Las No. 229 of 2007 · The High Court
Case at a glance
- Bench
- SANJEEV KUMAR
Outcome
Disposed of
this petition is disposed of by providing as under:-
Provisions considered
Judgment
Having heard learned counsel for the petitioner and perused the material on record, we are of the considered view that the respondents cannot keep the acquisition proceedings pending indefinitely. In the instant case, the notification under Section 4 of the Act was issued as far as back on
Operative part
13.06.2009. Fourteen years have passed, the respondents have neither de- notified the subject land, nor have they taken the land acquisition proceedings to its logical end. After, the promulgation of Jammu and Kashmir Re- organization Act, 2019, there is further development in the matter, that is, the Act has been repealed and new Central legislation, i.e., Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 has now been made applicable. In view of admitted position taken note of hereinabove and the change of law, the notice under Section 4(1) of the Act (now repealed), issued for acquiring the subject land has outlived its life and utility and, therefore, cannot be given effect to at this stage. The respondents have not been able to explain as to why the process of acquisition started in the year 2009, could not be completed by them even after lapse of more than 14 years. Even the subject land has not been put to any public use and is still in the possession of the petitioner. Having regard to the facts and circumstances taken note of hereinabove, this petition is disposed of by providing as under:-
(i) That the process of acquisition initiated by the respondents vide notification dated 13.06.2009, issued under Section 4(1) of the Act, is quashed.
(ii) The petitioner, who is owner in possession of the subject land, is permitted to use the same in the manner he likes, of course, in accordance with law.
(iii) We, however, provide that in case the respondents need the subject land for public purpose, they can proceed to acquire it under the provisions of Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation Resettlement Act, 2013. Disposed of. (PUNEET GUPTA) JUDGE SRINAGAR 18.03.2023 “Mohammad Yasin Dar” (SANJEEV KUMAR) JUDGE
Questions this judgment answers
What did the Court decide in this case?
The Court recorded the following disposition: this petition is disposed of by providing as under:-
Which statutory provisions did this judgment involve?
Jammu and Kashmir Land Acquisition Act — s. 4(1).
Precedent status how later indexed judgments have treated this case
No known negative treatment found in the Courts & Cases corpus.
This is a result about the indexed corpus, not a finding that the judgment remains good law. Coverage may be incomplete.