DEVENDER SINGH Vs. STATE OF HARYANA AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order shall dispose of Civil Writ Petition Nos. 15388 and 16214 of 2014 as identical questions of law and fact are involved for adjudication. However, for sake of convenience, facts are taken from Civil Writ Petition No. 15388 of 2014.

(2.) The land of the petitioner was acquired vide Notification dated 27.01.2006, issued under Sec. 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (in short, 'the Act') followed by Notification dated 01.09.2006, issued under Sec. 6 of the Act. The award was passed on 23.10.2012, i.e. more than six years of issuance of the notification under Sec. 6 of the Act. The petitioner challenged the aforesaid notifications by filing Civil Writ Petition No. 1780 of 2007 which was dismissed on 01.03.2011. In the said proceedings, there was an order of status quo regarding possession.

(3.) The sole submission made by counsel for the petitioner is that in the earlier writ petition (Civil Writ Petition No. 1780 of 2007), as there was no order staying declaration of the award, the order of status quo regarding possession will not enure to benefit of the respondents to seek exclusion of the stay period by invoking the Explanation appended to Sec. 11-A of the Act. It is prayed that as the award was passed after expiry of the period of two years from the date of publication of the declaration under Sec. 6 of the Act, the award and the entire acquisition proceedings are liable to be quashed.