The land in question was the ancestral land of Jitendra Mohan. The authorities grabbed and built a market, a road and a hospital on it.

Mohan ran from pillar to post to find out why, but no one gave him a hearing. He went to court. There, the authorities maintained they had not taken over his land. Now, after 22 long years, the government has finally accepted that the hospital stands on his land.

Last week, Justice Prakash Krishna of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court framed charges of contempt against three IAS officers in Jitendra Mohan’s case. The three are former Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, Mohinder Singh, former Lucknow Development Authority Vice-Chairman Harbhajan Singh and NS Ravi, the current vice-chairman of LDA.

The court said they were prima facie guilty of filing false affidavits.

For the first time, Jitendra Mohan sees hope. But it comes at a heavy price.

“I lost an important part of my life visiting LDA and government offices for 10 years. When things became unbearable, I moved court in 1996,” he said.

But his troubles are far from over.

The 6,896 square metre land is in Vibhuti Khand, part of Lucknow’s prime Gomtinagar area. The current value of the land is several crores. But the government has offered Jitendra Mohan only Rs 31.99 lakh, which he has accepted “under protest”. Which means, now, he has to fight another battle for a fair compensation.

Additional Advocate General Jaideep Mathur, who appeared for the government in the case, agreed that it is tough for the petitioner, but maintained it would have been different had Mohan moved court early.

Mathur said the government had paid the petitioner compensation and will also pay the interest. “But it would not be fair to compare the compensation with auction price of neighbouring plots. This land was completely undeveloped when the government took its possession in 1983,” he said.

Mohan’s counsel Rakesh Srivastava said the land was not even demarcated for acquisition during Gomtinagar development in 1986 — taking Mohan completely unawares.

On August 22, 1996, the High Court restrained the government from interfering with the possession of the land unless it was done in accordance with the law.

On August 17, 2007, years after the hospital was built, the LDA informed the court that the possession had not been disturbed.

Mohinder Singh, the then Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, and Harbhajan Singh, the then LDA V-C, submitted affidavits to the court on October 11, 2007, stating that the government had not taken possession of the land. Next, the court ordered a survey.

Conducted in November 2007, it found that a road, a market and part of Lohia Hospital stood on Mohan’s land. It was only then the government accepted in court that they had taken possession of the land in 1983.

On February 5, appearing on behalf of the government, the Additional Advocate General requested the court that framing of charges be deferred so the matter could be settled through compensation.