HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V. NAGARJUNA REDDY W.P.No.2711 of 2007 Date : 23-6-2011 Between : Milk Producers & Employees Educational Health and Medical Welfare Trust, Represented by its Managing Trustee Sri A.Tulasi Rao, Visakhapatnam .. Petitioner And The Government of Andhra Pradesh, Represented by its Secretary, Municipal Administration & Urban Development Department, Hyderabad and others .. Respondents Counsel for petitioner : Sri P.B. Vijay Kumar Counsel for respondents : A.G.P. for Land Acquisition The court made the following: ORDER: This Writ Petition is filed for a mandamus to declare the inaction of respondent No.1 in approving the draft withdrawal notification under Section 48(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short "the Act") in pursuance of letter dated 9-12-2002 of respondent No.2 as arbitrary and illegal. The petitioner also sought for a direction to respondent Nos.2 and 3 to return the sum of Rs.1,50,000/- deposited for acquiring land in Sy.No.105/P of Thunglam village, Gazuwaka Mandal, Visakhapatnam District. The petitioner, which is a Trust, has approached respondent No.2 with a request for acquisition of land admeasuring Ac.0-28½ guntas in Sy.No.105/P of Thunglam village, Gazuwaka Mandal, Visakhapatnam District. Respondent No.2 in turn directed the Commissioner, Gazuwaka Municipality to acquire the said land. Thereafter, notification under Section 4(1) and declaration under Section 6 of the Act were published on 31-5-2001 and 20-7- 2001 respectively. The petitioner pleaded that in pursuance of the acquisition proceedings, it has deposited Rs.1,50,000/- on 8-3-2002 with the Special Tahsildar (Land Acquisition), Revenue Division Visakhapatnam – respondent No.3, through the Municipal Commissioner, Gazuwaka and that subsequent thereto, the petitioner has taken the decision to acquire the land through private negotiations with the land owners. That after the land owners have agreed to transfer the land for a specified amount, the petitioner has made an application to respondent No.2 to withdraw the acquisition proceedings. The petitioner further averred that respondent No.3 vide proceedings Lr.Rc.No.45/99 RI.II, dated 8-11-2002 submitted proposals for withdrawal of notification under Section 48(1) of the Act. Respondent No.2 has in turn addressed letter dated 9-12-2002 to respondent No.1 for approving the withdrawal notification. The grievance of the petitioner is that neither the withdrawal proposals have been approved nor the sum of Rs.1,50,000/- deposited with respondent No.3 has been returned. No counter-affidavit is filed by any of the respondents. From the facts pleaded by the petitioner which remained uncontroverted, except publishing the notification under Section 4(1) and declaration under Section 6 of the Act, no further steps towards acquisition of the land have been taken. Under Section 11-A of the Act, if an award under Section 11 of the Act is not made within a period of two years from the date of publication of declaration, the entire proceedings for acquisition of the land shall lapse. As evidently no award has been passed, the acquisition proceedings would have already lapsed by operation of the said statutory provision. Therefore, I do not find any need for the respondents to formally withdraw the acquisition proceedings at this stage. As regards the grievance of the petitioner that the sum of Rs.1,50,000/- stated to have been deposited by it with respondent No.3 has not been returned, I do not find any justification in such an action if the petitioner’s allegation is correct. Since the land acquisition proceedings have become abortive, the petitioner is entitled to return of the said money. Accordingly, respondents Nos.2 and 3 are directed to return the sum of Rs.1,50,000/- stated to have been deposited by the petitioner with respondent No.3 if the same has not already been returned so far, within a period of one month from the date of receipt of this order. Subject to the above directions, the Writ Petition is disposed of. As a sequel, W.P.M.P.No.3479/2007 is disposed of as infructuous. _________________________ Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy Date : 23-6-2011 AM