RAJIV PURI Vs. NARANIAN MOHALLA WELFARE ASSOCIATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS Letters Patent Appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 3.2.1998 propounded by the learned Single Judge in OWP No. 875/95, entitled Naranian Mohalla Welfare Association v. State of J&K & Ors. By the aforesaid judgment and order, the learned Single Judge allowed the writ petition and accordingly held as under: - "(i) The petitioner association has a locus standi to file this petition. (ii) That the land in question was rightly earmarked for using public park. (iii) The requirement to have a public park is a must as open space with a view to keep the air free from pollution. (iv) That once State Government formed an opinion that the land was required for public purposes i.e. making provision for the public park, then there should be cogent reasons to withdraw from the acquisition. As the reason is missing, therefore, action taken with a view to withdraw from the acquisition cannot be sustained. It is liable to be quashed and it is accordingly quashed."

(2.) AGAINST this judgment, the present Letters Patent Appeal has been filed. Mohalla Naranian is one of the thickly populated area of old Jammu city having not been developed in a planned manner and there is a piece of land aggregating 5950 Sft covered by Khasra No. 75 -min being used by the residents of the locality for performing social functions unhindered and uninterrupted besides a Playground for children and breathing space for one and all in the locality irrespective of their age. The inhabitants of the locality seek to ensure that the use of the land is not permitted to be altered and be regularized to be used as Public Park by the Government in legitimate exercise of its statutory power rationally relating to the protection of the residents of the locality from the inevitable ill effects of urbanization.

(3.) THE admitted facts of the case emerging out of record depicted in narration are that the land in question measuring one kanal nine marlas and 7 Sft, originally a Nazool land, was transferred to Jammu Development Authority. This land was converted into three plots and allotted through an open auction in July 1978. It is further elicited from the record that subsequently one of allottees was allotted alternate plot in Roopnagar Housing Colony,Jammu in exchange, but the lease deeds for other two plots were executed with the allottees namely, Rajiv Puri and Romesh Gandotra. When the allottees started construction on the land, the residents of Mohalla Naranian forming a Welfare Association submitted a memorandum before the Advisor to Governor seeking resumption of the land allotted and developing into a park, as there was no park in the locality. In accepting the plea of the Association of Mohalla Naranian, the Advisor directed the cancellation of lease deeds and resumption of the land by the Jammu Development Authority. Jammu Development Authority, however, sought legal opinion from the Legal Advisor in respect of cancellation of lease deeds as desired by the Advisor to the Governor. Since the terms and conditions of lease deeds do not permit the lesser Jammu Development Authority to cancel the lease deeds except when there is a breach by the lessee of the conditions scribed by the lease deed, the Jammu Development Authority had no competency to cancel and interfere with the lease hold right of the lessee. The Government, therefore, directed that the land be acquired under the Jammu and Kashmir Land Acquisition Act (hereinafter referred to as Act) and Notification under section 4 of the Act was issued by the Director, Land Management. The matter was referred to Revenue Department for issuance of Notification under sections 6 and 7 of the Act.