IMPORTANT POINT
Release of acquired land – Part land cannot be released and/or with respect to part land, acquisition cannot be quashed.

JUDGMENT :

M.R. SHAH, J.

1. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned common judgment and order dated 09.04.2021 passed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh in CWP No. 16346/2013, CWP No. 6729/2013 and CWP No. 10452/2014, by which, the Division Bench of the High Court has allowed the said writ petitions and has set aside the action of the State in declining prayer of the original writ petitioners – original land owners for release of their respective acquired land(s) and consequently, has directed to release their respective acquired land(s) from acquisition, the State of Haryana and others have preferred the present appeals. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and order passed in writ petition CWP No. 10452/2014, the beneficiaries of the acquisition have also preferred the present appeal arising out of Diary No. 37052/2022.

1.1 At the outset, it is required to be noted that Civil Appeal No. 1347/2023 arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 11842/2022 is concerned, the same is against the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court in CWP No. 6729/2013. Civil Appeal No. 1348/2023 arising out of SLP (C) No. 11843/2022 is concerned, the same is against the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court in CWP No. 16346/2013 and Civil Appeal No. 1349/2023 arising out of SLP (C) No. 11844/2022 is concerned, the same is against the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court in CWP No. 10452/2014.

2. For the sake of convenience, the facts of CWP No. 16346/2013 are considered which was also considered by the High Court as a lead matter.

FACTS IN CIVIL APPEAL NO.1348 /2023 ARISING OUT OF CWP NO. 16346/2013

2.1 That the State of Haryana issued a notification dated 21.04.1987 under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (hereinafter referred to as the Act), intending to acquire the land measuring 35.76 acres for the development and utilization of land as residential and commercial Sector 11, Kurukshetra and the same was followed with declaration/notification under Section 6 of the Act dated 20.04.1988. The objections were invited from all the concerned land owners. That thereafter, the award was pronounced by the Land Acquisition Collector on 12.04.1990 for the land measuring 34.61 acres only. That thereafter, a further notification was issued by the State of Haryana under Section 4 of the Act dated 11.02.2002 for acquiring the land measuring 126.30 acres for residential, commercial and institutional purposes in Sector 6 and 11, Kurukshetra. It appears that even before the issuance of notification under Section 6 of the Act, the land measuring 81.91 acres belonging to 43 land holders came to be released, details of which shall be considered hereinbelow. That thereafter, except the original writ petitioners of CWP No. 16346/2013, rest of the lands acquired belonging to the different land holders came to be released from acquisition either by the State Government or pursuant to the order(s) passed by the High Court in various writ petitions, the area of which amounts to 40.80 acres. The particulars of the land released with respect to the land acquired vide notification dated 21.04.1987 in tabular form are as under:

2.2 That thereafter