- (1.) This writ petition was moved on behalf of The Hilla Tea Estates and Industries Limited and another, inter alia, praying for a declaration that the Hilla Tea Estates and Industries Limited, the petitioner No. 1 is entitled to retain the land comprised in the Hilla Tea Estate, as a lessee, under the State of West Bengal, under a lease which cannot be cancelled or forfeited in law and the State Government is not authorised to take possession of the same or to extinguish the right of the petitioner No. 1, as a lessee and/or intermediary therein, by reason of the provisions of Sections 6 and 10(5) of the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act, 1953 (hereinafter referred to as the said Act of 1953), read with Rule 4 of West Bengal Estate Acquisition Rules, 1954 and also praying for issue of a writ in the nature of Mandamus commanding the respondents Nos. 1 and 2 to issue treasury challans and to accept payment of rent by the petitioner No. 1 and its agents and to execute the lease in Form "I" appended to Schedule "F" of the said West Bengal Estates Acquisition Rules, on behalf of the Governor of West Bengal and also for issue of an appropriate writ of prohibition forbidding the State of West Bengal, being first respondent and the Collector and Deputy Commissioner, Jalpaiguri, being second respondent, and each of them to proceed further in the matter of taking possession of the said Hilla Tea Estate and from proceeding to act under Section 10(2) of the said Act as pleaded in paragraph 21, whereupon, Rule was issued by Amiya Kumar Mookerjee, J. (as His Lordship then was), on 11/10/1977 an interim order was granted till 7/12/1977 with liberty to the petitioner to apply for extension of the same, in the presence of the respondents. The prayer (g) of the writ petition is set out below :- "Injunction restraining the first and second respondents and each of them, their servants and agents from giving effect to or acting in terms of or taking any steps or any further steps pursuant to the impugned Memos bearing Nos. 189(2)/T dated 27/04/1976, No. 234/T dated 26/05/1976 and No. 289/T dated 29/09/1977, as pleaded in paragraph 31 hereof."
(2.) Thereafter, in 1979, the writ petition appeared in the Court of B. C. Basak, J. (as His Lordship then was), when no one appeared even after the third call and the writ petition was dismissed and the Rule was discharged and the ad-interim order was vacated.
(3.) On 19/11/1979, the application for restoration of the writ petition was adjourned for one month and B. C. Basak, J. directed the parties to maintain "Status Quo", as on the said date.;