SANJEEV KUMAR SINGH & ORS. Vs. UNION OF INDIA & ORS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners are residents of villages Kashkela, Lakshmanpur and Kamlapur of District - Surguja. They were holding lands, descriptions of which are as under :

(2.) The lands of the petitioners, as stated above, were acquired under the provisions of the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957 (for short 'the Act, 1957'). The notification under the Act, 1957 was published in the Gazette on 21-8-1996 (Annexure P/ 1) whereby land holdings of the petitioners along with other similarly situated persons of concerned villages and other adjoining villages were acquired. Under the Rehabilitation Policy of the then Government of Madhya Pradesh dated 25th Sept., 1991 (Annexure R/ 1), one person of the family whose ⅔rd agricultural land was acquired would be eligible for getting employment by the S.E.C.L. on availability basis. The provision of 'Employment Facility' under the said policy, is reproduced herein-below :

(3.) The petitioners, who are admittedly family members of the land holders, applied for employment as per rehabilitation policy of the State Government for acquisitory of their lands under the provisions of the Act, 1957. The petitioners were declined employment on the ground that subsequently by amendment dated 21-12-1995 (Annexure R/2), the Rehabilitation policy dated 25-9-1991 has been amended to the extent that a family member, whose residential land and agricultural land, as stated in the policy dated 25-9-1991, would be eligible for employment only in case they were holding the land for 20 years continuously and had taken their education there, itself.