Failure to follow due process in land acquisition and compensation amounts to a violation of constitutional property rights.

2 10-02-2026 Heard learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners and learned counsel for the State.

2. The petitioners in paragraph no. 1 of the present writ petition have sought, inter alia, the following relief(s), which is reproduced hereinafter:-

“A. To hold that the Land Acquisition proceeding with respect to the land in question bearing Land Acquisition Case No. 35/2022-21 has since elapsed as the possession still vests with the petitioners.

B. In alternative, direct the Respondent authorities to grant compensation to the Petitioners for their acquired land enumerated detailed at Paragraph 4 of this application at the present market rate when possession is being taken.

C. Directing the Respondent authorities to provide the full details of Land Acquisition Proceedings under which the lands of the Petitioners have been acquired.

D. Directing the Respondent Authorities to pay Rs. 30,00,000/- as compensation besides the compensation for acquisition to each of the Petitioners as the Authorities have acted arbitrarily, depriving the Petitioners of a fair and transparent proceedings and by not providing any information related to the said proceeding thus violating the rights of Petitioners enshrined under Article 300 A of Constitution of India.

E. Any other relief/reliefs for which the petitioner deemed entitled for.”

3. Brief facts of the case is that the petitioners, after purchasing the land through registered sale deeds and obtaining mutation in their favour, were in peaceful possession and enjoyment of the land and had also commenced construction thereon, which was abruptly stopped by BSF personnel without any written order on the ground that the land was under acquisition; being unaware of any such acquisition and having received neither notice nor compensation, the petitioners approached the District Land Acquisition Officer, Patna, who vide order dated 13.10.2023 informed that the land has been acquired in Land Acquisition Case No. 35 of 2022–21 for construction of BSF Vahini Headquarters, allegedly pursuant to a declaration published in Hindustan Newspaper dated 26.06.2020, and advised the petitioners to submit a fresh representation for compensation. Accordingly, the petitioners submitted multiple representations dated 30.09.2024, 09.12.2025, 18.12.2025, 30.12.2025, 20.01.2026 and finally

21.01.2026 seeking information and payment of compensation, highlighting that they continued to remain dispossessed in effect for more than five years over a substantial area of land measuring 199.156 decimals, despite boundary walls and a residential structure standing thereon, but all such representations were met with complete silence, compelling the petitioners to approach this Court due to the arbitrary, and unconstitutional action of the respondents.

4. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners submitted that the action of the respondents in depriving the petitioners of the use and enjoyment of their land without serving any notice, without following due process of law and without payment of just and fair compensation is ex facie illegal, arbitrary and violative of Article 300A of the Constitution of India, rendering the entire acquisition proceedings vitiated in law, and therefore the petitioners are entitled to appropriate reliefs including protection of their property rights and payment of lawful compensation in accordance with law.

5. Per contra, learned counsel for the State submitted that no information has been given in the pleadings made in the present writ petition, as to whether, the petitioners approached the Land Acquisition Officer, Patna with a prescribed format and the petitioners before exercising their right straight away filed the present writ petition,