HARI NARAYAN Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition has been filed by the petitioner Hari Narayan seeking a direction to the respondents to allot a plot for residential purpose to the petitioner in terms of the award as also to grant him compensation for the land acquired. It has been stated by him that he is a recorded khatedar tenant of the land alongwith several other land-holders and hence he too is entitled for a plot of land for residential purposes which was granted to other persons whose land were acquired.

(2.) RELYING on the aforesaid averment of the petitioner, the respondents werecalled upon to reply to the show cause notice which was issued to them and in response to the same, it has been submitted that although alternative plots of land have been allotted to all the land-holders whose land were acquired, the petitioner was never an independent land-holder and his name also did not find place in any of the notifications which had been published for acquiring the land as the senior most member of the holding was representing the land-holder and the petitioner at no point of time had claimed that he is holding the land independently and that he should be given a separate notice in regard to the acquisition. Elaborating on this aspect it has been further submitted that if the petitioner had been living independently and was having independent interest in the land and claimed by him, he would have been definitely entitled for an independent plot of land in lieu of acquisition of the residential house of the land-holder but the petitioner was not living independently and a plot of land has already been allotted to the land-holder by way of compensation for using the alternative plot of land for residential purposes. The petitioner no doubt has filed a rejoinder to the aforesaid averment submitting that he is an independent land-holder but this claim cannot be adjudicated at this stage, since it was open for the petitioner to contest the matter before the authorities under the Land Acquisition Act asserting that he is an independent land-holder of the land which was notified for acquisition and he should have been allowed to file objections independently. The petitioner never took such objections at any stage before and only when alternative plots of land for residential purposes were allotted, he laid a claim that he should be given independent plot for residential purposes; but as submitted on behalf of the respondents, the same could have been granted to him provided he had been living independently which means that a plot of land for residential purposes could be granted to only one member of the family and not to each member of the family, if they had been living jointly at the time of acquisition proceedings.