- (1.) THIS Rule is directed against an order of the Government of West Bengal, land and Land Revenue Department, embodied in the Notification No. 20402 l. Dev, dated the 26th November, 1964. That notification is annexed to the petition and is marked with the letter "j". Under that notification it appears that notification No. 7574 dated the 11th june 1951 under section 4 of the west Bengal Land Development Planning act, 1948, and a declaration dated the 21st June 1951 under section G road with section 7 of the West Bengal Land development and Planning Act, 1948 in respect of acquisition of land for the settlement of immigrants who had migated into the State of West Bengal on account of circumstances beyond their control in the villages of Gopalpur and sulua, P. S. Rajarhat District 24 parganas, are cancelled by the order of the governor.
(2.) THE notification dated June 11, 1951 under section 4 of the said Act and the declaration dated 21st June 1951 were impeached, in an application under article 226 of the Constitution in Civil rule No. 784 of 1952. That application was dismissed on March 29, 1954. An appeal was pricierred from that judgment and the appeal was dismissed on may 17, 1961.
(3.) THE only point which arises for consideration in the present case is whether the Government has power to cancel the notifications dated June 11, 1951 and the declaration dated 21st june 1951. Counsel on behalf of the petitioner ccntended first that the government had no such power under the west Bengal Land Development and planning Act, 1948, secondly that even if the provisions of the Land acquisition Act were attracted, the government could not exercise any power under section 48 of the Land Acquisition act because possession had been taken by the petitioners in the present case and thirdly that the opposite parties were estopped from contending that the notification and the declaration in the year 1951 suffer from irregularities or infirmities.;