Vinod Kumar Gupta, J. - (1.) An area measuring 1581 sq.ft. situate on the second floor of premises No. 2, Church Lane, Calcutta-700 001 was under the requisition of the appellant-State Government in terms of the West Bengal Premises Requisition & Control (Temporary Provision) Act, 1947. It appears that the respondent, from whom the property was requisitioned was in need of this property and he accordingly offered to the appellant-State alternative accommodation in exchange of the aforesaid property. The alternative accommodation was in the form of the entire third floor of a newly constructed annexe building. The area of this was 1599.3 sq.ft..The parties accordingly agreed that the appellant State Government shall derequisition the property already with it and in exchange thereof the respondent shall offer the appellant State Government the aforesaid alternative accommodation and the appellant shall accept the same and that a fresh requisition order in respect of the new property shall be issued by the State Government. Accordingly, a formal agreement was entered into between the parties on 16th December, 1987. Pursuant thereto the State Government issued a fresh requisition order on 24th December, 1987 in terms of sub-section (1) of section 3 of 1947 Act whereby the new property was requisitioned.
(2.) Section 1OB of 1947 Act provides for compulsory release from requisition on or before the expiry of 25 years from the date of the requisition. This section reads as under : "1OB. Compulsory release from requisition : Notwithstanding anything contained in section 10 or section 10-A, State Government shall release from requisition any property requisitioned or deemed to be requisitioned under this Act on or before the expiry of a period of twenty five years from the date of such requisition : Provided that the benefit of this section shall not be available until after expiry of a' period of five years from the date of coming into force of the West Bengal Premises Requisition and Control (Temporary Provisions) Second Amendment Act, 1986."
(3.) The respondent, claiming that 25 years had to be reckoned from 1972 when the original requisition order was passed in respect of the property released in 1987 (in lieu whereof the new property was taken over) filed a writ application in this Court for a mandamus upon the appellant to de-requisition the property since, according to the respondent, this period of 25 years having reckoned from 1972 and stood expired in 1997.;