ORDER

1. Delay condoned. Leave granted. Whether the acquired land can be treated to have vested in the State Government under Section 16 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short “the Act’) on the making of an award by the Collector though the actual and physical possession continues with the landowner is the question which arises for consideration in this appeal filed against the order of the Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court whereby the writ petition filed by the appellants questioning the acquisition of their land was dismissed.

2. In exercise of the power vested in it under Section 4(1) of the Act, the Government of Haryana issued Notification dated 17-4-2002 for the acquisition of the appellants' land along with other parcels of land of Village Baloure, Tehsil Bahadurgarh, District Jhajjar for development and utilisation thereof for residential, commercial and institutional parts of different sectors of Bahadurgarh.

3. The predecessors of the appellant and other landowners filed objections under Section 5-A(1) and prayed that their land may not be acquired because they had developed the same for agricultural activities like dairy, gardening, etc. by investin