Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Jan 8: High Court has quashed the land acquisition notice as the Collector had not considered the objections raised by the land owners of a village in Katra area.
The Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal said the cases in hand are illustrative of flagrant violation of mandate of Sections 5-A and 6 of the Land Acquisition Act as such deemed it appropriate to remit the matter back to the Collector Land Acquisition for reconsideration and revisiting of the cases in accordance with law, while taking into consideration and having regard to the objections of the land owners filed to Section 4 notification.
“Accordingly, impugned notification dated 05.02.2016 and consequential proceedings/notifications issued thereof are liable to be quashed”, DB said.
The petitioners claim to be owners in possession of landed property situated at Village Hut, Katra, District Reasi with the construction of some residential houses upon the portion of the land, besides having agriculture land abutting thereto as a source of their livelihood.
A notification in the year 2014 under Section 4 of the J&K Land Acquisition Act, is stated to have been issued by the Collector Land Acquisition Reasi for construction of Heliport at village Hut, inviting therein objections from the land owners/interested persons. The petitioner-owners state to have submitted their objections in response to the said notification.
It has been stated that the Collector Land Acquisition without granting any opportunity of being heard to the them and without dealing with each and every objection submitted by the petitioners forwarded a report dated 15.01.2016 to Deputy Commissioner, Reasi who is stated to have forwarded the report on 15.01.2016 itself to Divisional Commissioner, Jammu for further process of action.
The DB after perusal of the record said the same reveals that the Collector has not considered the said objections raised by the petitioner-land owners in line with Sub-Section (2) of Section 5A, but ironically has held the objections not maintainable liable to be rejected instead of making a recommendation thereto for taking such decision by the Government.
“There seems to be non application of mind by the Collector in discharge of his statutory obligation as contained in Section 5A of the Act. The Collector admittedly, has rejected the objections without assigning any clear reasons which by no sense of imagination can be said to be equated with objective consideration thereof in the eyes of law”, DB recorded in the judgment.
The Court added that the failure of the Government to take objective decision on the objections of landowners in the light of the recommendation made by the Collector will denude the decision of the Government of statutory finality.
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