Kansingh, J. - (1.) THIS a writ petition under Article 226 of the constitution challenging the validity of certain acquisition proceedings taken under the Rajasthan Land Acquisition Act, 1953, herein after to be referred as "the Act".
(2.) THE petitioner is a Cooperative Society, hereinafter to be referred "the Society". On 12.5.60, the Government had published a notification in the Rajasthan Rajpatra in exercise of their powers under Section 4 of the Act. The notification was as follows: By Order of GovernorSd/ S.D. UjjwalSecretary to Govt. Local SelfGovt. Deptt. By the above notification the land covered by Khasras No. 230, 233, 236, 235/511 and 233/509 was, inter alia, sought to be acquired. On 3rd May, 1961, the Government issued a further notification under Section 6 of the Act. This notification ran as follows: By Order of GovernorSd/ S.D. Thapar,Secretary Local Self Govt. Deptt. One Smt. Laxmi Devi Sogani who claimed to be the Khatedar tenant of the laud covered by the aforesaid khasra numbers challenged the acquisition proceedings by a writ petition in this Court. It was DB Civil writ Petition No. 47 a of 61. On 18.4.63 the writ was partly allowed & it was ordered that acquisition proceeding be quashed regarding Khasra Nos. 235/510 and 235/512, as the proceedings were illegal, qua them but in respect of Khasra numbers mentioned above the acquisition proceedings were held to be legal and the writ petition qua them was dismissed. On 15 -1 -67. Smt Laxmi Devi Sogani sold this land to the Society by a registered sale deed. On 13 -9 -1972, the Society Sled the present writ petition for quashing the acquisition proceedings regarding the land covered by Khasras Nos. 230, 233, 236, 235/511 and 233/509, in village Bhojpura, and for commanding he respondents to drop the proceedings in respect of these Khasras. It was submitted that the public purpose for which the land was sought to be acquired had ceased to exist and as inspite of the decision of the High Court as back as 18.4.63 further proceedings under the Act had not been taken for almost a period of 9 years and therefore, the State shall be deemed to have abandoned the acquisition proceedings. As regards the non existence of the public purpose it was submitted that although the land was sought to be acquired for the construction of the new High Court building at Jaipur and for he construction of the Stadium the two buildings have already been constructed on different sites and, therefore, the public purpose for which the land was sought to be acquired has vanished. Apart from this it was submitted that though acquisition proceedings were taken in respect of a number of properties which are mentioned in para 19 of the writ petition, the Government was continuing the present proceedings and this was discriminatory.
(3.) THE writ petition has been opposed by the State. It was submitted that the land was agricultural and the petitioner Society had taken this land avowedly for the purposes of constructing residential houses and consequently the transfer in favour of the Society was illegal. As regards the casing of the so -called public purpose it was submitted that the petitioner is misreading the contents of notification Annexure 2. It does not mean that the land was being acquit ed for the construction of the new High Court budding or for the stadium, but it was for the purposes of development of Abadi. As regards the delay in completion of the proceedings it was stated that the petitioner had been taking part in the proceedings before the Land Acquisition Officer and even it there was some delay in completion of the proceedings that cannot amount to abandonment of the proceedings.;