Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Aug 24: High Court has directed the Government to acquire the land of a lady already taken from her under the provision of law and pass a compensation award in her favour with exploration of private negotiations.
The petitioner-Raja Bano in her plea is clamouring for grant of compensation for the land, which she is claiming to be her proprietary land, measuring 04 kanals 02 marlas situated in revenue estate Batmaloo Srinagar.
The land owner states that the concerned department has forcibly taken over her land without paying compensation and without adopting any legal recourse of transfer of land from its owner for widening of the flood channel.
Justice M A Chowdhary after having regard to the factual background, discussion and the observations made during the course of proceedings, considered his opinion that the subject land, owned by Bano, has been taken over and used by the I&FC Department, for widening flood channel, without adopting any legal recourse of transfer of the land from its owner.
Justice Chowdhary has held that the petitioner is found legally entitled to claim fair and just compensation for the land in question. The court allowed the plea of petitioner with the directions to the I&FC Department Srinagar to send indent to the concerned Collector to initiate acquisition of land in question within a period of four weeks from the date of this order.
The court further directed the Collector on receipt of indent to proceed with the acquisition of land in question and pass an award in accordance with the law in favour of the petitioner-land owner.
The court turned down the contentions of the Government that the land has been taken over by the respondent I & FC Department in late sixties and at this stage, petitioner is not entitled to any relief, in view of delay and latches.
Court said these contentions are not acceptable in view of the recurring cause of action and when the right to hold property in late sixties was a fundamental right but also continue to be a constitutional and human right as envisaged in Article 300-A of the Constitution of India, particularly in our constitutional democracy.
“Merely that the land has been recorded as ‘Gairmumkin Nallah’, does not ipso facto transfer the title of the land from Bano to the respondent-I & FC Department. To own the land in J&K, was recognized as fundamental right as per the Constitution of J&K and continues even now to be the constitutional right in terms of Article 300-A of the Constitution of India and the ownership of the land can only be divested from the land owned and possessed by the owner, in accordance with the provisions with regard to acquisition of the land”, Justice Chowdhary recorded in the judgment.
Court further added that the respondent-authorities have failed to show any document as to how the land was transferred to them from the petitioner-Bano either by donation or by any other mode of acquisition.
“Merely saying that the land in question has been recorded as ‘Gairmumkin Nallah’ decades back, does not give them the right to hold that land, which has been recorded as proprietary land of the petitioner”, read the judgment.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
