Ali Mohd. Magrey, J.

1. This Letters Patent Appeal has been preferred against the judgment dated 04.11.2015 passed by the learned Writ Court in appellants' writ petition, OWP No. 266/2009, dismissing the same as being without any merit, and providing that in the event any damage will be caused to the property of the appellants-petitioners by Tower Location No. 50-A, they shall be paid appropriate compensation as permissible under Section 18 of the Jammu and Kashmir Electricity Act, Svt. 1997 (corresponding to 1940 CE) and in accordance with the scheme of the Act governing payment of compensation. The appellants had filed the aforesaid writ petition for issuance of a writ of Prohibition or any other appropriate writ, direction or order, to direct the respondents not to lay the electric transmission line through their land situated at Sozeth, Tehsil Beerwah, and not Goripora to cause any damage to their land and structures standing thereon. The appellants also prayed for a Mandamus to direct the respondents to change the alignment of the transmission line from the one under contemplation.

2. Their case before the learned Writ Court was that they own land covered under Survey Nos. 1057/818/754/114, 819, 113, 873, 860, 113/min, 114/min, 818/min, 7G2, 112, 116, 61 and 71 situated at Sozeth Goripora, Tehsil Beerwah. Thereon they have constructed 18, three-storey, residential flats after obtaining building permission from the Building Operations Controlling Authority (Commissioner, Srinagar Municipal Corporation) (BOCA). The said building permission was granted in their favour after the Executive Engineer, Electric Inspection Division, Srinagar, and Srinagar Development Authority reported no objection to the BOCA to the aforesaid constructions. In this regard, it was stated that the Executive Engineer, Electric Inspection Division, Srinagar, vide his Letter No. EIDS/906, dated 23.06.2008 conveyed his no objection to the BOCA, stating that no power line was passing over or adjacent to the existing proposed construction at an unsafe distance. Similarly, the Senior Town Planner, Srinagar Development Authority, vide his Letter No. SDA/STP/254, dated 21.08.2008 stated its no objection to the grant of permission to the petitioners for raising the construction.

3. Their further case was that while the aforesaid constructions were near completion, the respondents, without their consent, started laying a transmission line over their land which would cross over their above structures. They requested the respondents not to lay transmission line over their land and structures in light of the fact that they were raising the structures after having obtained due permission there for and after the Executive Engineer, Electric Inspection Division, Srinagar, had issued no objection thereto, but the respondents refused to listen to them or to change the alignment of the transmission line.

4. In their writ petition, the appellants principally took the following three grounds:

(i) that in terms of the Jammu and Kashmir Electricity Act, Svt. 1997 (1940 CE), the respondents did not have any right to lay or place electric supply line through or against any building, or on, over or under any land without the consent of the owner and occupier concerned;

(ii) that the respondents having failed to seek consent from the appellants-owners, cannot lay any tower foundation on their land or carry the transmission line overhead their properties;

(iii) that the appellants after obtaining valid building permission for raising 18 residential structures over the land have altered their position by investing huge sums of money; therefore, the action of the respondents in aligning the transmission line through their land and over their structures without their consent is violative of the safeguards enshrined in Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India.

5. The respondents' stand before the learned Writ Court was that the proposal for laying of the 220 KV Double