Jyotirmay Bhattacharya, J. - (1.) THE petitioner was one of those 923 persons who were allotted house sites at Prothrapur Village under Port Blair Tehsil during the year 1983 Vide Revenue Case No.313 of 83 (DC). In fact, licences were also issued to such allottees in respect of their respective allotments.
(2.) SUBSEQUENTLY, at the time of handing over possession of the licensed land to those allottees in 1983, it was detected that some portion of the licensed land was earlier allotted to CARI. As a result thereof, possession of such licensed land could not be handed over to 186 persons out of those 923 persons. The petitioner was one of such ill fated person out of those 186 persons as possession of his licensed land could not be delivered to him. SUBSEQUENTLY, the A & N Islands Administration formulated a scheme in pursuance of the direction passed by this Hon?ble Court in W.P. No.28 of 2007 (Shri V.G. Krishnan v. the Lt. Governor & Ors.) for providing alternative land to those persons to whom physical possession of land at Prothrapur could not be delivered in 1983. The petitioner claims that the petitioner is entitled to get allotment of the alternative land in terms of the said scheme as the petitioner is a landless person and does not have any land recorded either in his own name or in the name of the spouse and further no other alternative land was allotted to him in lieu of the original allotment. Since the alternative allotment was not given to the petitioner under the said scheme, the petitioner earlier moved a writ petition being W.P. No. 563 of 2010 before this Hon?ble Court in the Circuit Bench at Port Blair. The said writ petition was disposed of by a learned Single Judge of this Hon?ble Court on 14th September, 2010 whereby the Deputy Commissioner, South Andaman District was directed to examine the claim of the petitioner upon giving him an opportunity of hearing with a further rider that if on examination of the petitioner?s claim it is found that he does not have allotment of any other land in his own name or in the name of the spouse or that he has not been allotted any other alternative land in lieu of original allotted land then he shall be given allotment of the proposed land in accordance with the said scheme. The entire exercise in this regard was directed to be completed within 12 weeks from the date of communication of His Lordship?s said order.
(3.) PURSUANT to the aforesaid direction passed by his Lordship, the Deputy Commissioner, South Andaman District considered the claim of the petitioner and ultimately held that the petitioner is not entitled to get allotment of any alternative land as his father along with three others are the recorded licensees in respect of a land situated at Phoenix Bay village under Port Blair Tehsil and his father-in-law is also a recorded licensee of another house site situated at Tusnabad village under Ferrargunj Tehsil. The Deputy Commissioner, South Andaman was of the view that since on the death of the petitioner?s father he will inherit certain shares in the property of his father and further since the wife of the petitioner will also inherit some share in the property of her father on his death, the petitioner is not entitled to get any allotment of alternative land under the said scheme. The legality and/or validity of the said decision of the Deputy Commissioner, South Andaman District, appearing at page 60 of the writ petition is under challenge in this writ petition before this Court.;