S.K.MALLODHA, J. - (1.)This appeal under S. 18 of the Rajasthan High Court Ordinance, 1949 is directed against the judgment dt. May 2,1973 of the learned single Judge passed in S. B. Civil Writ Petition No. 1078 of 1972, by which, he allowed the petitioner-appellant's writ petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution and sent the case back to the Land Acquisition Officer to examine the case of the petitioner-appellant solely from the point of view of compensation under the relevant provisions of the Rajasthan Land Acquisition Act (No. 24 of 1953) (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act').
(2.)The appellant hereinafter will be referred to as the petitioner. The petitioner filed the writ petition seeking to quash the orders (Ex. 6) dt. June, 24, 1968 of the Deputy Colonisation Commissioner, (Ex. 7), dt. Aug., 20,1969 of the Commissioner Colonisation, (Ex. 8), dt. Nov., 22, 1970 and (Ex. 9), dt. May 22, 1971 of the Colonisation Minister, Government of Rajasthan and the notice (Ex. 10), issued by the Tehsildar Colonisation, Rajasthan Canal Project, Suratgarh No.2, District Sriganganagar. It was also prayed that the petitioner may be declared the Khatedar tenant of the disputed lands and the order for the grant of land in exchange passed by the Land Acquisition Officer, Suratgarh be restored. A further relief was also sought that the respondents may be directed not to interfere with the possession of the petitioner in any manner whatsoever.
(3.)The petitioner has alleged that the lands described in para 1 of the writ petition had been in his personal cultivation prior to Svt. 2012 corresponding to 1955 A.D. Rajasthan Tenancy Act (No. 3 of 1955) (for short 'the Act of 1955) came into force on Oct., 15,1955. The petitioner has averred that by virtue of S. 15 of the Act of 1955, he became Khatedar tenant. Subsequently, S.15-A was introduced in the Act of 1955 and according to that section, Khatedari rights could not accrue in the lands which fell in the Rajasthan Canal Area. It is not in dispute that the lands of the petitioner fell within the Rajasthan Canal Area. It is, thus, clear that the Khatedari rights which had accrued to the petitioner had been taken away by the amended S.15-A of the Act of 1955. However, S. 15-A was declared ultra vires by a decision of this Court but it was subsequently validated by an amendment in the Constitution. In a later decision in Jugal Kishore v. State of Rajasthan, 1973 WLN 52, in which the validity of S. 15-A was again questioned, it was held to be valid.