- (1.) THE petitioners before this Court claim to be the recorded tenure-holders of plot bearing Khata Nos. 156 and 38. It is stated that the land covered by the aforesaid khata number, was subject- matter of acquisition proceeding under the Land Acquisition Act (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') as per the Notification dated 28.5.1989 issued under Section 6(1) of the Act. It is stated that the petitioner accepted the compensation determined by the Land Acquisition Officer and did not make any reference in that regard under Section 18 of the Act. It is further stated that other tenure-holders whose land was also acquired under the same Notification, made a reference qua rate of payment of compensation. THE matter was adjudicated under an award dated 16th August, 1999 passed in L.A.R. No. 42 of 1993 the rate of compensation for the land so acquired has been enhanced.
(2.) ON the aforesaid award being made, the petitioner made an application under Section 28-A of the Act before the Land Acquisition Act for payment of compensation at the enhanced rates with reference to award dated 16.8.1999. The application so made by the writ petitioner was rejected vide order dated 17.1.2007 (Annexure 3 to the writ petition) on the ground that against the award dated 16.8.1999, the State of U.P. has preferred First Appeal No. (550) of 2005 before the Hon'ble High Court. Since there was delay in filing of the said appeal by the State, an application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act was also filed. Section 5 application made by the State Government in the aforesaid first appeal was rejected by the Hon'ble High Court vide order dated 17.1.2007. As a result whereof, the appeal stood dismissed being barred by limitation. The petitioner has therefore come up before this Court by means of this writ petition for a writ of mandamus commanding the respondent to consider and decide the application made by the petitioner under Section 28-A of the Land Acquisition Act dated 16th August, 1999 in the light of the order passed in L.A.R. No. 42 of 1993 under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act.
(3.) WE have heard learned counsel for the parties and have gone through the record of the present writ petition. A Division Bench of this Court in the case of Nanak and others v. State of U.P. and others, 1996(2) AWC 1237, has laid down the conditions point-wise which are required to be satisfied before an application under Section 28-A of the Land Acquisition Act can be entertained. Reference para 17 which is quoted herein below: "17. Thus, in view of the above, we are constrained to direct the respondent No. 5, to issue notices to respondent No. 6, Ghaziabad Development Authority, the other contesting party and after hearing all the parties concerned, to determine whether: (i) The applications were filed by the petitioners within limitation. (ii) Petitioners belong to the indigent class of the society for whose benefit, provisions of Section 28A were enacted particularly in the light of the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the cases of Mewa Ram, Scheduled Caste Co-operative Society and Babua Ram (supra). (iii) The Court's award in L.A.R. No. 304/77, Hemchand (supra) has become final or whether any appeal arising out of the same or any other award in respect of any land covered by the same Section 4 notification dated 16.7.1960 is pending before this Court or Supreme Court. (iv) The nature, location and quality of the land of the petitioners are identical to the land which had been subject-matter of the Court's award in Hemchand (supra). If all the aforesaid conditions are fulfilled in the cases of the petitioners, the Special Land Acquisition Officer, respondent No. 5 is directed to decide the applications under Section 28A of the Act and dispose them of finally within a period of six months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this judgment strictly in accordance with law as explained above.";