Serial No. 03 Regular Cause List HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH AT SRINAGAR OWP No. 561/2015 Empowered Committee … Petitioner(s) Through: - Ms Ummiya Zehra, Advocate vice Mr Mir Majid Bashir, Advocate. V/s Hon’ble Court of Minister for Revenue and Ors. … Respondent(s) Through: - Mr Ilyas Nazir Laway, Government Advocate with Ms Rahella Khan, Assisting Counsel. CORAM: Hon’ble Mr Justice Sanjeev Kumar, Judge Hon’ble Mr Justice Puneet Gupta, Judge (ORDER) 25.02.2025 01. Impugned in this Petition, filed by the Empowered Committee headed by the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, constituted under the Jammu & Kashmir State Lands (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act, 2001 (“the Act of 2001”), is an Order dated 13th of September, 2012 passed by the then Revenue Minister of the then State of Jammu & Kashmir (now Union Territory) in an appeal filed by the Respondent No.2 herein under Section 7 of the Act of 2001 and the Order dated 15th of July, 2014 passed in a Review Petition filed by the Respondent No.2 before the same authority. 02. The controversy has arisen out of an Order passed by the Empowered Committee aforesaid for fixation of rates of the land, which was to vest in the Respondent No.2 under the provisions of the Act of 2001. The rates fixed by the Empowered Committee were not acceptable to the Respondent No.2 and, therefore, an appeal, followed by a Review Petition before the then Revenue Minister of the then State of Jammu & Kashmir (now Union Territory). The then Revenue Minister, accepted the appeal of Respondent No.2, quashed the order of fixation of rates and remitted the case back to the Empowered Committee to fix the price of the land to be vested in Respondent No.2 in accordance with the Act of 2001 and the Rules framed thereunder. 03. The Empowered Committee is before us in this Petition since the year 2015. 04. During the pendency of this Petition, the Act of 2001, which was subject matter of challenge before this Court, came to be declared ultra vires the Constitution by a Division Bench of this Court in PIL No. 19/2011. That being so, there could be no vesting of State land in favour of the occupants in terms of the Act of 2001. 05. In view of above, all the proceedings before the Officers of the Revenue Department, including the Empowered Committee, which is now non-existent, have been rendered otiose and, therefore, no direction can be issued in this regard. Since, the entire proceedings before the authorities have become non-existent, as such, there is no cause that has survived to the Petitioner herein. This Petition is, accordingly, dismissed as having been rendered infructuous, due to subsequent developments, as indicated hereinabove. Interim direction(s), if any subsisting as on date, shall stand vacated. (Puneet Gupta) (Sanjeev Kumar) Judge Judge SRINAGAR February 25th, 2025 “TAHIR” Tahir Manzoor Bhat I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this document