THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM v. THE STATE OF ASSAM & Anr.

Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. M A SHEIKH, MR. W A SHEIKH,MS F INTAZ Advocate for the Respondent : SC, REVENUE, GA, ASSAM BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY Date : 17.11.2025 ORDER Heard Mr. M.A. Sheikh, learned counsel for the petitioners; Ms. P.R. Mahanta, learned Standing Counsel, Revenue Department for the respondent no. 1; and Mr. N. Goswami, learned Junior Government Advocate, Assam for the respondent no. 2.

#2. The petitioners, 33 [thirty-three] in nos., have preferred the instant writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India stating that they have a common cause of action. The petitioners have stated that they are marginal cultivators and are in possession of different parcels of land, as per Schedule A to Schedule Z and Schedule A1 to Schedule A7 mentioned in the writ petition. The petitioners have been served with a set of notices and orders, dated Nil, by the respondent no. 2 in Form-A purportedly in exercise of powers under Section 3[1] of the Assam Land [Requisition and Acquisition] Act, 1964 read with Rule 3 of the Assam Land [Requisition and Acquisition] Rules, 1964. The notices and orders, dated Nil are stated to have been issued in connection with LA Case no. 3/2025-2026. By the notices and orders, the respondent no. 2 has informed that the parcels of land, which are located at Villages – [1] Page No. 7/10 Charuabakha Jungle Block; [2] Santoshpur; and [3] Chirakuti Part-I and belonging to the petitioners, would be requisitioned for providing land for the APDCL under the Assam Thermal Power General Promotion Policy, 2025. On being served with the said notices and orders, dated Nil, the petitioners have submitted that their written objections on 02.09.2025 before the respondent no. 2 highlighting their grievances. In the notices, the petitioners have raised a number of contentions/grounds as to why the requisition process undertaken vide LA Case no. 3/2025-2026 should not be proceeded with for requisitioning the lands of the petitioners. The petitioners have also challenged the procedure adopted for requisitioning of the land by invoking the provisions of the Assam [Requisition and Acquisition] Act, 1964 and the Assam [Requisition and Acquisition] Rules, 1964.

#3. As the written objections have not been given consideration by the respondent no. 2 till date and the petitioners are in apprehension that the petitioners’ parcels of land are going to be taken over at any point of time, the petitioners are before this Court by the instant writ petition.

#4. Mr. Sheikh, learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that since the written objections filed by the petitioners raising the grounds have not yet been disposed of by the respondent no. 2, his submission, at this stage, is limited to a direction to the respondent no. 2 to dispose of the representations by way of speaking orders upon traversing the grounds raised by the petitioners in those written objections. Mr. Sheikh has further submitted that this Court in a writ petition, W.P.[C] no. 5141/2025, preferred by persons similarly circumstanced, disposed of the writ petition by an Order dated 05.09.2025 with a direction to the respondent no. 2 to dispose of the representations after due consideration.

#5. Ms. Hazarika and Mr. Goswami, learned counsel appearing for the State respondents have submitted that this writ petition can be disposed of in similar lines as like the writ petition, W.P.[C] no. 5141/2025 as the petitioners herein are similarly situated like the petitioners in W.P.[C] no. 5141/2025.

#6. As the notices and orders, dated Nil, annexed as Annexure-1 to Annexure-33, are purportedly issued in exercise of powers under Section 3[1] of the Assam Land [Requisition and Acquisition] Act, 1964 and Rule 3 of the Assam Land [Requisition and Acquisition] Rules, 1964, the said provisions are extracted hereinabove for ready reference :- Page No. 8/10

#3. Power to requisition :- [1] If in the opinion of the State Government or any person authorised in this behalf by the State Government it is necessary so to do, for maintaining supplies and services essential to the life of the community or for providing proper facilities for accommodation, transport, communication, irrigation, flood control and anti-erosion measures including embankment and drainage or for providing land individually or in groups to landless, flood affected or displaced persons, or to a society registered under the Assam Co-operative Societies Act, 1949 [Assam Act I of 1950], or a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 [Act I of 1956], or a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 [Act I of 1956], formed for the benefit and rehabilitation of landless, flood affected or displaced persons [or to provide land for the purpose of construction of border fencing and allied works, including border roads and check posts connected therewith, along Bangladesh border] the State Government or the person so authorised, as the case may be, may by order in writing, requisition any land and may make such further orders as appear to it or to him to be necessary or expedient in connection with the requisitioning. [2] An order under sub-section [1] shall be served in the prescribed manner on the owner of the land and where the order relates to land in occupation of a tenant, also on such tenant. [3] When the order for requisition is made by any authority other than the State Government, any person interested in the land, within 30 days from the date of service of the order, may appeal to the State Government and the decision of the State Government in such appeal shall be final.

#3. Manner of submission of representation by interest person when land is Page No. 9/10 necessary to be requisitioned for landless or displaced persons. – Where it is necessary to requisition any land for landless or displaced persons, the person interested in the land shall be informed of the intention of requisitioning his land and such person may make written representation, if any, against it within 15 days from the date of receipt of such information. The information shall be in the form of a notice in form ‘A’. Such representation when received shall be disposed of by the State Government or the person authorized to requisition the land as the case may be, after due consideration. If necessary by local inquiry, by an officer, not below the rank of a Sub-Deputy Collector.

#7. Rule 3 has prescribed that if a noticee pursuant to the notice served, makes a representation against the notice issued in Form-A then such representation when received, shall be disposed of by the State Government or the person authorized to requisition the land, as the case may be, after due consideration. Rule 3 has further provided that if necessary, the authority can make a local enquiry.

#8. As the respondent no. 2, who has issued the notice and orders, impugned herein, has an obligation to dispose of the representations submitted by the petitioners-noticees after due consideration, this Court taking into consideration the submissions made by the learned counsel for the parties, is of the considered view that if the representations submitted by the petitioners-noticees have not yet been disposed of by the respondent no. 2, then the respondent no. 2 shall take those representations on board, which are annexed as Annexure- A1 to Annexure-A33 of the writ petition, for consideration and after giving due consideration, shall dispose of the same by taking into account the grounds raised in the written objection, by way of separate speaking orders. The respondent no. 2 shall pass the speaking orders as expeditiously as possible and the speaking order so passed, shall be communicated to the petitioners forthwith thereafter. To balance the equities, it is provided that till such disposal is done by speaking orders, no coercive action shall be taken against the petitioners in terms of the notices and orders, dated Nil. It is further clarified that this direction only would be operative only if in the meantime, the representations have not yet been disposed of.

#9. This order disposes of the writ petition. There shall, however, be no order as to costs. Page No. 10/10 JUDGE Comparing Assistant