BALBIR SINGH Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By the medium of this petition, the petitioners are seeking quashment of Communications No. 87008/01/E8 dated 09.07.2009; No. 5602-04 dated 11.12.2010 and No. 8245/08/138/E8 dated 07.01.2011, on the grounds taken in the writ petition. The facts, as averred in the writ petition, are that the petitioners are residents of Villages Kothi and Mehtabpur, District Kathua. They are landless labourers belonging to weaker section of the Society and earn their livelihood by working as Masons, Carpenters and other related works on daily basis. It is contended that petitioner No. 1 has his house under Khasra No. 87 at Village Kothi and other petitioners have their respective houses under Khasra Nos. 13, 21, 23 and 24 at Village Mehtabpur. It is contended that the official respondents without acquiring the land under the provisions as admissible to the field and without following due procedure have awarded the contract in favour of respondent No. 10 vide impugned communication dated 09.07.2009 for widening and construction of metalled road over the land situate at Villages Kothi and Mehtabpur, which leads to Ammunition Depot located at Village Kharote, leaving aside the alternate Dilwan-Hadel link road. The contention of the petitioners is that the Dilwan-Hadel link road is not inhabited, therefore, if the same is renovated or constructed according to the army specifications, it would not result in displacement or causing injury to the rights of anybody. The further contention of the petitioners is that if the proposed road is allowed to be constructed/widened as per the army specifications, the same would result in irreparable loss to them as regards the properties owned by them. In order to redress their grievances, as averred in the writ petition, they approached the official respondents, local MLA and MP concerned and submitted representations, but all in vain.

(2.) Objections have been filed on behalf of respondents. In the objections filed on behalf of Union of India, it has been stated that the army authorities are executing the work over the land duly acquired by them after the residents of Villages Kothi had given their consent in writing for construction of road from Village Mehtabpur onward, as upto Village Mehtabpur there is already an existing pacca road constructed by the State Government. It has been stated that they are not doing anything which may cause damage to the houses existing on both sides of the said road. Further it has been stated that no work is being carried out by respondent No. 10 over the land owned by the petitioners. It has been stated that vide communication dated 07.01.2011 the contractor was directed to repair the perimeter road under construction within the acquired defence land, which had been damage because of heavy monsoon rain. It has been specifically denied by the army authorities that neither the land owned by the petitioners has been acquired nor used for the purposes of construction/widening of road.

(3.) For better appreciation of the controversy raised in this petition, it would be appropriate to reproduce paragraph 23 of the reply filed by respondent No. 9 hereunder: