YOGENDRA KUMAR SRIVASTAVA, J.

1. Heard Sri Jawahar Lal Pandey, learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri Satish Kumar Rai, learned counsel appearing for respondent nos.1 to 4 and Sri Nagendra Kumar Pandey, learned Standing Counsel appearing for respondent nos.5 and 6.

2. By means of the present writ petition, the petitioner has made a prayer for quashing the order dated 15.02.2018 whereby the representation filed by the petitioner pursuant to a direction issued by this Court in Writ-C No.45244 of 2017 (Harish Chandra Vs. Union of India & 5 Ors.) was considered by a Committee constituted in terms of an order dated 19.05.2015 passed in PIL No.11539 of 2015 Ajit Singh Vs. Union of India & Ors., (2017) 9 ADJ 251 decided on 06.07.2017, and the same has been disposed of. The petitioner has made a further prayer to stop the process of demarcation of the land of gata no.264(M) area 1-9-10 (0.398 hectares) and gata no.265(M) area 6-0 (1.897 hectares) totaling 2.295 hectares, and not to interfere in the peaceful possession of the petitioner on the aforesaid bhumidhari land.

3. Learned counsel appearing for the respondents have drawn our notice to the fact that the issue relating to encroachment over 482 acres of defence land acquired for air firing and bombing range, Tilpat Range vide notification dated 06.11.1950, was the subject matter of a public interest litigation, PIL No.11539 of 2015 filed before this Court. The aforementioned PIL along with connected writ petitions filed by certain persons asserting themselves to be purchasers of small pieces of farm land/plots out of the land in question and seeking to challenge the acquisition that took place in 1950 were decided by means of a judgment dated 06.07.2017 by this Court.

4. The factual controversy involved in the present case, as noticed in the judgment in PIL No.11539 of 2015 and connected matters, is that in the year 1950, by issuing notifications under Sections 4 and 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, (The Act, 1894) land at Tilpat, measuring 4294.38 acres was acquired for the Union Ministry of Defence to develop a Firing and Bombing Range for the Air Force. The land is situate in two States, namely, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. In these petitions, we are concerned with land measuring 482 acres (for short, 'the land in question') situate in Village "Nagli Nagla" and "Nagli Sagpur", Pargana Dadri, District Bulandshahr, now in district Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. Out of 482 acres comprising the land in question, 105 acres is situate in Village Nagli Nagla and 377 acres in Village Nagli Sagpur. The notification under Section 4 read with Section 17 of the Act was published on 6 November 1950, whereas the notification under Section 6 was issued on 7 November 1950. Possession was taken over by the Defence Estates Officer, Agra on 23 November 1950, applying the urgency clause under Section 17 of the Act and, as stated by the Defence Estates Officer, the name of the Military Estates Officer (Air Bombing Range) was also mutated in the revenue record.

5. It was also taken note of that before handing over possession of the land in question to the Military Estates Officer, Agra Circle, the entire amount towards compensation was deposited with the Collector, Bulandshahr.

6. Upon certain complaints being received with regard to encroachments over defence land at Tilpat in the year 2011, a Committee comprising a team of officers of the Air Force carried out an inspection on 29.12.2011 and made the following recommendations:-

"In view of the vast encroachment found in the area falling in Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar (UP), it is imperative that immediate remedial measures should be adopted to stop and prevent further encroachment in this area and also to secure the area falling in Distt. Faridabad (Haryana), which is also substantially prone to encroachment due to unauthorized cultivat