The court established the importance of proper rent assessment for private property occupied by the police and emphasized the distinction between 'eminent domain' and 'police power' of the State.

JUDGMENT

1. Heard learned Counsel for the parties.

2. Nothing can be more befitting starter to this judgment than an observation adored with realization of constitutional guardianship of the rights of an Indian citizen/subject qua his/her property as served by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in the case titled 'State of Punjab Vs Gurdial Singh & Ors' reported in 1980 AIR SC 319. One liner statement bearing an awakening edict embedded in para 16 is by Justice Krishna Iyer and which is, 'It is fundamental that compulsory taking of a man's property is a serious matter and smaller the man the more serious the matter.'

3. The present case bears a paradox which is that the petitioners acted as law abiding citizens despite being the sufferer as against the respondents 3 to 5 who had opted to act as law avoiding public officials being found disturbing the sensitivity of afore-cited statement on a serious note as a small piece of property of an ordinary family of the petitioners was taken by seizure & usurpation by the J&K Police least serious for and without bearing any semblance of process of law. To add an insult to the injury, the J&K Police, acting post-facto, dictated an offer of rent at a rate of its own picking to be imposed upon the hapless owner family but without even a single penny of rental landing in the hands of the deprived owner family till date and this is what is the cry for justice in the present writ petition which has waited for seven long years of sufferance to earn final disposal from this Court. In fact, there should be no hesitation to confess on record that in a way this court has also contributed to the prolonging in providing the riddance to the aggrieved family. This Police Bossism against the owner family had come into play in February, 2013 lasting onwards with only relieving factor being that plot property got released in October, 2018 when the J&K Police itself felt no more urge to enjoy and extend the seizure and usurpation leaving the petitioners high and dry without even a word of thanks for their solace.

4. The petitioners are successors-in-interest of late Shardha Ram and all of whom have come to succeed to a piece of property existing in the form of a plot of land measuring 07 kanals 18 marlas falling under khasra no. 247 in village Kartholi, ward no. 12 Bari Brahmana, Samba. There is no denial & dispute whatsoever as to this status of the petitioners qua said plot property.

5. J&K Police Establishment's Police Central Store in February 2013 came to lay its sight and hand on this plot property of the petitioners for the purpose of coal dumping even though the petitioners were unaware and unwilling to let the Police Establishment make use of their said plot property but felt helpless to take on the displeasure of the then police officials possessed of the mood to take over the said plot property of the petitioners, and, thus, the petitioners' silence and submission was read as their consent to let the use and occupation of their plot property by the Police Establishment for dumping of coal stock. It is pertinent to observe here that as the plot property is in the very close vicinity of the Railway Station Bari Brahmana, so the dumping of coal consignment and supply transported through Railway for the J&K Police at the vacant site of plot property of the petitioners was perhaps invitingly serving the convenience of the Police Establishment. The only saving satisfaction of the situation for the petitioners was that they were at least tempted with offer of monthly rental for the use and occupation of their plot property by the J&K Police least realizing even that was to prove a mirage for them.

6. For the purpose of rent assessment, the concerned section of the office of the Director General of Police, J&K, Srinagar, came to set the file work in motion by addressing a letter no.Prov-1/UE-60/2013/31435-39 dated 14-06-2014 to the Superintendent of Police, Samba requesting him to get the rent of the said p