R. S. CHAUHAN, J.

( 1 ) SENTINELS of our past, repository of our culture and heritage, forts and palaces dot the hills and desert of rajasthan. One such fort is the fort of chomu, a town situated thirty-three kilometers from jaipur. Scion of the royal family of Jaipur State, the Nathawats started the construction of the fort in the 17th century, and extensively enlarged it in the 18th century. The fort houses a palace complex and the fortress walls ("the Parkota") and a ditch ("the Khai" ). The fort is the bone of contention between the petitioners and the state. Vide Notification dated 28-3-78, published on 8-4-1978 in the Rajasthan Gazette, the State had declared the fort to be a "protected monument" under Section 3 (4a) of the Rajasthan Monuments, Archaeological sites and Antiquities Act, 1961 (henceforth to be referred to as the State Act, for short ). The petitioners are challenging the validity of the said notification. They are also challenging the letter dated 16-9-81, whereby the objections filed by the petitioners against the said notification were rejected by the state.

( 2 ) THIS case has had a checkered history. On 7-12-1972, the petitioners purchased the sai