Advocates:
['M Y BHAT', '', 'SYED FAISAL QADIRI', 'J H RESHI', 'R A JAN SR ADV AMICUS CURIAE', 'JEHANGIR IQBAL GANAI ADV GEN', '', 'M I DAR AAG', 'M A CHASHOO AAG', 'D C RAINA ADV GEN', 'N H SHAH AAG', 'USMAN GANI', 'SHEIKH MUSHTAQ']

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PIL No.11/2018 1 | P a g e

Sr. No.53

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH

AT SRINAGAR

CJ Court

PIL No.11/2018

Court on its own motion

…Petitioner(s)/Appellants.

Through: Mr. J. H. Reshi, Advocate.

Vs.

State of J&K and others.

….Respondent(s)

Through: Mr. Illyas Nazir Laway, GA.

CORAM:

HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE

HON’BLE MS. JUSTICE MOKSHA KHAJURIA KAZMI, JUDGE

O R D E R

31.05.2022

01.

The writ court had heard seven writ petitions in which the leading

one was writ petition OWP No.1182/2011 : Mohd. Sultan Khan v. State

of J&K and others, and all those petitions were decided by a common

judgment dated 29.01.2014.

02.

The writ court in disposing of the aforesaid writ petitions

observed as under:

<22. The matter, in light of all the above background facts

and circumstnaces, involves great public interest of

fundamental nature and in my view, if it is not attended to by

the court on judicial side; it is likely to have number of

serious and adverse implications of unimaginable magnitude

costing hugely to the public exchequer. Furthermore, the

concerned functionaries may need to be goaded and

compelled to take appropriate action in the matter to

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PIL No.11/2018 2 | P a g e

retr5ieve the public exchequer dispersed to persons not

entitled thereto.

In view of what the Chief Executive Officer, Pahalgam

Development Authority, had stated in his comunication, the

total land may have to be got measured and the title thereof

got verified by an independent investigating authority, like

CBI, together with identifying the government functionaries

responsible who may have been accomplices in the fraud and/

or remiss in their functioning.

23. This Bench of its own cannot take suo moto action in the

matter. However, the court is not estopped from taking action

on the judicial side treating it as Public Interst Litigation, of

course after approval to such a course is accorded by Lord

Chief Justice.

24. Accordingly, the Registrar Judicial of Srinagar wing of

the Court shall place the matter before Lord Chief Justice

through the Principal Secretary to his lordship, for

appropriate orders.=

03.

It is in view of the above that the the Court has taken suo-moto

cognizance of the matter and has registered this PIL as <Court on its own

motion v. State of Jammu & Kashmir & Ors.,=

04.

In the PIL, the basic issue raised is about the course of action to

be taken to retrieve the Government money distributed to persons not

entitled to it in respect of acquisition of certain land for the Pahalgam

Golf Course by the Pahalgam Development Authority and the action that

may be taken against the concerned revenue officers.

05.

Mr. R. A. Jan, Senior Counsel, was appointed as Amicus Curiae,

by order dated 24^th July, 2018 and by an order dated 18^th November,

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PIL No.11/2018 3 | P a g e

2019 Mr. S. F. Qadiri, Senior counsel, was also appointed as Additional

Amicus to assist him.

06.

An application was moved by some of the land owners through

Mr. J. H. Reshi, Advocate, for their impleadment, as their land was

acquired for Pahalgam Golf Course and were not fairly compensated.

They were permitted to be impleaded as party respondents vide order

dated 28^th August, 2018.

07.

The grievance of the land owners so impleaded regarding

inadequacy of compensation paid was addressed by the court vide order

dated 12.12.2018 and the Collector was directed to make reference under

Section 18 of the Act before the Principal District, Anantnag, with the

clarification that the pendency of the PIL would not come in the way of

deciding the same on merits.

08.

It is important to mention that an FIR No.01/2009 was also

regi