IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) WEDNESDAY, THE TWENTY SECOND DAY OF JUNE TWO THOUSAND AND ELEVEN PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY Writ Petition Nos.15 & 162 of 2007 Order: At the interlocutory stage, the Writ Petitions are taken up for hearing and disposal with the consent of the learned Counsel for the parties. These two Writ Petitions are filed for a Mandamus to declare the action of the respondents, in not referring the claims made by the petitioners for enhancement of compensation under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short ‘the Act’) to the competent civil Court, as illegal and arbitrary. The petitioners are the owners of the lands, which were acquired under Somasila Project and the awards in respect thereof were passed on 18-09-1986 and 17-02-1994. The petitioners submitted that after receipt of award notices, they have filed their claim petitions, for reference under Section 18 of the Act to the competent civil Court, either through their Advocate Sri G.S.Murthy of Kadapa Town or in person, on 03-11-1986 and 06-05-1994. As the respondents have not referred those claims to the competent civil Court, the petitioners have filed the present Writ Petition. Counter-affidavit has been filed by respondent No.2 wherien it is inter alia stated that the awards impugned in these two Writ Petitions were passed on 18-09-1986 and 17-02-1994 and compensation amount was also paid to the petitioners. However, he denied the petitioners making any applications under Section 18 of the Act. Respondent No.2 has further averred that he has verified the office record and found that the signatures on the purported acknowledgments filed by the petitioners, showing that the request for reference was addressed by Sri G.S.Murthy, Advocate, Kadapa, do not tally with the original signatures of the Officer concerned and that after a lapse of 12 and 20 years respectively from the time of passing of awards, the petitioners have approached this Court. No reply-affidavit is filed controverting the above allegations. In my opinion, the Writ Petition is wholly speculative and vexatious. The purported acknowledgments, copies of which have been filed by the petitioners in the Writ Petitions, do not contain the official seal. The petitioners failed to explain as to why they have kept quiet for 12 and 20 years without moving this Court even if their claim that they have made their applications and they were not considered is correct. Apart from failing to establish that they have filed applications, the petitioners have come to this Court in a leisurely manner after sleeping over for substantially long time. Thus, the Writ Petitions are wholly baseless apart from suffering from uncondonable laches. The Writ Petitions are, accordingly, dismissed with costs of Rs.5,000/- in each of them. As a sequel to dismissal of the Writ Petitions, WPMP.Nos.15 & 208 of 2007, filed by the petitioners for interim relief, are disposed of as infructuous. ______________________ (C.V.Nagarjuna Reddy, J) 22nd June, 2011 lur