Honble YADAV, J. – All these petitioners relate allotment of land in their favour by Sub Divisional Officer of Bikaner. The land of all these petitioners was acquired for Mahajan Field Firing Range in Bikaner District.

(2). After acquisition of land of the petitioners for aforesaid purposes the State Government in exercise of powers conferred by Rule 24 of the Rajasthan Colonisation (Allotment and Sale of Government Land in the Indira Gandhi Canal Colony Area) Rules, 1975( in short ` the Rules of 1975) read with Rule 17 of the Rajasthan Land Revenue (Allotment of Land for Agricultural Purposes) Rules, 1970 (in short ` the Rules of 1970) and Section 264 of the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1965 (in short ` the Act of 1965) has issued the Notification No.F. 3(8) /G.S.R.162,Rev./Col./81,dt.23.11.1985, Raj.Gaz.Ex.Pt.IV- C(I),dated 10.1.1986,P.339. The aforesaid notification is quoted below in extenso:–

"1. The families displaced from the Mahajan Field Firing Range, Bikaner, hereinafter referred to as the displaced families, shall be offered Barani land/Command/Uncommand Land in Bikaner dis- trict, whether in the Indira Gandhi Nahar Project Area or outside such area.

2. The price for the Barani Land shall be charged at the rate of Rs.300/- per bigha.

3. The displaced families interested in being allotted land in the command or uncommand areas as the Indira Gandhi Nahar project may be allotted land in such area at the price charged at two times the reserve price of such land prescribed in rule 17 of the Rajasthan Colonisation (Allotment and Sale of Government Land in the Indira Gandhi Nahar Project Area) Rules,1975.

4. Two bighas of uncommand/barani land or bigha of command land in the Mahajan Field Firing Range shall be computed to be equal to one bigha of command land in the Indira Gandhi Nahar

Project Area.

5. The total land to be alloted to a displaced family shall be equivalent to the land in area from which such family has been displaced subject to ceiling limit is prescribed in the law for the time being in force."

(3). All the petitioners have filed the instant writ petitions for quashing the demand of price at market rate of the land allotted to them in pursuance of the departmental instructions/circular dated 9.10.1987, Anx. 5 to the writ petition filed by Smt. Tulsi & Ors. The same departmental instructions/circular fixing price of land at market rate are also filed in other writ petitions making demand of price of the land in dispute at the market rate.

(4). The aforesaid departmental instructions/circular dated 19.10.1987 and notices for demanding price at market rate have been challenged by the petitioners on the ground that the demand of price of land in dispute at market rate on the basis of departmental instructions/circular dated 19.10.1987 is per-se illegal, therefore, the demand notices as well as aforesaid departmental instructions/circular fixing price of land at market rate are liable to be quashed.

(5). At the request of the learned counsel for the parties all the aforesaid writ petitions were heard together as the points involved, grievances expressed and reliefs sought in all these petitions are the same hence I propose to dispose them off by a common order treating SB Civil Writ Petition No. 990/1992 as a leading case in which reply to the writ petition has been filed on behalf of the respondents.

(6). The reliefs sought by the petitioners in aforesaid writ petitions are being opposed by the respondents by filing returns on the ground inter-alia that the petitioners were earlier charged price of Barani land as prescribed under the notification dated 23.11.1985 @ Rs,300/- per bigha but when the said land was brought in Indira Gandhi Nahar Project Area and became command land they are entitled to charge difference of price at market rate in pursuance of departmental instructions/circular dated 19.10.1987.

(7). From the averments made in the writ petition as well as the reply filed on behalf of the respondents it is eviden

Click Here to Read the rest of this document