Judgment

DESAI, J.:- This appeal by special leave arises from the dismissal of the Civil Writ petition filed by the present appellant by a learned single Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court as also dismissal in limine of the Letters Patent appeal preferred by him.

2. Appellant is a displaced person from West Pakistan. On his migration to India he was allotted on quasi permanent basis land admeasuring 32 1/2 standard acres in village Daulatpur, Tahsil Pathankot, Distt. Gurdaspur. First respondent Union of India acquired land admeasuring 1243 canals, 5 marlas which included 15 acres of land allotted to the appellant, for constructing a railway line. According to the appellant he was paid cash compensation for the same. First respondent further acquired in 1950 some land for constructing National highway from Jammu to Jullundur and the acquisition included a portion of the land allotted to the appellant and along with other allottees he was paid cash compensation for the same. First respondent wanted an open plot of land for setting up a housing colony for rehabilitating some refugees from Mirpur (Kashmir) and in all it took possession of land comprising 7.88 acres of non-evacuee land and 6.64 acres of evacuee land. This acquisition included land admeasuring 1 standard acre and 15 1/2 units of land allotted to the appellant. Possession of the land including the land of the appellant was admittedly taken over in July 1953. Since then the appellant has been requesting the first respondent and other competent authorities for payment of compensation for the the same. In the mean time after the introduction of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and rehabilitation) Act, 1954, (1954 Act for short), allotment of land to appellant which was till then on quasi permanent basis was converted into permanent basis. As the appellant was clamouring for compensation for the land taken from him, the Chief Settlement Commissioner, Punjab, made an order on 17th March 1961, Annexure C whereby a reference made from the Evacuee Property Department was accepted and the permanent settlement rights conferred on the appellant in respect of 1 standard acre and 15 1/2 units of land were cancelled on the ground that there already existed houres over that portion of the land and the land was described as ghair mumkin abadi and was not allottable on permanent settlement as agricultural land against the verified claim of the appellant. The appellant questioned the correctness of this order in writ Petition No. 559/61 in the High Court which was dismissed in limine on 22nd March 1961 and which has led to a contention on behalf of the respondents that the subsequent writ petition from which the present appeal arises is barred by the principles analogous to res judicata. After the dismissal of the aforementioned writ petition the appellant approached the Financial Commissioner (Rehabilitation Department), Chandigarh, as per his representation Annexure D dated 15th March 1963 requesting him to pay cash compensation for the land taken over by the first respondent which till such taking over was held by the appellant on quasi permanent allotment. On receipt of this representation the appellant was directed as per Annexure E dated 25th April 1963 to appear before the Financial Commissioner (Taxation) on 16th March 1963 at Chandigarh. The appellant accordingly appeared before the Financial Commissioner (Taxation) and represented his case for cash compensation. Subsequent thereto, Secretary to the Government of Punjab, Rehabilitation Department, wrote to his counterpart in the Central Government requesting the first respondent to concur with the decision of the Pubjab Government for payment of cash compensation to the appellant adding that the land held by the appellant on quasi permanent basis was taken over for the purpose of the first respondent and that as the area involved was less than 2 acres, the decision to pay cash compensation in respect of such area arr