ORDER

Leave granted.

2. The High Court, after hearing arguments in Civil Writ Petition filed by the respondents held that since the Award had not been made within the period stipulated by the statute (Section 11A), the notification concerning acquisition of Khasra Nos. 127 and 173 had to be declared to be of no effect and after making that order, released the two Khasra numbers from the acquisition notifications vide order dated 22.8.1996. This appeal calls that order in question.

3. The attention of the High Court had been drawn to the stay order dated 25.4.1985, whereby during the pendency of the Writ Petition, the dispossession of the petitioners had been stayed by the High Court to urge that the period during which the stay order was in operation had to be excluded for computing the prescribed period under Section 11A of the Act. According to the High Court, however the order dated 25.4.1985 concerned only the stay of dispossession of the writ petitioners and it could not, in any way be interpreted to imply stay of acquisition proceedings. The approach of the High Court is erroneous. This question is no longer res-integra. In Government of Tamil Nadu and Anr. v. Vasantha Bai1, a B