JAGJIT SINGH Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners by way of present writ petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seek to challenge the notification dated 04.03.2003 under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (,,the said Act for short) and the declaration dated 04.02.2004 under Section 6 of the said Act in respect of the lands situated in Village Bhalswa, Jahangirpur, Delhi. The public purpose of acquisition, as indicated in the notification, is rehabilitation of JJ clusters.

(2.) It is the case of the petitioners that the persons who had occupied public land cannot be rehabilitated at the cost of the petitioners by acquiring their land.

(3.) During the course of hearing of the present writ petitions, strong reliance was placed on behalf of the petitioners inter alia on the judgment of the Division Bench of this Court in Wazirpur Bartan Nirmata Sangh v. UOI & Ors; 103 (2003) DLT 654. In terms of that judgment, the policy of the respondents for resettlement/rehabilitation of Jhuggi Jhopri dwellers who squat on government land unauthorizedly and were being allotted plots of land to move them from the squatting site was quashed. It would be useful to reproduce the operative portion of that order, which is as under: