Patna, Feb. 14: Patna High Court today directed the state government to take a final decision within 90 days with regard to enforcing the Digha Land Settlement Act, 2010.

A bench of Justice V.N. Sinha passed the order while hearing a bunch of petitions filed by the land allottees, who have not been given possession of the land acquired by the state government to develop urban housing project.

The state government in 1972 had acquired 1,025 acres of land for Bihar State Housing Board so that the urban housing project could be developed for lower, middle and higher income groups.

M.P. Gupta, the counsel for one of the petitioners, submitted that in 1990 the Supreme Court had directed that plots should be allotted among the 12,000 applicants through lottery.

Out of this, around 8,000 applicants were allotted plots but they were never given actual possession.

The aggrieved people, then, moved the high court seeking direction to the state government to notify the act so that they can claim repayment of their money along with 8 per cent compound interest as per the provisions of the act.

Gupta contended that the act, which was passed by the Legislative Assembly and Council on April 20, 2010, has already been published in the gazette publication but was not notified. Until and unless the act was notified the benefits of it could not be availed of.

Additional advocate-general Lalit Kishore and government pleader Prashant Pratap submitted that the matter was under active consideration and steps were being taken to enforce the act as soon as the approval of the state was obtained.

Missing case

Patna High Court today directed the superintendent of police (railway) Muzaffarpur to conclude the on-going inquiry with regard to the missing home-guard jawan Lagan Sahni within 90 days and submit the report.

A division bench of Justice Shiva Kirti Singh and Justice Gopal Prasad passed the direction on a habeas corpus petition filed by Phool Kumari Devi, wife of the missing jawan, to produce the person bodily before the court.

Devi contended that her husband, who was posted at Sitamarhi, had gone to Nawada on April 11, 2009 during last Lok Sabha elections but did not return till April 27, 2009.

She claimed the state government had illegally confined him.

However, government pleader Prashant Pratap submitted that from the report of Nawada commandant of homeguard, Sahni never joined election duty and the Government Railway Police were investigating the matter.

Pratap further contended that since Sahni was an adult he might have gone somewhere of his free will.