- (1.) Heard Sri D.K.Singh holding brief of Sri V.K.Singh, learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri Vimlesh Kumar Rai, learned counsel for U.P. Jal Nigam and learned Standing Counsel for State respondents.
(2.) The petitioner no. 1 is a society which has established an institution by the name of Adarsh Rashtriya Vidyalaya, the petitioner no. 2. The college is situate over plot no. 752 owned by the society. The petitioners have approached this Court seeking a mandamus to command the respondents to forthwith complete the acquisition proceedings and direct the respondents no. 34 & 5 i.e. Superintending Engineer, VII Division, U.P. Jal Nigam, Varanasi and Executive Engineer, V Construction Division, U.P. Jal Nigam, Varanasi to forward the proposal for acquisition of plot no. 752. A further writ of mandamus has been sought to command the respondents to finalise the acquisition proceedings in respect of the property in question and award compensation to the petitioners in accordance with law.
(3.) The aforesaid relief is being claimed in the background of the facts that respondent Jal Nigam constructed a tubewell and installed a huge overhead tank and some other constructions of residential quarters in some area of plot no. 752 owned by the society misrepresenting that they shall be provided with compensation. However, when the respondents failed to take any action the petitioners through their counsel served a legal notice dated 14.6.1996 calling upon the respondents to either pay compensation or to vacate the land and remove their effects therefrom. The petitioners relied upon a letter dated 06.05.1997 written by the Special Land Acquisition Officer to the Executive Engineer informing that in case the constructions have been made on the land belonging to the society a proposal for acquisition may be forwarded so that legal formalities may be completed. Various such communication between the authorities have been filed along with the writ petition.;