Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Nov 15: High Court has dismissed the plea challenging the notification for acquisition and award of land for the purpose of four laning of the National Highway (NH) from Bahihal to Srinagar and directed the Collector Land Acquisition to ensure that the compensation awarded is credited in land owner’s account.
Hearing the plea filed by one Bashir Ahmad Bhat whose land has been acquired for the NH, the Division Bench of Justice Rajnesh Oswal and Justice Rahul Bharti dismissed the petition by recording that if the petitioner-owner’s plea for grant of the relief sought in the writ petition is to be accepted, then the same would be at the cost of putting the clock back to the year 2005 and by undoing the entire process for acquisition of the land for four laning of the National Highway IA from Banihal to Srinagar.
Court said the entire process of land acquisition came to be put into exercise and even the four laning has come to be carried out at the time when this matter got heard by this Court for final adjudication as such, this Court may not be in a position to serve the wish of the petitioner, particularly, when the petitioner himself has been privy by design and default to the course of events relating to acquisition of his land situated in district Pulwama.
Court said the owner has acquiesced, both by commission and omission, with the course of events without ever bothering to question it at the appropriate point of time, even if the same were seeming to the be so offending to his rights qua the property in reference.
“This writ merits dismissal. However, before parting with the judgment and taking cognizance of the fact that in case the petitioner has not received the amount of compensation assessed and payable for his land in terms of the award in reference, the Collector concerned shall enquire and ensure that the award amount stands credited with the account of the petitioner if the same has not already been done”, Court directed.
Court said the petitioner-owner being fully conscious of land acquisition award dated 15.01.2014 qua his land specific comes forward with the present writ petition filed on 05.02.2014 opting to challenge only Section 4 original notification dated 30th March, 2010 bearing with the presence of the final award but still opts not to amend his writ petition all along is bound to suffer the application of acquiescence against him.
Court said that knowing well that his land was to fall for the acquisition underway, he had made an application to the Collector Land Acquisition National Highway Authority of India four-laning (Additional Deputy Commissioner, Pulwama) for private negotiation exercise.
The entire exercise had resulted in publication of the final land acquisition award with respect to the petitioner’s land and in terms of this award, the petitioner was offered land compensation of Rs. 6,67,000. “After coming into the picture of the final award, and perhaps sensing and seeing the fact that the rate of compensation so offered in terms of the above said award was not palatable to him, the petitioner chose to act as if being unaware of coming into existence of said award and ventured to file the present writ petition in the year 2014. It cannot be a coincidence that the final award with respect to the petitioner’s land is dated 15.01.2014, and the timing of filing of the writ petition is 05.02.2014.”, DB noticed.
The DB recorded that this Court is not going to fall trap to the said guile of petitioner and the reasons for this Court in doing so is on account of the fact that writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is not a legal remedy, in the facts and circumstances of the present case, for the petitioner to get rid of the effects of the award dated 15.01.2014 by just throwing a challenge to the Section 4 notification dated 30.03.2010.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
