JOGINDER SINGH Vs. CHANDIGARH ADMINISTRATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution seeks a mandamus to the respondents to issue a notification de-notifying the acquisition proceedings in respect of land measuring 21 Kanals 19 Marlas, situated at village Manimajra, U.T. Chandigarh, belonging to the petitioners. A further prayer has been made for setting aside Mutation No. 1771, decided on 13.10.1963, declaring the Provincial Government as owner of the land in question unlawfully and illegally and to re-enter the petitioners' names in the column of ownership with continuity after declaring them as owners and in possession without break.

(2.) The instant petition has been filed by Sarvshri Joginder Singh and Mehar Singh sons of Shri Sunder Singh, residents of Village Manimajra, U.T. Chandigarh. During the pendency of the petition, Shri Mehar Singh-petitioner No. 2 expired and his legal heirs were brought on record vide order dated 29.5.2003 passed in CM. Nos. 12487 to 12489 of 2003. The claim of the petitioners is that they were owners in possession of the agricultural land comprised in Khasra No. 439, measuring 12 Bighas 5 Biswas, situated in village Manimajra, U.T. Chandigarh, as per jamabandi for the year 1956-57 (P-1). In the year 1958-59, repartition under the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act had taken place and the petitioners were allotted land comprised in Killa No. 58//13/2, 14, 15/1, 16/2 and 17, total measuring 21 Kanals 19 Marlas, in lieu of the land held by them earlier. They have placed on record jamabandies for the year 1964-65, 169-70, 1974-75 and 1979-80 to show that they were in continuous physical possession of the aforementioned land (P-2 to P-5).

(3.) Somewhere in the year 1955, the then Capital Project Administration issued a notification for acquisition of the land in question for the public purpose, namely, for the Capital of Punjab. The said notification was followed by another notification dated 29.12.1955, issued under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for brevity, 'the Act') [P-6]. The petitioners have claimed that at no point of time any notice, intimation or information for acquiring their land was issued and they were kept unaware of issuance of aforementioned notifications for acquisition of the land. They continued to enjoy peaceful and uninterrupted possession of the land in question. However, on the basis of notification issued under Section 6 of the Act, Mutation No. 1771 was sanctioned in favour of the Provincial Government vide order dated 13.10.1963 and ownership of the land in question was changed in the name of the Provincial Government. It has been alleged that the said mutation was sanctioned at the back of the petitioners because no notice or opportunity of hearing was given to the petitioners.