Judgment

Ali Mohammad Magrey, J.-The petitioners have knocked at the portals of this Court in granting them the following relief(s):

“a) A writ or direction including one in the nature of certiorari, quashing the acquisition proceedings held by the respondents, including the notification contained in Annexure P2, P5 and P7 and all other notifications as may have been issued by the respondents in the matter.

b) A writ, order or direction including one in the nature of Mandamus, commanding upon the respondents to stop forthwith their constructional activities on the land in question and desist from further altering the nature and character of the land in question, till the procedure provided by law is duly followed and the petitioners are awarded the compensation as due to them in accordance with law.

c) A writ, order or direction including one in the nature of Mandamus, commanding upon the respondents to assess the compensation payable to the petitioners as per the market rate taking into consideration the commercial value of the properties in question, after hearing the petitioners and pay them same in accordance with law and with a further direction upon the respondents to allot suitable quantity of land to the petitioners at an appropriate place.

d) Any other writ, order or direction which the Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case may also be passed in favour of the petitioner and against the respondents.”

2. The case set up by the petitioners is that they claim to be owners in possession of a plot of land measuring 01 Kanal, 19 Marlas and 228 sft., along with a double storied house and single storied Kitchen situate at Buchwara, Srinagar, comprising under Survey No.1066/799/219-min. The said landed property is stated to have been purchased by the petitioners from its erstwhile owner, namely, Shri Hari Krishen Mirza S/o Pt. Tara Chand Mirza R/o Karan Nagar, Srinagar vide a sale deed dated 7th of May, 1973 duly registered on 2nd of June, 1973, whereafter the same stands mutated in the name of the petitioners in the relevant revenue records under Mutation No. 1423 dated 3rd of July, 1985. Besides the petitioners also claim to be in possession of a piece of land measuring 04 Marlas and 257 sft., comprised under Survey Nos. 220 min and 222-min, shown in the revenue records in the name of the Sarkar. This entire landed property is contended to have been enclosed by the petitioners by concrete brick walling. It is pleaded that apparently a notification under Section 4(1) of the J&K Land Acquisition Act was issued by the respondent No.6 under No. DCS/LAC/1916/956-71 dated 22nd of December, 2011 for acquisition of the above landed property, however, no such notification was published by the respondents in the Government Gazette. It is further contended that due to non-publication of the aforesaid notification in the Government Gazette, they remained completely unaware about the issuance of such notification. It is further stated that during the tourist season with effect from May to November every year, the petitioners have been putting the said properties for commercial use by letting the same to tourists through local Agents. Therefore, as stated, in such circumstances, coupled with non-communication of any information by the respondents qua the acquisition proceedings initiated by them, the petitioners were neither associated in the private negotiation proceedings as claimed by the respondents to have been undertaken on 11th of February, 2011 or the issuance of the notifications under Sections 6 and 7 vide No. DCS/LAC/1916/1367-72 dated 24th of February, 2012 or a notification under Section 9 and 9(A) stated to have been issued vide No. DCS/LAC/1916/1394-1400 dated 25th of February, 2012. The petitioners, as stated, for the first time acquired the knowledge of the aforesaid properties having been brought under acquisition proceedings when they found the respondent No.7/ Contractor appoin