ORDER :

1. The petitioners, who are the Committee of Management of the Imambara Qadeem, Manauri and its Secretary, have moved this Court to quash the notification dated 28.06.2012, issued by the Government of U.P., insofar as it resumes the petitioner's land, situate in Plot No. 146, admeasuring 1500 square meters, Village Manauri, District Prayagraj.

2. The aforesaid notification has been issued by the State Government in exercise of their powers under Section 117(6) of the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950 (for Writ-C No. 10374 of 2022 short, 'the Act') to the extent it adversely affects the petitioners. The said notification shall be referred to hereinafter as the 'impugned notification'.

3. The petitioners' case in brief is that the second petitioner is a native of Village Manauri, Tehsil Sadar, District Prayagraj. He and his forefathers have lived in the said village since a very long time. The second petitioner's father constructed a building known as Imambara Qadeem over an area 1500 square meters, situate on Plot No.146. The aforesaid Imambara is said to be more than 100 years old. The aforesaid property has now come down to the second petitioner from his forefathers. He is now managing the affairs of the Imambara along with some members of the religious community, to which he belongs. The second petitioner and other members of the community formed a Committee of Management, which this Court gathers to be a society of sorts. The pleadings about the precise legal character of the body that manages the affairs of the Imambara are vague and non-descript.

4. The short case of the petitioners is that the State wish to illegally and arbitrarily take possession of the 1500 square meters of land in Plot No.146, and for the purpose, have invoked their powers of resumption under Section 117(6) of the Act. This they have done through the impugned notification. The petitioners had earlier moved this Court through Writ – C No.30758 of 2021 without laying any challenge to the impugned notification or any reference to it. The case Writ-C No. 10374 of 2022 taken in the aforesaid writ petition was that the State and the respondent Authorities may be forbidden from taking possession of Plot No.146, above described (for short, 'the property in dispute'), which the respondents were moving to take possession of for the purpose of Railways, without proceedings for acquisition or requisition. The second petitioner, therefore, sought the following material reliefs in Writ – C No.30758 of 2021:

(A). Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus commanding and directing the respondent authorities to not to acquire and taken possession of the land Gata No.146 measuring area 1500 sq.meter approximately the structure constructed on the land.

(B). Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus commanding and directing the respondent authorities not to take any coercive measure against the petitioner.

5. It is the petitioners' case that it was through the counter affidavit dated 18.12.2021 filed in Writ – C No.30758 of 2021 on behalf of the Union of India and the Mukhya Pariyojna Prabandhak, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India, Prayagraj that the petitioners came to know about the impugned notification issued by the State Government resuming the property in dispute. Accordingly, they have instituted the present writ petition challenging the said notification.

6. Writ – C No.30758 of 2021 has also come up today along with this writ petition and in view of the fact that the petitioners have now challenged the impugned notification, the aforesaid writ petition was Writ-C No. 10374 of 2022 withdrawn, which we have permitted to be withdrawn by an order of date passed in the said writ petition.

7. Assailing the impugned notification, Mr. V.M. Zaidi, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Mr. S.M.A. Iqbal Hasan, learned Counsel for the petitioners submits that the property in dispute is recorded as abadi