Page No. 1/7 GAHC010087662025 2025:GAU-AS:5557 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : WP(C)/2295/2025 JYOTIRMOY GUPTA AND 8 ORS S/O LATE JAGO JIBAN GUPTA, R/O WARD NO. 6, DOBOKA TOWN, P.O. DOBOKA, DIST.- HOJAI, ASSAM. 2: RUPASRI GUPTA W/O LATE JAYANTA GUPTA R/O WARD NO. 6 DOBOKA TOWN P.O. DOBOKA DIST- HOJAI ASSAM. 3: GURU DAS CHAKRABORTY S/O LATE RAMESH CHAKRABORTY R/O WARD NO. 6 DOBOKA TOWN P.O. DOBOKA DIST- HOJAI ASSAM. 4: BIPLAB DEB S/O CHUNILAL DEB R/O WARD NO. 6 DOBOKA TOWN P.O. DOBOKA DIST- HOJAI ASSAM. 5: RAM HARI BISWAS S/O LATE CHURAMANI BISWAS R/O WARD NO. 6 DOBOKA TOWN P.O. DOBOKA DIST- HOJAI Page No. 2/7 ASSAM. 6: TAPAN KUMAR DEY S/O LATE KALIPADA DEY R/O WARD NO. 6 DOBOKA TOWN P.O. DOBOKA DIST.- HOJAI ASSAM. 7: SWAPAN KUMAR DAS S/O LATE SUKUMAR DAS R/O WARD NO. 6 DOBOKA TOWN P.O. DOBOKA DIST- HOJAI ASSAM. 8: MRITUNJAY GHOSH S/O LATE KRISHNA KUMAR GHUSH R/O WARD NO. 6 DOBOKA TOWN P.O. DOBOKA DIST- HOJAI ASSAM. 9: JAYANTA DEBNATH S/O LATE NARAYAN DEBNATH R/O WARD NO. 6 DOBOKA TOWN P.O. DOBOKA DIST- HOJAI ASSAM VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 5 ORS REP. BY THE COMMISSIONER AND SPECIAL SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM, PUBLIC WORKS (ROADS) DEPARTMENT, SACHIVALAYA, DISPUR, ASSAM, GUWAHATI- 6. 2:THE STATE OF ASSAM REPRESENTED BY THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM REVENUE DEPARTMENT SACHIVALAYA DISPUR ASSAM Page No. 3/7 GUWAHATI- 6. 3:THE DISTRICT COMMISSIONER NAGAON P.O. NAGAON ASSAM PIN- 782001. 4:THE DISTRICT COMMISSIONER HOJAI SANKARDEV NAGAR ASSAM PIN- 782442 5:THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER HOJAI DISTRICT TERRITORIAL ROAD DIVISION HOJAI ASSAM. PIN- 782435. 6:THE CIRCLE OFFICER DOBOKA REVENUE CIRCLE P.O. DOBOKA DISTRICT- HOJAI ASSAM PIN- 782440 Advocate for the Petitioner : MD. A J ATIA, MS J MARIYAM,MS A H ATIA Advocate for the Respondent : SC, REVENUE, SC, PWD ROAD BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY ORDER Date : 05.05.2025 Heard Mr. A.J. Atia, learned counsel for the petitioners; Mr. B. Choudhury, learned Standing Counsel, PW[R]D for the respondent nos. 1–5; Ms. G. Hazarika, learned Revenue & Disaster Management Department for the respondent no. 2; and Mr. N. Das, learned Junior Government Advocate, Assam for the respondent nos. 3, 4 & 6. 2. Let the notice be issued. As the learned counsel for the respondents have submitted Page No. 4/7 that they are ready with the instructions sufficient for disposal of the writ petition, let the notice is made returnable forthwith, at the request of the learned counsel or the parties. 3. The petitioners, 9 [nine] in nos., have stated that they are landowners of different parcels of land, located within Ward no. 7 of Doboka Municipality Board, District – Hojai. The petitioners have stated that they are owners of plots of periodic patta lands covered by the following Dag nos. and Patta nos., located at Doboka Revenue Town, Doboka Revenue Circle, District – Hojai :- Sl. No. Name Dag no. & Patta no. 1. Petitioner no. 1 Dag no. 898 & Patta no. 505 2. Petitioner no. 2 Dag no. 899 & Patta no. 550 3. Petitioner no. 3 Dag no. 899 and Patta no. 506 4. Petitioner no. 4 Dag no. 946 and Patta no. 558 5. Petitioner no. 5 Dag no. 337 & Patta no. 151 6. Petitioner no. 6 Dag no. 337 & Patta no. 151 7. Petitioner no. 7 Dag no. 385 & Patta no. 338 8. Petitioner no. 8 Dag no. 918 & Patta no. 529 9. Petitioner no. 9 Dag no. 933 & Patta no. 544 4. The petitioners have stated that they have constructed shop houses and/or dwelling houses on their respective plots of land. The petitioners have approached this Court by the present writ petition raising a contention that the respondent authorities have recently taken up measurements of the petitioners’ plots of land for a road project, ‘Improvement and Upgradation of Road from Kathiatoli – Kampur – Jamunamukh to Doboka’ [‘the road project’, for short] under Asom Mala 2.0 Scheme and the respondent authorities have further informed the petitioners that the constructions/structures etc. upto the marked portion would be demolished. According to the petitioners, the respondent authorities had made the measurements inside the patta lands of the petitioners, covered by the afore-mentioned Dag nos. and Patta nos. Page No. 5/7 5. Mr. Atia, learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that there is neither any prior notice nor initiation of any acquisition process either under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement [RFCTLARR] Act, 2013 or under the Direct Purchase Scheme by the State respondents. The petitioners are under genuine apprehension that their shop houses and/or dwelling houses might be demolished at any point of time. 6. On 02.05.2025, Mr. Das, learned Junior Government Advocate, Assam appearing for the respondent nos. 3, 4 & 6 has submitted that he would make endeavour to obtain the necessary instructions as regards the apprehension raised by the petitioner with regard marking their periodic patta land for demolition of the structures standing thereon. 7. Mr. Das, learned Junior Government Advocate, Assam appearing for the respondent nos. 3, 4 & 6 on the basis of an Office Letter no. ECF no. 145949 dated 03.05.2025 received by him from the Office of the District Commissioner, Srimanta Sankardev Nagar, has submitted that there is no imminent apprehension for the petitioners as the respondent authorities are not undertaking the road project under Asom Mala 2.0 on any periodic patta lands. Mr. Das has placed a copy of the said Office Letter dated 03.05.2025 before the Court. 8. As per the Office Letter dated 03.05.2025, wherein para-wise comments are made. The comments made in response to the statements made in Para no. 2 and Para no. 8 of the writ petition are found relevant and the same are quoted hereinbelow :- Para 2 Sanction was accorded for ‘Improvement and Upgradation of Road from Kathiatoli-Kampur-Jamunamukh to Doboka under Asom Mala 2.0 for the financial year 2023-24. Package No. Asom Mala 2.0/Nagaon/02’. The project road is started at Kathiatoli [NH-27] and passes through Kampur Jamunamukh and end at Doboka [NH- 27]. Consequent upon the above, a preliminary demarcation works has been conducted jointly by the officials from PWRD, Binnakandi Territorial Road Division, Doboka & Doboka Revenue Circle on 04.04.2025 at already existing road and road side reserved area under Doboka Revenue Circle for execution of project. But no. eviction dribe has Page No. 6/7 been conducted or initiated so far. * * * * * Para 8 Only demarcation works has been conducted jointly by the officials from PWRD, Binnakandi Territorial Road Division, Doboka & Doboka Revenue Circle on 04.04.2025 at already existing road and road side reserved area under Doboka Revenue Circle. Notice will be served to Pattaholder, if eviction drive falls on Patta land. 9. From the afore-quoted comments provided by the Office Letter dated 03.05.2025, it transpires that the works for the road project started at Kathiatoli [NH-27] and the same would pass through Kampur – Jamunamukh and would end at Doboka [NH-27]. A preliminary demarcation work has been conducted for the road project jointly by the officials from the PW[R]D and Doboka Revenue Circle Officials on 04.04.2025 at the already existing road and roadside reserved area under Doboka Revenue Circle for execution of the road project. It has been stated that no eviction drive has been conducted or initiated till date and only demarcation works have been conducted jointly. It is further mentioned that if any patta land is going to be acquired then notices would be served duly to the patta holders. 10. Mr. Atia, learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that the petitioners are not in occupation of any roadside reserved land and are only in occupation of their respective patta lands. 11. Having considered the projections made by the petitioners vis-à-vis the projections made by the official respondents in the afore-stated manner, this Court finds that there is no further cause of action, at present, to proceed further with the writ petition. The petitioners are claiming that they are in occupation of their respective patta lands and the official respondents are claiming that they are not undertaking the road project in any patta land. As the road project is being executed only at the already existing road and roadside reserved land, at present, the writ petition is closed. Liberty, however, stands reserved to the petitioner to approach the Court in the event of any new cause of action. 12. A copy of the Office Letter no. ECF no. 145949 dated 03.05.2025, placed by Mr. Das is Page No. 7/7 to be kept with the case record by marking it as Document-‘X’. JUDGE Comparing Assistant