- (1.) PRESENT writ petition has been filed by Sri U.C. Mishra, Son of Late Sri Babu Ram Mishra, resident of Sitakunj Bilandpur, District Gorakhpur (a dismissed Higher Judicial Service Officer) for quashing the dismissal order dated 14.2.2002 and to reinstate him in service with all consequential benefits.
(2.) DECIDING a land acquisition reference case resulted in infliction of major penalty of dismissal of the petitioner, who was a member of Higher Judicial Service is the issue involved in the writ petition. Brief facts of the case of the Land Acquisition Act will be Appropriate to be narrated in order to decide the controversy involved in this writ petition. A notification under Section 4(1) of Land Acquisition Act was issued for acquisition of land admeasuring 2 Bigha 5 Biswa and 8 Biswansi bearing Civil Station No. 24 Tehsil Chail District Allahabad for establishing a commercial center in Allahabad City on 13.11.1986. Notification under Section 6 was issued on 6.2.1987 and the land was acquired at the instance of Allahabad Development Authority. The proceeding for determination and the determination of amount of compensation commenced and the Special Land Acquisition Officer gave award on 25.5.1987, determining the value of the land as Rs. 7,34,505.67/- with interest at 12 per cent from the date of notification till date of award and solatium under Section 23 (2) of the Act amounting to Rs. 9,80,565/- and .06 paise. The Special Land Acquisition Officer found that the land was granted on lease by the State Government, which had expired in the year 1960 and thereafter it was not renewed. As the land belongs to the State Government, the S.L.A.O.made a reference to the District Judge under Section 30 of the Act to determine as to how much amount is payable to the lease holder and to the State Government. In the reference, nine persons were made opposite parties viz., 1.Shiva Narain Lal Chowdhery 2- Laxmi Narain Chowdhery 3-Raj Narain Chowdhery 4-Hari Narain Chowdhery 5-Man Kamal Narain Chowdhery 6- Laddomal S/o- late Hukum Chand 7-Z.A. Kazmi 8- Prabhari Adhikari, Rajkiya Ashram, Allahabad and 9- Secretary, Allahabad Development Authority.
(3.) THE reference was received by the District Judge, Allahabad on 13.10.1987 and was registered as Acquisition Reference No. 124 of 1987. The Government fixed 11.11.1987 for written statement and 18.11.1987 for issues. Notices were issued to all the above nine persons. In the mean while the Prayag Upnivesh Sahkari Samiti Ltd. (in short 'Samiti') also moved an application under Section 18 read with Section 30 and Section 31 of the Land Acquisition Act which was registered in the office of Special Land Acquisition Officer on 12.10.1987 and S.L.A.O directed the 'Ahalmad' to take necessary action (Annexure 8, page 84 to 95 of writ petition and S.A.3 of supplementary affidavit filed by the petitioner. (The main controversy in the case revolves around this application as to whether that application was under Section 30 and 31 merely or also under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act and whether that application was surreptitiously placed on record at the behest of the petitioner, after he took over charge on 2nd June 1992). The State sought time and was allowed 15 days time to file written statement. The state was Opposite Party No.1 in the reference application of society and, therefore, it had sought time to file written statement (Annexure 9 page 96 of the writ petition). Allahabad Development Authority moved an application seeking impleadment in the reference application of the society on 16.4.1990 (Annexure 10 page 97 of the writ petition). The then 11th Additional District Judge, Allahabad (not the petitioner) allowed the application for impleadment of the Allahabad Development Authority on 24.12.1991 (Annexure 11 page 102 of the writ petition). On his transfer from Fatehpur the petitioner was posted as 9th Additional District Judge, Allahabad on 9.6.1990 and after that he took charge of the court of 11th Additional District Judge, Allahabad on 2.6.1992.;