CWP No. 23474 of 2011 -1- IN THE PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT AT CHANDIGARH CWP No. 23474 of 2011 Date of Decision: December 16, 2011 Ram Sarup and others …Petitioners Versus Financial Commissioner-cum-Secretary and another .Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.M. KUMAR HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJIV NARAIN RAINA Present: None 1. To be referred to the Reporters or not? 2. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? M.M. KUMAR, J. 1. The prayer made in the instant petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution is for issuance of a direction to the respondents to withdraw the land from acquisition because possession of the land has not been taken for the purposes of irrigating the water channel by the Mining Irrigation Tubewell Corporation and the project appears to have been abandoned. 2. It is appropriate to mention that the award in the instant case was announced on 27.04.1982 (P-3) and possession of the land is deemed to have been taken. More than 29 years have passed since the announcement of the award. The land free from all encumbrances vest in the State. There is no possibility of exercising equitable jurisdiction asking the State Government to de-notify the CWP No. 23474 of 2011 -2- land as all the options under Section 48 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 stand foreclosed. There is, thus, no merit in the petition. 3. Accordingly, the writ petition fails and the same is dismissed. (M.M. KUMAR) JUDGE (RAJIV NARAIN RAINA) JUDGE December 16, 2011 Atul