C) No. 369 of 2025 · High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh

Through:- Mr. Irfan Khan, Advocate V/s UT of J&K and Ors. …..Respondent(s) Through:- Ms. Priyanka Butt, Advocate Mrs. Monika Kohli, Sr. AAG CORAM : HON’BLE MRS. JUSTICE MOKSHA KHAJURIA KAZMI, JUDGE ORDER 18.02.2025

Petitioners claim to be owners in possession of land comprised of Khasra nos. 483, 444/2, 483, 444 & 445 and 460 of village Surankote District Poonch along with structures, shops and residential houses raised thereupon. Case of the petitioners is that respondents, in order to widen the Rajouri-Thanamandi-Surankote Road by GREF, initiated the process of acquisition and issued a notification, with a list of structures coming under the road alignment. Houses and structures of the petitioners also figured in the said list. The respondents also mentioned some meagre amounts against the names mentioned in the said list without actual assessment on spot through experts. It is further stated that respondent no. 2 issued notification no. Coll/Def/OQ/2019-20/760- 44 dated 30.09.2019, under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, inviting objections from the land owners with respect to the 2 WP (C) No. 369/2025 proposed acquisition. The objections were filed, however, grievance of the petitioners is that respondents neither considered the objections filed by the land owners nor concluded the acquisition proceedings and in the process with the enactment of The Reorganization Act 2019, J&K Land Acquisition Act 1990 was repealed and therefore, notification in terms of Section 4 of the J&K Land Acquisition Act, 1990 became redundant and respondents were obliged to issue fresh notification in terms of The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 [the amended Land Acquisition Act].

Mr. Irfan Khan, learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that he will be satisfied if the respondents are directed to treat the present writ petition as a representation and decide the same within reasonable time. Learned counsel for the respondents is not averse to the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioners.

Having regard to the limited nature of controversy, the present writ petition is admitted to hearing and disposed of, at the threshold, with a direction to the respondents to treat and consider the present writ petition as representation and accord consideration to the same within a period of four weeks after affording an opportunity of being heard to the petitioner from the date a copy of this order along with copy of the writ petition and annexures are made 3 WP (C) No. 369/2025 available to them. Till then, respondents are directed not to demolish the structures, shops and residential houses over the subject land.

With the aforesaid direction, the present petition stands disposed of. JAMMU 18.02.2025 Tarun/PS (Moksha Khajuria Kazmi) Judge