AZAD GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR through Chief Secretary, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffaraba

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AZAD GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR through Chief Secretary, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad VS Syed ABID ALI GILLANI Ss. 4, 5, 17 & 22-a---Reference application filed by the land-owner---Necessary party, impleading of---Scope---Objection raised by the appellant (acquiring Department/Public Works Department) was that its Secretary was a necessary party to be impleaded in the reference application but respondent (reference petitioner/land-owner) did not do the needful, hence the reference was liable to be dropped on the said ground---Validity---Land acquisition act, 1894, is special law and provides a complete mechanism for acquiring land, however, it has not been provided in the Land acquisition act, 1894, that who is necessary party to be impleaded in line of respondents in a reference application---Concerned Collector who issued award was necessary party to be impleaded---Whenever land is acquired for a Government Department, the azad Government is entered as owner of the land afteraward and only possession is required to be handed over to the concerned department on whose move land is acquired, thus, Government, through its Chief Secretary is also a necessary party to be impleaded in the line of respondents in a reference application---Concerned department, or local authority or a company for which land is acquired may only lodge cross objections to the objections made by any person under S. 22-a of the Land acquisition act, 1894---Department in whose favour land is acquired has got an interest in the matter, however in the present case, land was acquired by the Collector on the motion of Chief Engineer Public Works Department Highways (North) Muzaffarabad as mentioned in the award and move was not on behalf of department, thus, impleading Secretary Public Works Department Muzaffarabad and Chief Engineer Public Works Department Highways North Muzaffarabad was sufficient to secure the interest of the acquiring department---Land had been acquired in favour of Government as mentioned in the explanations of award and only possession was to be retained by Public Works Department Muzaffarabad on behalf of the Government, thus, Department of Public Works through its Secretary was not a necessary party rather at the most it could he declared as proper party and in its absence effective decree could be passed---In finance matters, the Finance Department is a necessary party and impleading Secretary Finance department is not sufficient and the authority who passes the impugned order is also necessary party but controversy in the present matter, was bit different because in the present case the authority who issued award was impleaded in line of respondents and azad Government in whose favour land was acquired was also arrayed as respondents, and even Secretary Public Works Department and Chief Engineer Public Works Department on whose move land was acquired had been impleaded in line of respondents---High Court repelled the argument of the appellant/Public Works Department---appeal was dismissed, in circumstances.

AZAD GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR through Chief Secretary, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad vs Syed ABID ALI GILLANI Ss — 2024 PLD 20 HIGH-COURT-AZAD-KASHMIR

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