Bela M. Trivedi, J. - (1.) IN all this group of petitions, the petitioners have challenged the acquisition proceedings in respect of the lands covered under the same notification and the declaration issued by the State Government under Sections 4 and 6 respectively of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (hereinafter referred to as 'the said Act'), and therefore same were heard together and are being disposed of by this common judgment.
(2.) THE petitioners in all these petitions have mainly prayed for setting aside of the notification dated 18/8/2007 issued under Section 4 (wrongly mentioned as Section 6 in the prayer clause) by the respondent -State, and the award dated 30/8/2011 made by the respondent No. 2 -Land Acquisition Officer under Section 11 of the said Act. They have alternatively prayed that the lands of the petitioners be deacquired under Section 48 of the said Act, and the respondents be restrained from dispossessing the petitioners from the lands in question. For the sake of convenience and brevity, the averments made in the petition being No. 5757 of 2015 filed by Smt. Gita Soni are taken for consideration. According to the petitioner, the respondent -State had issued the notification under Section 4 of the said Act on 18/8/2007 for acquisition of the lands mentioned therein, for the multipurpose scheme No. 13 for Urban Improvement Trust, Bharatpur. The said notification is annexed as Annexure -1 to the petition. Thereafter the respondents -State vide further notification dated 1/10/2008 and 3/10/2008 (Annexure -2 and Annexure -3) released certain lands as mentioned therein, from acquisition under Section 48 of the said Act. The declaration under Section 6 thereafter was issued on 25/8/2009 (Annex.4) for the rest of the lands mentioned therein, and the Award was passed by the respondent No. 2 on 30/8/2011 (Annex.5), which was approved by the respondent -State on 1/9/2011 under Section 11 of the said Act. As per the case of the petitioner, she had purchased the land i.e. 3/5 part of Khasra No. 432 situated in Bharatpur Chak No. 1 from one Rajjo Singh, Radhey, Madan and Kamal vide the registered sale deed dated 5/3/2009 as per Annexure -7, and she was the khatedar of 3/4 part of Khasra No. 433 as per the Jamabandi -Annexure -8. The petitioner has challenged the said acquisition proceedings on various grounds and prayed to quash and set aside the said proceedings.
(3.) THE petitions have been resisted by the respondents by filing the replies raising preliminary objections inter alia that the petitions have been filed after the gross delay of about eight years since the notification under Section 4 was published in August, 2007, and that the petitioners were guilty of suppressing material facts. It is also contended that the petitioners had no locus standi to file the petitions and even otherwise, after passing of the award, the possession of the lands in question has already been taken over by the respondents and the same have vested in the government.;