Page No.# 1/5 GAHC010031342020 2025:GAU-AS:12571 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : WP(C)/1085/2020 MINA PANDIT @ MINA PANDIT GOALA W/O- ROHIT PANDIT, D/O- SHIW SANKAR GOALA, WARD NO.1, GOALA PATTY, DHUBRI, DIST- DHUBRI, ASSAM, PIN- 783331 VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 4 ORS REP. BY ITS COMMISSIONER SECRETARY TO THE GOVT OF ASSAM, REVENUE (LR) DEPTT, DISPUR, GHY- 06 2:THE UNDER SECRETARY TO THE GOVT OF ASSAM FLOOD CONTROL DEPTT CHANDMARI GUWAHATI- 03 3:EXECUTIVE ENGINEER E AND D DIVISION DHUBRI PIN- 783301 4:DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DHUBRI PIN- 783301 5:CIRCLE OFFICER DHUBRI REVENUE CIRCLE DHUBRI PIN- 78330 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. M J BARUAH, MS B MAJUMDER Page No.# 2/5 Advocate for the Respondent : GA, ASSAM, BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE KARDAK ETE ORDER 15.09.2025 Heard Mr. M.J. Baruah, learned counsel for the petitioner; Mr. D. Nath, Senior Government Advocate, Assam for the respondent nos. 2, 3 & 4; and Ms. N. Bordoloi, Standing Counsel, Revenue Department for the respondent nos. 1 & 6. 2. By filing this writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for a direction to the respondent authorities to release the land acquired pursuant to a land acquisition proceedings initiated vide L.A. Case no. 17/1971-1972 by completing the proceedings of De-requisition and to correct the revenue records in the name of the original pattadar or in the name of the petitioner as his legal heir. 3. The case of the petitioner is that he is the legal heir of original pattadar, namely, Raghunath Goala [Grandfather of the petitioner], who was granted a patta of a plot of land measuring 01K-01L, covered by Dag no. 1371 [Old] & K.P. Patta no. 589 of Village – Town Dhubri Part – I, Mouza & Circle, District - Dhubri, Assam. The said patta was granted to his grandfather in the year 1968 based on long and continuous possession. In the year 1970 to 1971, the respondent authorities had taken a decision to construct Embankment alongside the river Brahmaputra. Accordingly, land of the predecessor of the petitioner was acquired by initiating a land acquisition proceedings vide L.A. Case no. Page No.# 3/5 17/1971-1972. Dag no. 1371 of the land had been deleted and attached with a Government Dag no. 1383 and the record was corrected accordingly in the name of Government. However, till date, neither possession of the land acquired has been taken for any construction nor any compensation amount has been paid against the said land. 4. The Government in the year 1998, by communication issued by the Deputy Secretary to the Government of Assam, Revenue [L.R.] Department had directed the Deputy Commissioner, Dhubri to derequisition the said land which was acquired vide L.A. Case no. 17/1971-1972 as the land in question was not used by E&D Department based on the Letter dated 06.01.1998 from the Executive Engineer, E&D Division, Dhubri. 5. It is submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the land in question has been occupied and enjoyed by the predecessor of the petitioner and the family since last 80 years without any interference by holding and paying tax including electricity bill and municipality tax regularly till date. The petitioner submitted several representations before the Deputy Commissioner, Dhubri to restore the said land in the name of his predecessor or his legal heir by derequisition in terms of the Communication dated 01.08.1998 issued by the Deputy Secretary to the Government of Assam, Revenue [L.R.] Department. However, the same has not been considered as on date. It is the submission of the learned counsel for the petitioner that as per the provisions of Land Acquisition and Requisition, any land kept as requisitioned for more than five years without any use should be derequisitioned. But, in the present case, for 80 years after acquiring the land, the same has neither been used nor derequisitioned and returned back the land to the petitioner even after elapse of Page No.# 4/5 21 years of issuance of the Government direction in the year 1998. Therefore, the petitioner prays that the respondent authorities may be directed to complete the derequisition proceedings and to correct the revenue record in the name of original pattadar or in the name of the petitioner as his legal heir. 6. This Court on 21.08.2025 has directed the learned Government Advocate to obtain instructions with regard to the status of the land in question as to whether the same was acquired by the respondent in pursuance to L.A. Case no. 17/1971-1972. 7. Today, Mr. Nath, learned Senior Government Advocate by placing a copy of the Communication dated 12.09.2025 from the Additional District Commissioner & Competent Authority Land Acquisition [CALA], Dhubri submits that the derequisition proceedings of the land of the petitioner measuring 0B-01K-01L covered by Dag no. 1382 of Dhubri Town which was acquired under L.A. Case no. 17/1971-1972 has been initiated and land records will be corrected as soon as possible. Therefore, he submits that a week’s time may be granted to the respondent authorities to complete the process. 8. Having considered the submissions of the learned counsel for the parties and considering the categorical statement made by the learned Senior Government Advocate, Mr. D. Nath to the effect that the derequisition proceedings of the land in question which was acquired in L.A. Case no. 17/1971-1972 has been initiated and the land records will be corrected accordingly, I deem it appropriate to dispose of this writ petition with a direction to the respondent authorities to complete the derequisition proceedings and to correct the land records expeditiously. Accordingly, the respondent authorities Page No.# 5/5 are directed to complete the process of derequisition proceedings and to correct the land records as expeditiously as possible, preferably within a period of 1 [one] week from today, as sought for by the learned Senior Government Advocate, Assam. 9. The writ petition stands allowed and disposed of. JUDGE Comparing Assistant