Judgment

1. By this writ petition, the petitioner is praying for a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to pay compensation for the land measuring about 59 bighas purported to have been taken over by the Fisheries Department, Govt. of Meghalaya, Shillong more than 20 years ago by drawing up land acquisition proceeding. There is a considerable delay of more than one decade in approaching the court by the writ petitioner for the relief sought for in the present writ petition.

2. Heard Mr. H.R. Nath, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. H. Kharmih, learned GA appearing for the State respondents.

3. The succinct fact sufficient for deciding the matter in issue in the present writ petition is recapitulated that the petitioner is the recognized Akhing Nokma of Jamge Akhing and as an Akhing Nokma, he is the owner and manager of the Akhing land including the land in question said to have been taken over by the Govt. of Meghalaya, Fisheries Department. The pleaded case of the petitioner in para 3 of the writ petition is that the respondents had taken possession of 104 bighas of land in Jamge Akhing in the year 1989. Out of the said 104 bighas, 45.12 bighas