Judgment :

Pankaj Mithal, CJ.

1. The petitioner through the medium of this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with Section 103 of the erstwhile Constitution of the State of Jammu and Kashmir has prayed for the quashing of notifications dated 09.03.2007 and 12.03.2009 issued under Sections 4 and 6 respectively of the Jammu and Kashmir Land Acquisition Act (‘the Act’) and also the award dated 27.09.2010 passed under Section 11 of the Act.

2. The petitioner has also challenged the communication dated 06.02.2013 by which the Collector Land Acquisition (PWD), Jammu, has intimated that the application of the petitioner for reference under Section 18 of the Act has been rejected as barred by time.

3. The petitioner has also challenged the letter dated 15.02.2014 of the Collector Land Acquisition (PWD) refusing to make supplementary award as was assured and stated to be made in the award dated 27.09.2010.

4. The petitioner at the same time has also sought issuance of writ of mandamus for a direction upon the respondents to initiate fresh proceedings for acquiring the land in question after treating the earlier proceedings to be hit by Section 11-B of the Act and to assess compensation of the petitioner’s property which includes the commercial-cum-residential building and to pay compensation with 18% interest per annum.

5. It is pertinent to clarify at the outset that most of the provisions of the Act are analogues and are pari materia with the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

6. It appears from the pleadings that the petitioner on a piece of land, having an area of 05 Marlas and 8 sarsai of Khasra No. 341 min situated at Gujjar Nagar, Jammu, constructed a three storied commercial-cum-residential house, each floor having 1600 square feet of covered area with three shops adjoining to the road. Respondent no.5- Collector Land Acquisition (PWD) issued a notification dated 28.04.2000 under Section 4 of the Act notifying acquisition of some land including some portion of the land, three shops and the portion of the house of the petitioner. The said notification was followed by a declaration dated 12.08.2003 issued under Section 6 of the Act. However, the aforesaid acquisition proceedings lapsed by virtue of Section 11-B of the Jammu and Kashmir Land Acquisition Act as no award was made within a period of two years from the date of publication of the declaration.

7. The respondents thereafter initiated fresh acquisition proceedings and a fresh notification under Section 4 of the Act was issued on 09.03.2007 with the declaration under Section 6 dated 12.03.2009. In respect of these acquisition proceedings final award was made on 27.09.2010. The petitioner was not satisfied by the compensation offered under the final award and, therefore, applied for a reference under Section 18 of the Act. Respondent no.5 vide letter dated 06.02.2013 informed the petitioner that his application for reference under Section 18 has been rejected as time barred.

8. The said final award dated 27.09.2010 categorically stated that a supplementary award would be made regarding the assessment of the compensation as per the latest approved rates. This was stated as the compensation therein was offered at the old rates and the Collector had sent request for incorporating rates which were notified with effect from 01.01.2010.

9. Simultaneously, the petitioner was served with a notice dated 06.07.2010 to handover vacant possession of the whole land and the building including the shops. The petitioner preferred OWP No. 763 of 2010 alleging that the possession of the building should not be taken and that it should not be demolished as probably part of the residence or building cannot be acquired.

10. It is with these facts that the present petition for the reliefs as narrated in the preceding paragraphs has been filed.

11. We have heard Sh. O. P. Thakur, senior counsel assisted by Sh. Anoop Singh Thakur for the petitioner and Sh. S.S. Na