Judgment

SHARMA, J.:- This appeal by and on behalf of sixty-one persons who came as refugees from West Pakistan in 1947 is directed against the order of the Delhi High Court rejecting their writ petition at the admission stage on the ground of laches. The appellants are aggrieved by a land acquisition proceeding in respect to the lands which they had obtained at an auction held in 1959 for the purpose of rehabilitating the evacuees.

2. Soon after the purchase of the land by the petitioners a notification under S. 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 was published in respect to an area shown in the map attached thereto, which included the lands of the petitioners. According to the case of the petitioners they had no information of this notification and they, therefore, did not take any step for its annulment. It was only in January, 1969 when the notification under S. 6 was issued that the petitioners learnt about the acquisition proceeding. They, then, raised their protest and went on agitating their grievance, but, did not get ny relief. Ultimately, they filed their writ application in July, 1986 which was dismissed by the High Court in limine.

3. It has been contended by the learned counsel for the appellants that the High Court ought not to have dismissed the writ case on the sole ground of delay. The case of the petitioners is that in view of the language used in the notification under S. 4 of the Act exempting Government land and evacuee land from the acquisition proceeding, the disputed land, even after it was auctioned, ought to have been excluded from the proceeding.

4. Coming to the question as to whether the petitioners were prompt in challenging the acquisition proceeding before the High Court, it is relevant to state that the first, objection petition by the petitioners was filed in September, 1971, that is, more than two and half years after the publication of the notification under S. 6. The petitioners claim to have represented again in 1973, 1977 and 1978. Assuming their case to be correct that they had no information of the proceeding for acquisition of their lands before January, 1969 they should have acted promptly thereafter. There is no justification for them to ignore the land acquisition proceedings for about two years and eight months when the letter marked as Annexure P-5 (A) was sent to the Land Acquisition Collector, Tis Hazari in 1971. Even, thereafter, the appellants were not justified in not moving the High Court and sending representations at intervals of several years. The next letter is marked as Annexure P-6 (B) and is claimed to have been despatched in 1973. The other letters relied upon are Annexures P-6 (D) dated 29-10-1977 and P-6 (E) dated 18-5-1978. It has been contended on behalf of the appellants that they received a reply, Annexure P-6 (F), dated 9th June, 1983 from the Deputy Director (New Leases), Delhi Development Authority, which after acknowledging the appellants letter stated thus: "I am directed to inform you that you may apply to the Secretary, Land and Building Deptt., Delhi Admn., Vikas Bhawan, New Delhi for allotment of residential plot in lieu of your alleged plots." The petitioners do not claim to have made anapplication before the aforesaid authority as directed, and ignored the matter again for more than three years before filing the writ petition in the High Court on 8-7-1985. The negligence on the part of the appellants for about two years and eight months between January, 1969 and September, 1971; four years between 1973 and 1977, and again for. three years between 1983 and 1986 has remained unexplained. The finding of the High Court about laches, therefore, cannot be held to be erroneous.

5. This case was taken up for hearing on 13-2-1990 when we pointed out to the learned Additional Solicitor General appearing on behalf of the respondents that although the appellants were guilty of serious negligence, so a as to become disentitled to press their case as a matter of right