and another connecting bridge on Yamuna River, spanning 710 meters, on the acquired land as per the Award dated 31.03.2000. However, much to the distress of the petitioners, the respondent No. 8 i.e., National Capital Region Transport Corporation [‘NCRTC’], a joint venture company of the Government of India and States of Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, is developing a rail based suburban transport system i.e., Regional Rapid Transit System [‘RRTS’] for the Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed By:PRAMOD KUMAR VATS Signing Date:03.02.2025 16:32:20 W.P.(C) 2504/2023 Page 3 of 19 National Capital Region, despite being in knowledge of the fact that the petitioners i.e., the alleged land owners of Chak-Chilla are being substantially adversely affected inasmuch as they are being physically displaced from their housing and losing their productive assets due to the construction of the RRTS Project (Delhi-Meerut Link). 5. It is further brought out that to safeguard their rights, the petitioners made a representation by way of a demarcation application before the the Tehsildar (Defence Colony) and the Land Acquisition Collector/ADM (South-East), for the purpose of demarcation of the acquired and un-acquired land in the revenue estate of village Chak- Chilla, Delhi, upon payment of the requisite fees. However, the concerned authorities did not respond to the said representation. Aggrieved thereof, the petitioners along with the other farmers/residents of Chak-Chilla approached this Court by filing a writ petitioner bearing WP(C) 4729 of 2021 titled as “Dhan Raj & Ors. vs. Union of India & Ors.”, seeking demarcation of the acquired and un-acquired land of Village Chak-Chilla. It is pertinent to mention here that as a matter of record, the said writ petition stands withdrawn for having been satisfied vide order dated 10.11.2023. 6. However, during the pendency of the said writ petition, on

16.02.2023 and thereafter, on 22.02.2023, the officials of the respondent No. 3, i.e., the Delhi Development Authority [‘DDA’] along with the respondent No.7 i.e., Delhi Police allegedly conducted a demolition drive in Chak-Chilla and destroyed/removed the crops and cattle of the farmers/land-owners without serving any prior notice or following the due process of law. Aggrieved thereof, the petitioners Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed By:PRAMOD KUMAR VATS Signing Date:03.02.2025 16:32:20 W.P.(C) 2504/2023 Page 4 of 19 claim to have made several representations to the respondents dated

21.02.2023 and 22.02.2023 restraining the respondents from carrying any further demolition, however to no avail. 7. It is the case set up by the petitioners herein that the land on which the RRTS project is proposed to be constructed is owned by the petitioners and other similarly placed persons as per the jamabandi records of the year 2012-2013. The petitioners herein are aggrieved insofar as the respondents have demolished their lands without even acquiring the same. It is claimed that the respondents have deprived the petitioners and similarly placed persons of their property and livelihood without being compensated for the same, which is in violation of their rights protected under Articles 14 and 21 besides 300A of the Constitution of India, 1950. 8. Reliance in this regard has also been placed on the decision of the Supreme Court in Raju S. Jethmalani v. State of Maharashtra1, as well as Chairman, Indore Vikas Pradhikaran v. Pure Industrial Coke & Chemicals Limited2 besides Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited v. Darius Shapur Chenai3 and K.T. Plantation Private Limited v. State of Karnataka4. Further reliance has been placed on the decision of this Court in the case titled Baldev Singh Dhillon v. Union of India5, wherein this Court, in the year 1996, had directed the respondent authorities to demarcate the flood plains of the Yamuna River with the help of revenue records to