BANWARI LAL SHARMA Vs. UOI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner's agricultural lands admeasuring 13 Bhigas and 12 Biswa in village Shayoorpur, Delhi were notified for acquisition by a notification dated 25.11.1980 issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 ("Act") for the public purpose of the planned development of Delhi. This was followed by a declaration dated 27.5.1985 under Section 6 of the Act and an Award No. 10/87-88 dated 19.5.1987. By this writ petition filed on 21.4.1994, the petitioner has sought the quashing of the aforementioned two notifications under s.4 and s.6 of the Act as well as the award. The other relief claimed is a writ of mandamus to the respondents "to reverse the entries in the Revenue records in favour of the petitioners."

(2.) The petitioner states in the writ petition that although other persons had filed writ petitions in this Court challenging the aforementioned notifications in relation to their lands in the same village Shayoorpur, the petitioner did not file any writ petition earlier seeking the reliefs now sought. The petitioner bases his claim essentially on the judgment dated 18.11.1988 of the Division Bench of this Court in Balak Ram Gupta v. Union of India (1989) 38 DLT 243 whereby in relation to 73 petitions challenging these very notifications, the acquisition proceedings were quashed. The petitioner"s case is that after the order in Balak Ram Gupta there is "no manner of doubt that the notification, declaration and the award has been quashed in their entirety and not restricted to the cases of the writ petitioners before the Court and that said quashing would enure to the benefit of land owners including those who have received the compensation." Following the said judgment in Balak Ram Gupta, another group of petitions came to be disposed of by a Division Bench of this Court by an order dated 15.5.1989 in C.W.No.1373-1375 of 1989 (Balbir Singh v. Union of India) whereby this Court permitted the land owners to return the compensation received with interest to the Government and have their lands returned to them free from acquisition. The petitioner claims that a similar order should be passed in this petition as well.

(3.) When the writ petition was initially listed for hearing on 25.5.1994, notice was directed to be issued. Later at a hearing on 19.3.1996 the Court directed that this writ petition should be listed on regular board along with C.W. No.3611 of 1991.