BIMALA PROSAD RAY Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petition praying that the Court should interfere with an order made by the Land Acquisition Officer of Burdwan under powers conferred upon this Court by Article 227, Constitution of India.

(2.) TO appreciate the points involved it will be necessary shortly to set out the facts of the case which have given rise to this litigation. The petitioners are the holders of property in a village near Burdwan and this property was compulsorily acquired by Government under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act as the land was required for the erection of locomotive works for the East Indian Railway. In due course notice was served under Section 9, Land Acquisition Act, upon the petitioners and on 20 -1 -1949 in pursuance of that notice the petitioners put forward their claim. The Land Acquisition Collector thereupon commenced Land Acquisition case No. 15/1A of 1948 -49.

(3.) THE petitioners complained that they had not been awarded anything for the minerals or stones in the hillock to which I have referred and for the stones or minerals which were below the surface of plot No. 401. It was represented to the Land Acquisition Collector that nothing had been awarded in respect of these stones or minerals and he was asked to make a reference to the District Judge under the provisions of Section 18, Land Acquisition Act.