Advocates:
['M/S G Q BHAT AND ASSOCIATES', 'J H RESHI', '', 'M A CHASHOO AAG']

Sr. No. 22

Regular List

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH

AT SRINAGAR

LPA 32/2020 CM(809/2020)

ABDUL RASHID DAR AND ORS

…Petitioner(s)/Appellant(s)

Through:

Mr. Rizwan Uz Zaman, Adv.

Vs.

UNION TERRITORY OF J AND K AND ORS

...Respondent(s)

Through:

None

CORAM:

HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJEEV KUMAR, JUDGE

HON’BLE MS. JUSTICE MOKSHA KHAJURIA KAZMI, JUDGE

O R D E R

09.12.2022

This Intra Court appeal is directed against the judgment of learned

Single Judge of this Court (“Writ Court”) dated 11.07.2019 passed in writ

petition bearing OWP No. 701/2012.

Briefly put, the facts leading to the filing of this case are that the

petitioners’ whose land had come under acquisition of the respondents filed

a writ petition bearing OWP No. 701/2012 seeking a direction to the

respondents to pass final award with reference to the acquisition of their

proprietary land so as to enable them to proceed further in the matter for

seeking enhancement of the compensation. The grievance of the petitioners

in the writ petition was that though the Collector had passed a draft award on

11.08.2009 but the same had not been finalized after obtaining the approval

from the competent authority.

The respondents, though caused their appearance in the matter, did not

file their objections for almost seven years. The matter was taken up for

consideration by the writ court and vide judgment impugned, the writ court

allowed the writ petition to the extent of permitting the petitioners to file an

application before the Collector Land Acquisition for seeking reference

under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act. The writ court further

directed the Collector to refer the application/objections, if any, received

from the petitioners to the competent court for adjudication within a period

of four weeks’ thereafter. It is this judgment of the writ court dated

11.07.2019, the petitioners are aggrieved of and are before us in this appeal.

During the course of the appeal and in compliance of the order dated

23.05.2022, the Collector Land Acquisition, Anantnag has filed counter

affidavit/compliance and has also placed on record copy of the final award

passed by him on 13.07.2012. In the counter affidavit filed by the Collector

Land Acquisition, Anantnag, there is no whisper as to whether the final

award stated to have been passed on 13.07.2012 was ever notified for the

information of the interested persons including the petitioners.

As a matter of fact, the passing of final award by the Collector Land

Acquisition was not brought to the notice of the writ court during the

pendency of the writ petition or even at the time of the disposal thereof vide

judgment impugned dated 11.07.2019.

In these circumstances, we are of the considered view that the final

award which is now placed on record by the Collector Land Acquisition as

Annexure-R1 with the counter affidavit bearing No. 341-43/LA/Ang dated

13.07.2012 shall be deemed to have been notified today for the purposes of

providing an opportunity to the aggrieved and dissatisfied petitioners to avail

the remedy of reference under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act.

For the foregoing reasons, we modify the judgment of the learned

Single Judge and provide that the final award dated 13.07.2012 passed by

the Collector Land Acquisition (Additional Deputy Commissioner,

Anantnag supra) shall be deemed to have been notified today for the

purposes of granting opportunity to the petitioners to avail the remedy of

seeking reference from the Collector. They shall, therefore, be entitled to file

an application within a period of four weeks’ from today and in case such

application is moved and the petitioners are found to have received the

compensation under protest, the requisite orders in terms of Section 18 of the

Land Acquisition Act shall be passed by the Collector concerned and matter

referred to Principal