Gujarat High Court
Dashrathbhai Ambalal Patel vs Dedicated Freight Corridor ... on 6 April, 2026
Author: Sunita Agarwal
Bench: Sunita Agarwal
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/6031/2018 JUDGMENT DATED: 06/04/2026
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 6031 of 2018
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 6032 of 2018
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS. JUSTICE SUNITA AGARWAL
and
HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE D.N.RAY
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Approved for Reporting Yes No
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DASHRATHBHAI AMBALAL PATEL & ANR.
Versus
Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd. & ANR.
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Appearance:
MR.D K.PUJ(3836) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1,2
MS HETAL PATEL, AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 2
MR KAMAL TRIVEDI, ADVOCATE GENERAL with MR VINAY B
VISHEN(7425) for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS. JUSTICE
SUNITA AGARWAL
and
HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE D.N.RAY
Date : 06/04/2026
ORAL JUDGMENT
(PER : HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS. JUSTICE SUNITA AGARWAL)
1. The present Special Civil Application No.6031 of Page 1 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Wed Apr 15 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 17 23:26:50 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/6031/2018 JUDGMENT DATED: 06/04/2026 undefined 2018 has been filed on 24.2.2018 with the prayers as under :-
"10 (A) This Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to issue the writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus directing the respondent no.2 to immediately make a formal reference to the Central Government, enumerating the details of the land to be de-notified, if not done so far, has stated in the impugned communication dated 09.03.2017.
(B) This Hon'ble Court may further be pleased to issue the writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus directing the respondent - authorities to immediately de-notify the lands bearing Survey No.300/22 admeasuring 10251 sq.mtrs., as the same is not rquired for special railway project namely Western Dedicated Freight Corridor in the District of Ahmedabad and hand over the possession of the land in question to the petitioners forthwith;
(C) This Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to issue the necessary direction to the respondent no.2 to produce before this Hon'ble Court the detailed position of the lands in question in so far as it relates to de-notification and action taken with regard to the letters referred to hereinabove, during the hearing and final disposal of this petition;
(D) Hon'ble Court may be pleased to pass any other and further orders of grant of relief as may be deemed fit in the interest of justice;"
2. The petitioners herein (two in number) would submit that a Special Civil Application No.4958 of 2015 was Page 2 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Wed Apr 15 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 17 23:26:50 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/6031/2018 JUDGMENT DATED: 06/04/2026 undefined filed before this Court challenging the acquisition proceedings with respect to the lands in Moti Devti village, Taluka Sanand, District Ahmedabad. The petitioners along with others have also challenged the acquisition proceedings undertaken by the respondents pursuant to the notification dated 24.8.2009 as well as the awards dated 26.5.2011 and 5.7.2011 passed under Section 20F(2) of the Railways Act, 1989 ("the Act" for short).
3. The contention is that the acquisition was subjected to challenge on the ground of the acquisiton proceedings having been lapsed on account of gross delay and the acquisition being in contravention of the principles enunciated by the High Court as well as the Apex Court, in relation to the objectives of acquisition under the Act, the said petition was disposed of vide order dated 18.4.2016, which reads as under :-
"Mr.S.N.Soparkar, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioners, upon instructions, requests to withdraw this Writ Petition with a view to make representation with rgard to the subject grievance of this Writ Petition to the authority. Permission is granted, as prayed for. Notice discharged. Interim Relief, if any, stands vacated forthwith.Page 3 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Wed Apr 15 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 17 23:26:50 IST 2026
NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/6031/2018 JUDGMENT DATED: 06/04/2026 undefined It is made clear that this Court has not entered into any of the contentions on merit in view of the submissions made by learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner as above and in case, if representation is made, it will be open for the authority to consider the same in accordance with law."
4. From a bare reading of the order of dismissal of the writ petition, as withdrawn by the petitioners herein along with other persons, clearly indicates that the petitioners have given up the challenge to the legality of the acquisition proceedings. As far as the observations in the order dated 18.4.2016, granting liberty to the petitioners to agitate their grievances before the competent authority, the said liberty cannot be used to file another writ petition seeking reliefs as prayed herein, noted above.
5. The second round of challenge to the acquisition proceedings and the prayer to denotify the acquired lands with respect to which acquisition proceedings have been concluded with the making of the award in the year 2011, cannot be entertained. The present set of writ petitions are liable to be dismissed simply being the second writ petitions filed for the same cause of action.
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6. However, before dismissing the writ petition on the aforesaid ground, we may also note the averments made by the writ petitioner herein, with regard to the DILR letter dated 21.1.2015. The contentions in paragraphs 3.3 and 3.4 of the writ petition read as under.
"3.3 The Petitioners further state and submit that pursuant to the aforesaid order passed by this Hon'ble Court, the petitioners have made detailed representation on 07.06.2016, raising all their grievances before the respondent - authorities. Annexed hereto and marked as Annexure-C is a copy of representation dated 07.06.2016 made by the petitioners.
3.4 The Petitioners further state and submit that it appears that pending consideration of the aforesaid representation, the respondent no.1 has issued the communication dated 09.03.2017 to the respondent no.2. In the said communication, it is clearly stated that the competent authority of the DFCCIL, after due examination of the issue, has authorised the concerned Deputy Collector and land acquisition officer to make a formal reference to the Central Government enumerating the details of the land to be de-notified. Moreover, it was made very clear in the said notification that the lands as depicted therein, inter alia, includes the lands bearing Survey No.300/22 admeasuring 10251 sq.mtrs. belonging to the petitioners, which are not now required for the Special Railway Project and this was also advised by the DILR vide his letter dated 21.01.2015. In this view of the matter, the Dy.Project Manager has requested to expeditiously peruse, examine and make reference to the central government for de-notification of the lands as Page 5 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Wed Apr 15 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 17 23:26:50 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/6031/2018 JUDGMENT DATED: 06/04/2026 undefined contained in the table given in the said notification."
7. The submission of the petitioners in the aforesaid paragraphs, thus, is that after the disposal of the previous writ petiiton, the petitioners made a detailed representation dated 7.6.2016 whereupon the Competent Authority and Special Land Acquisition Officer had authorized the concerned Deputy Collector and the Land Acquisition Officer to make a formal reference to the Central Governent enumerating the details for the denotification of the lands in question. It is stated that the acquired lands now are not required for the Special Railway Project and this was also expressed by the DILR in his letter dated 21.1.2015. Further contention is that the Deputy Project Manager has requested to expeditiously pursue, examine and make a reference to the Central Governent for denotification of the lands in question.
8. Upon a pointed query made by the Court as to the provisions for denotification of the acquired lands under the Railways Act and the authority of the Special Land Acquisition Officer or the Deputy Collector or the DILR, to make such a request or a reference for denotification, no plausible answer Page 6 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Wed Apr 15 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 17 23:26:50 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/6031/2018 JUDGMENT DATED: 06/04/2026 undefined could be given by the learned counsel for the petitioners.
9. As regards the stand of the Deputy Chief Project Manager, respondent No.1 herein is concerned, we may note from the affidavit dated 28.3.2019 of the competent authority that after passing of the award under sub-section (2) of Section 20F of the Act, the concerned land owners / interested persons, namely, Fakirbhai Nabibhai Momin and others were served with the notices thrice vide letters dated 27.11.2011, 28.12.2011 and 9.11.2012 vide registered posts, wherein particulars of acquired lands and amount of compensation etc. had been intimated, while requiring them to submit relevant documents before the competent authority for disbursement of amount of compensation. However, no one came forward to claim compensation and the amount of compensation has remained unclaimed till now.
10. It is submitted therein is that the unclaimed amount of compensation has been deposited with the Government Treasury, subject to the fact that no arbitration / litigation proceedings are going on, in view of the Government Resolution dated 8.8.1968. The respondent No.2, namely, Page 7 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Wed Apr 15 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 17 23:26:50 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/6031/2018 JUDGMENT DATED: 06/04/2026 undefined Competent Authority vide order dated 25.2.2016 had ordered for deposit of compensation in the District Treasury, Ahmedabad in the names of the original land holders / interested persons and deposits accordingly, had been made by way of challan.
11. Further contention is that the lands in question vests with the Central Government free from all encumbrances by virtue of the Notification dated 4.6.2010 under Section 20A of the Act.
12. Section 20L of the Act, may require the railways to revert the land to the Central Government, in case, the same remains unutilized for a period of five years from the date of taking over possession, but we may note that there is no statutory provision for denotification of the acquired lands under the Railways Act. The lands in question vests with the Central Government and the Central Governent is not even party in the present petition.
13. Even if the reversion is claimed by the petitioners by taking the aid of Section 20L of the Act, the same cannot Page 8 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Wed Apr 15 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 17 23:26:50 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/6031/2018 JUDGMENT DATED: 06/04/2026 undefined be a matter of concern in the present petition, inasmuch as, the acquired lands once vests with the Central Governent cannot be reverted back to the land owners. Moreover, when the petitioners herein themselves gave up the challenge to the validity and legality of the acquisition proceedings and submitted before this Court to grant liberty to raise grievances other than acquisition proceedings, as is evident from the order of dismissal of the previous writ petition, they cannot raise any further grievance, re: utilization of the acquired land by Railways.
14. It may not be out of place to mention here that the petitioners herein are subsequent purchasers of the lands in question by way of one registered sale deeds dated 1.6.2010 and two registered sale deeds dated 5.8.2015. The acquisition notification under Section 20A(1) of the Act was issued on 24.8.2009, notifying the acquisiton of the lands in question for the purpose of execution, maintenance, management and operation of the Special Railway Project. The notification under Section 20E of the Act of declaration for acquisition was published on 30.1.2010. Sub-section(2) of Section 20E of the Act provides that on the publication of the declaration Page 9 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Wed Apr 15 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 17 23:26:50 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/6031/2018 JUDGMENT DATED: 06/04/2026 undefined under sub-section (1) of Section 20E, the land shall vest absolutely in the Central Government free from all encumbrances.
15. Thus, after the notification dated 30.1.2010 under Section 20E of the Act, the land owners were divested of their title in the lands in question by virtue of law and could not have dealt with it the lands in question by executing the aforesaid sale deeds. As is evident from the averments made in paragraph 3.7 of the writ petition itself, all the sale deeds are subsequent to vesting of the lands in question with the Central Governent.
16. The Apex Court in the case of V.Chandrasekaran and Another Vs Administrative Officer and others, reported in (2012) 12 SCC 133 has held that subsequent purchasers have no right to challenge the acquisition proceedings or seek denotification of the acquired land.
17. In view of the above, the reliefs as prayed for in the present petitions, cannot be granted. The present set of writ petitions are liable to be dismissed being the second writ Page 10 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Wed Apr 15 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 17 23:26:50 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/6031/2018 JUDGMENT DATED: 06/04/2026 undefined petitions filed for the same cause of action filed by the same set of petitioners, in a misconceived manner and are accordingly, dismissed.
18. We may also note that there is no response of the respondent No.2 in the present petitions and, as such, it is not possible for us to ascertain the status of the disbursement of compensation from the affidavit of respondent No.1. However, noticing the averments made in the affidavit dated 28.3.2019 filed by respondent No.1 wherein it is stated that owners have not come forward to receive the compensation on the notices issued by the respondent No.1 and the compensation amount has been deposited with the District Treasury, Ahmedabad and the same was lying with the District Treasury, we may only provide that the petitioners herein may file applications seeking disbursement of the compensation in case the compensation amount has not been already disbursed to the original land owners / persons interested.
19. It is further clarified that, in case, the petitioners herein file applications seeking disbursement of compensation deposited for the lands in question lying in the Government Page 11 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Wed Apr 15 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 17 23:26:50 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/6031/2018 JUDGMENT DATED: 06/04/2026 undefined Treasury, notices be issued to the orignal land owners and an inquiry be made for verification and entitlement of the petitioners to claim compensation to the exclusion of the original land owners. The petitioners would be required to submit the documents of their right, title and interest in the lands in question, including the registered sale deeds in original. It is further clarified that only in case, compensation amount for the lands in question is still lying deposited in the Government Treasury and has not been paid, the applications of the petitioners shall be entertained and inquiry as directed hereinabove shall be conducted, strictly in accordance with law, keeping in mind the observations made hereinabove for verification of the entitlement of disbursement of the persons interested / land owners.
20. Lastly, the acquisition in question having been conducted under the Railways Act, 1989 any reference to the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 would be out of context. Page 12 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Wed Apr 15 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 17 23:26:50 IST 2026
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21. With the above, the present petitions stand disposed of.
(SUNITA AGARWAL, CJ ) (D.N.RAY,J) H.M. PATHAN Page 13 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Wed Apr 15 2026 Downloaded on : Fri Apr 17 23:26:50 IST 2026