- (1.) Instant writ petition has been instituted by Chotu Ram and Ramdas i.e. the petitioners, with the prayer to quash and set aside the impugned order dated 01st November, 2018, made by the Jaipur Development Authority Appellate Tribunal (for short, the Tribunal), and further, to hold the acquisition proceedings of the subject land involved herein, initiated under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 (for short, the 'ULCAR Act'), to have lapsed being illegal; and therefore,return the subject land, back to the petitioners. The prayer clause of the writ application, reads thus: "(i) Call for the record of the entire proceedings; (ii) Quash and set aside the order dated 01.11.2018 passed by the Jaipur Development Authority Appellate Tribunal in Appeal No.490/2018, Shri Chhotu Ram and Another V. Jaipur Development Authority and Others (Annexure-1); (iii) Restrain the respondents from creating third party rights on the land in question; (iv) Hold the alleged acquisition proceedings under ULCAR Act, 1976 as being illegal and vitiated on account of not taking of possession of the land in question by the respondents and non-payment of compensation; (v) Direct the respondents to restore the possession Khasra No.193, 193/248 situated in Village Beed Khatipura, Jaipur to the petitioners. (vi) Or in the alternate direct the respondents to decide the representation of the petitioners in a time bound manner while maintaining status quo on the land in question; (vii) Any other relief, order or direction that this Hon'ble Court deems fit in the interest of equity, justice and good conscience."
(2.) Shorn off unnecessary details, the essential skeletal material facts necessary for adjudication of the controversy raised are: that the petitioners purchased the subject land comprising of Khasra No. 193 and 193/248, situated in Village Beed Khatipura, Jaipur, in the year of 1967. The competent authority issued notifications under Section 10 (3) of the ULCAR Act, with reference to Khasra No. 193 vide notification dated 4th January, 1984 and relating to Khasra No.193/248 vide notification dated 28 th January, 1984. The subject land in question, as stated, was acquired by taking forcible possession on 6th December, 1986. Thereafter, the petitioners filedappeals bearing No. 54/91 and 55/91, before the Divisional Commissioner, unsuccessfully. Aggrieved thereof, the petitioners instituted writ applications bearing SBCWP No. 2008/93 and SBCWP No. 2209/93; challenging the applicability of the ULCAR Act to the land in question. The ULCAR Act was repealed in the State of Rajasthan, with effective from 07 th October, 1999. It is pleaded case of the petitioners that the State Government inserted Section 83-A in the Jaipur Development Authority Act, 1982 (for short, the 'JDA Act'), for constitution of 'Settlement Committee', to resolve the disputes between Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) and other persons vide notification dated 26th May, 2001. The 'Settlement Committee', vide order dated 10th April, 2002, directed for the subject land to be regularized at the cost of 25% of the reserve price, subject to the condition that petitioners withdrew the pending writ applications before the High Court and Supreme Court involving the same subject land. The respondent-JDA, issued a demand notice dated 18th May, 2002, thereby demanding Rs. 3,81,23,291.25/- (Rupees Three Crore Eighty One Lakh Twenty Three Thousand Two Hundred Ninety One and Twenty Five paise Only), for regularization of the subject land involved herein. The petitioners made a payment of Rs. 1,45,05,000/- (Rupees One Crore Forty Five lakhs Five Thousand Only). Meanwhile, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), bearing No. 2658/03, was filed in this High Court challenging the constitution of the 'Settlement Committee' under Section 83-A of the JDA Act. The State Government, pending the PIL, withdrew the notification for constitution of the 'Settlement Committee' on 15th September, 2004. Be that as it may, the petitioners addressed a representation, dated 13 th August, 2013, to the State Government for regularization and compliance of the order dated 10th April, 2002, made by the 'Settlement Committee'. The State Government constituted an 'Empowered Committee' on 19th September, 2013, seeking its legal opinion in the matter of the subject land involved herein. The Committee, in its legal opinion dated 17th November, 2013, opined that for the entire amount for regularization was not deposited by the petitioners; therefore, the respondent-JDA was not obliged to regularize the subject land after a lapse of 11 years and this fact was conveyed to the petitioners vide order dated 20th November, 2013.
(3.) Thereafter, the petitioners filed a writ application (SBCWP 12656/2014), challenging the orders dated 17 th November, 2013 and 20th November, 2013, and to further allow the subject land in question to be regularized. The writ application was dismissed vide order dated 25th February, 2015, so also the intra-court appeal against the order dated 25th February, 2015, vide order dated 27 th February, 2015, by the Division Bench. The petitioners then approached the Apex Court of the land by way of a Special Leave Petition, which was also dismissed vide order dated 02 nd March, 2015. A review petition filed by the petitioners before the Division Bench of this court, was also declined vide order dated 13 th May, 2016. And then a special leave petition against the order dated 13th May, 2016, before the Apex Court of the land, wherein the SLP, was withdrawn by the petitioners with the liberty reserved to them to address a representation to the State Government in order to deal with the question of non-payment of compensation and possession taken or not. in lieu of acquisition of the subject land involved herein. This prayer was granted by the Supreme Court.;