ORDER :- This is an application by 19 villagers of Lambui village in the Urkhul sub-division of Manipur for the issue of a writ of mandamus or other appropriate writ under Art. 226 of the Constitution directing the Deputy Commissioner and the Chief Commissioner of Manipur to perform their duties and obligations under Art. 31 of the Constitution in respect of 18 paris and 1/2 sangam of paddy land which were in the possession of the petitioners, but which were taken over by the respondents for the purpose of construction of a motorable road from Litan to Ukhrul.

2. The facts are not in dispute except that the respondents do not admit the extent of the land taken over to be 18 paris and 1/2 songam. The respondents admit that they took possession of the paddy land in the possession of the respondents for the purpose of making the said road. They have produced a Map showing the said road and the location of the land taken over for the said road and the names of the petitioners are shown in the said Map as the persons in possession of the paddy land used for the said road.

The petitioners applied to the Chief Commissioner, respondent No. 2 on 15-4-1957 and again on 27-7-1957 and to the Deputy Commissioner on 6-12-1957 to award them compensation as required under Art. 31 of the Constitution and to assess the compensation as required under the Land Acquisition Act I of 1894. No replies appear to have been vouchsafed by the Chief Commissioner.

But to their petition to the Deputy Commissioner dated 6-12-1957 they received a reply from the E. A. C. (Revenue) attached to the Deputy Commissioners Office dated 15-3-1958 by which they were informed that the land used for the construction of the road was not acquired under the Land Acquisition Act I of 1894 and that a sum of Rs. 2,076.90 np. has been sanctioned to the petitioners as ex-gratia payment and that their request for proceeding under the Land Acquisition Act I of 1894 cannot be entertained. The land has already been taken possession of by the respondents from the petitioners. It is under these circumstances that this writ petition has been filed.

3. The contention of the petitioners in the writ is that they have been in occupation of the lands in Lambui village from the times of their fore-fathers and that they have been paying house tax to the Government through their Khullapa according to custom and usage, that they have not been informed under what provision of law they have been deprived of their property, that their request for inspection of the records concerning the acquisition of the lands was rejected, though the said records are public documents relating to compulsory acquisition and payment of compensation, that under Article 31 of the Constitutions, the respondents cannot deprive them of their property except by authority of law, that as it was a case of compulsory acquisition or requisition for a public purpose it can be done only by authority of law which provided for compensation for the properties so acquired and that therefore the respondents cannot take over the land in question except by proceeding under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act 1 of 1894.

4. The contention of the respondents in their counter-affidavit was that there was nothing on the record to show that the petitioners were possessing the lands since the time of their fore-fathers, that under the land tenure system prevalent in the Hill areas of Manipur, the villagers have no right, title and interest over the land in their respective villages-vis-a-vis the Government of Manipur, that the villagers held the lands at the pleasure of the Government, that the petitioners who claimed to be occupiers of the lands affected by the construction of the road were offered an ex-gratia payment at the rate of Rs. 300/- per acre plus 15 per cent by way of solatium, and that they were not entitled to any compensation under any statute or law.

5. The petitioners filed a reply statement denying that the hill villager

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