Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Apr 8: High Court has quashed the award of compensation in lieu of acquiring a big chunk of land for construction of Amusement Park for not publishing the acquisition notice in a local language newspaper.
The land owners have challenged the award of compensation passed by the Collector Land Acquisition R S Pura for acquiring 134 Kanals of land from the owners in village Abdal, Suchetgarh, Jammu citing the owners have not been given opportunity of being heard.
“For the foregoing reasons, the writ petition is allowed and the impugned award passed by the respondent-Collector is quashed”, Justice Sanjay Dhar concluded. The court further directed the authorities to initiate fresh acquisition proceedings for acquisition of land in question under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 forthwith if not acquired or handover the possession of the land in question to the recorded occupiers, forthwith.
The petitioner-owners through the medium of present petition challenged the final award of collector R.S Pura, Jammu on 24.04.2019 by virtue of which land measuring 134 kanals and 11 marlas situated at Village Abdal (Nai Basti) Tehsil Suchetgarh, District Jammu has been acquired for construction of Amusement Park.
“It appears from the record that Dharmarth Trust Council submitted a communication dated 03.02.2017 before the Collector stating therein that it has no objection if the land in question is acquired and the land compensation is given to the Dharmarth Trust. It appears that respondent-Collector has remained satisfied with the communication of the Dharmarth Trust and did not take steps to serve the requisite notices under various provisions of the State Land Acquisition Act upon the petitioners”, read the judgment.
Justice Dhar said the mandatory provisions of the State Land Acquisition Act have been observed by the Collector in breach thereby, vitiating the acquisition proceedings including the impugned award. The record, court added, produced by the authority concerned does not show that declaration issued by the Government in terms of Section 6 of the Act has been published in the Government Gazette and similarly, the record does not bear testimony to the fact that any notice under Section 9 of the State Act has been served upon the petitioners, who being recorded as occupiers of the land in question are definitely interested persons.
“…the record does not suggest that excepting publication of the notice in one newspaper of English language, the other modes of publication have been followed by the respondent-Collector. On this ground alone, the acquisition proceedings are liable to be quashed. The procedure prescribed for publication of notice under Section 4 of the Act is mandatory and all the modes for publication mentioned therein are to be followed”, the court added.
The court said that not publishing the notices as provided under the Land Acquisition Act for the benefit of the occupants of the land by publishing the notices in local language at conspicuous places vitiates the entire acquisition proceedings.
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