( 1 ) THIS judgment will dispose of a bunch of writ petitions involving common questions and filed more than a decade and a half ago seeking issue of appropriate writ restraining respondent / Delhi Development Authority (DDA) from demolishing the structures of the petitioners. The interim orders restraining DDA from carrying out any demolitions and dispossessing the petitioners are continuing since 1980. . Arguments were addressed in C. W. 730/80 (M/s. Prem Chand Ramesh Chand Vs. DDA and another) and, therefore, we will notice the facts of this case which lie in a narrow compass.

( 2 ) THE petitioner who claims to be the owner and in possession of structures / godowns bearing No. 27 on land out of Khasra No. 197 and situate in Revenue Estate, Village Haiderpur, Delhi, has, inter alia, pleaded in the writ petition that the land on which the godowns have been constructed has neither been acquired under any provisions of law nor the area has been declared as development Area as per Section 12 of the Delhi Development Act, 1957 (for short dda Act ). It has further been pleaded that the entire Revenue Estate of Village Haiderpur has been declared as Urban area and, therefore, DDA has no right, title or interest over the said area and DDA has no jurisdiction to deal with it. it has, therefore, been claimed that the threatened action is illegal, arbitrary and without jurisdiction.

( 3 ) BY Notification dated 24th October, 1961 issued by Chief Commissioner, Delhi, under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, a large chunk of land including the land in question was proposed to be acquired for a public purpose, namely, planned development of Delhi. This was followed by Notifications issued under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act from time to time. On 18th July 1980 award (Award No. 50/80-81) in respect of this land and other land was made by the Land Acquisition Collector. DDA had been, however, restrained from carrying out any further demolition by orders passed by this Court on 1st June 1980. On 23rd July 1980 this Court further directed that there will be stay of demolition and dispossession till the decision of the writ petition.

( 4 ) THE main contention urged on behalf of the petitioner is that since the land in question is not part of development area, DDA has no jurisdiction over it and it can neither demolish the structures nor dispossess the occupants; It has further been contended that there is also a policy of the Government to regularise the unauthorised colonies and it is likely that the structures of the petitioner would also be regularised. In an affidavit filed in this court in the year 1992 a plea has also been taken that the Government has a policy not to acquire built up areas.

( 5 ) THE DDA with its reply affidavits has annexed copies of Notifications issued from time to time and also filed a ferro-print of the Zonal Development Plan for Zones H-4, 5 and 6. Undisputedly, according to the Notification dated 20th April 1968, the area in question falls within development Area No. 83 (Part of Zone H-6 ). This notification was issued under Section 12 (1) of DDA Act declaring lands described therein as "development Areas". The Zonal Development Plan shows that in the development Area No. 83 two places are shown as Villages - one as Village Haiderpur and the other as Village Shalimar. By Notification dated 16th August 1978, Sixty two Villages were denotified and thus excluded from development Area . Since Village Haiderpur and Village Basti Shalimar are also part of this Notification, the same were denotified and excluded from Development Area . From the reading of these two Notifications, it is, however, clear that what was denotified out of the development Area No. 83 was only the area covered by the two Villages, Haiderpur and Basti Shalimar as shown in the Zonal Development Plan. The rest of the area falling within the development Area No. 83 (Part of Zone H-6) remained as de