HIGH COURT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR AND LADAKH AT JAMMU WP(C ) No. 3155/2023 Rano Devi and others ……….petitioner Through :- Mr. Jatinder Chowdhary Advocate Mr. Harmit Kumar Mehta Advocate. V/s Union of India and others ………respondents Through :- Mr. Vishal Sharma DSGI CORAM: HON’BLE MS. JUSTICE MOKSHA KHAJURIA KAZMI, JUDGE JUDGMENT(ORAL) 1 By this petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners are seeking the following reliefs: (i) A writ of mandamus commanding respondent Nos. 1 to 6 to hand over the vacant possession of the land to the writ petitioners or, in the alternative, to place the indent for acquisition of the land under the Requisition and Acquisition of Immovable Property Act, 1952, read with the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013; (ii) A writ of mandamus commanding respondent Nos. 7 and 8 to complete the acquisition proceedings by adhering to the provisions of the Act of 2013; (iii) A writ of mandamus commanding the respondents to pay damages at the rate of ₹6,18,240 per kanal per annum with effect 2 from 01.10.2023 till the land is either formally acquired or the vacant possession is handed back to the writ petitioners. Factual matrix: 2 The petitioners claim ownership over land measuring 09 kanals and 04 marlas comprising Khasra Nos. 1056, 1057, and 1058 situated at Village Rehmbal, Tehsil and District Udhampur. The land in question has remained under the requisition of the Army authorities since the year 1961–62. Although rental compensation is being paid, the petitioners state that it is meagre and grossly inadequate considering the prevailing market value. 3 The petitioners have time and again requested the respondents to either acquire the land permanently under the provisions of law or return vacant possession thereof. Board of Officers was accordingly convened, which recommended acquisition of the land in quesiton. Despite the 'In- Principle Approval' having been accorded by the Raksha Mantri, no further action has been taken to complete the acquisition process. 4 The petitioners have referred to Section 6(1-A) of the Requisition and Acquisition of Immovable Property Act, 1952, which mandates that: (i) Any property requisitioned prior to the 1970 Amendment must be released on or before the expiry of 17 years from the commencement of the amending Act; (ii) Any property requisitioned after the commencement must be released within 17 years from the date possession was taken. 5 The petitioners, therefore, has submitted that the continued requisition is illegal and that the respondents must either place the indent for acquisition or hand over possession of the land back to the owners. 3 6 The Union of India, in its objections, has admitted that the Army is in possession of the land after having followed due procedure under the 1952 Act. It is submitted that the Army authorities are willing to proceed with the acquisition, but could not place the indent due to non-availability of requisite revenue documents. The Board proceedings are stated to be pending due to non-cooperation from the Revenue Department. It is also submitted that under Section 6 of the 1952 Act, as applicable to the UT of Jammu and Kashmir w.e.f. 30.10.2019, the requisition can be legally continued for a period of 17 years unless earlier acquisition takes place. It is submitted that that the claim of damages by the petitioners is misconceived in light of the existing legal requisition and ongoing payment of rent as fixed by the Government. 7 During the course of arguments, learned counsel for the petitioners placed reliance on the order dated 19.10.2022 passed by a Division Bench of this Court in WP(C) No. 1034/2022, which followed the earlier judgment dated 23.08.2021 passed in WP(C) No. 1727/2020 and other connected matters involving identical issues. 8 Mr. Vishal Sharma, learned DSGI appearing for the Union of India, submitted that he has no objection to the disposal of the present writ petition in terms of the directions issued in WP(C) No. 1727/2020. He states that in terms of judgment dated 19.10.2022 passed by a Division Bench of this Court in WP(C) No. 1034/2022, formal indent has already been placed before the concerned Collector Land Acquisition, as such, the claim of the petitioners herein would be decided along with the petitioners in WP(C) No. 1034/2022. 4 9 From a perusal of the aforesaid order dated 19.10.2022, it is revealed that the Division Bench of this Court, in terms of the judgment dated 23.08.2021 passed in WP(C) No. 1727/2020, disposed of WP(C) No. 1034/2022 along with other clubbed matters. The relevant portion of the judgment dated 23.08.2021 is reproduced hereunder: “These writ petitions are, therefore, disposed of by directing as under: (i) respondent Nos. 4 to 9 shall, within a period of two weeks from today, convey to the revenue authorities of the UT of J&K to provide them the requisite record like Khasra plan, Girdawari, Jamabandi, Missal Haqeeqat etc.. The Deputy Commissioner, Udhampur shall respond to the request of respondent Nos. 4 to 9 within a period of two weeks from the date of receipt of such request and; (ii) Respondent Nos. 4 to 9, after having received the requisite documents from the Deputy Commissioner, Udhampur, shall proceed in the matter and place the matter before the Board for requisite decision. They shall do well to complete the whole exercise including obtaining sanction from the competent authority for release of requisite amount for payment of compensation for the lands proposed to be acquired and also placing formal indent with the concerned Collector, Land Acquisition within a period of two months thereafter if not already placed as on date. The Collector Land Acquisition, on receipt of indent, shall immediately proceed with the acquisition proceedings strictly in accordance with law in force. (iii) With the aforesaid observations/directions, all the writ petitions are disposed of. 10 It is pertinent to mention here that earlier, the acquisition and requisition cases were being dealt with by the Division Bench. However, pursuant to administrative orders issued by the Hon’ble the Chief Justice, such matters are now being heard by the Single Bench. 11 This Court is of the considered view that the issues raised in the present petition are squarely covered by the judgment dated 23.08.2021 5 passed in WP(C) No. 1727/2020, which was subsequently followed in the order dated 19.10.2022 passed in WP(C) No. 1034/2022 and other clubbed matters. 12 In view of the above, and with the consent of learned counsel for the parties, the present writ petition is disposed of in the same terms as contained in the judgment dated 23.08.2021 passed by the Division Bench in WP(C) No. 1727/2020, and followed in the order dated 19.10.2022 in WP(C) No. 1034/2022 and the connected matters. With the aforesaid observations and directions, the writ petition stands disposed of. (MOKSHA KHAJURIA KAZMI) JUDGE Jammu 29.05.2025 Sanjeev Whether approved for judgment: Yes/No