LATE BAWA HARBANS SINGH Vs. LT GOVERNOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The prayer in this application by the writ petitioner (through LRs) reads as under:

(2.) This application was filed on 25.11.2005 seeking recall of an order dated 31.3.1989 whereby the petitioner's aforementioned writ petition was dismissed. The prayer in the writ petition was for a direction to quash the notification dated 25.11.1980 issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 ('Act') and a declaration dated 27.5.1985 under Section 6 of that Act in respect of the petitioner's land in Village Satbari, Mehrauli. One of the grounds on which the Notification was challenged was that since the statutory period for issuing the declaration under Section 6 had expired, the petitioner's land automatically stood released from acquisition and that any further steps taken were also invalid. The petitioner claimed that similar questions were pending before a larger bench of this Court. In this regard, the following averments were made in para 12 and ground XXI of the writ petition: "12. That the question regarding quashing of such notification is already under reference to larger Bench in this Hon'ble Court, vide Order dt. 20.2.87, passed by Hon'ble Mr. Justice Y. Dayal and Hon'ble Mr. Justice S.B. Wad. Copy marked Annexure G. It may be submitted that W.P. No. 837 of 1987 of the owner of village Satbari, has also been admitted by this Hon'ble Court."

(3.) On 20.4.1987 while directing notice to issue in the writ petition, this court stayed the dispossession of the petitioner. Thereafter, it appears that the matter kept getting adjourned awaiting the decision of the Division Bench in connected matters. After the judgments dated 25.7.1987 of a Full Bench of this Court [AIR 1987 Del 239 (FB)] and 18.11.1988 of a Division Bench in Balak Ram Gupta v. Union of India (1989) 37 DLT 150 (DB), the writ petition in the instant case came to be dismissed on 31.1.1989 by the following order: