Full Judgment Text
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PETITIONER:
G. NARAYANASWAMY REDDY (DEAD) BYL.RS. AND ANR.
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
GOVT. OF KARNATAKA AND ANR.
DATE OF JUDGMENT29/04/1991
BENCH:
KANIA, M.H.
BENCH:
KANIA, M.H.
VERMA, JAGDISH SARAN (J)
RAMASWAMI, V. (J) II
CITATION:
1991 AIR 1726 1991 SCR (2) 563
1991 SCC (3) 261 JT 1991 (3) 12
1991 SCALE (1)913
ACT:
Constitution of India: Article 136-Special leave
petitions- Non-disclosure of material fact having a direct
bearing on the questions raised-Effect of.
HEADNOTE:
Petitioners’ lands were acquired by the respondents
under ss. 17 and 19 of the Bangalore Development Act, 1976.
Section 36 of the said Act made applicable the provisions of
the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, where acquisition is
otherwise than by agreement.
The notification making the declaration under S. 4 of
the Land Acquisition Act in respect of the lands in question
was made on 20.9.1977. On 20.9.1984s. 11-A was introduced
and brought into force by the Land Acquisition (Amendment)
Act, 1984 prescribing that where the declaration under s. 4
of the Land Acquisition ACt was published before the
commencement of the Land Acquistion (Amendment) Act, 1984,
the award was to be made within two years from such
commencement. The awards should have thus been made within
two years from 20.9.1984.
On 11.9.1985 the petitioners obtained an interim order
from this Court directing status-quo with regard to the
possession of the lands in question in a special leave
petition which was dismissed on 29.4.87. on December 16-
17,1987 two writ petitions were filed by the petioners in
the High Court Challenging the acquisition, contending that
as the awards were not made within two years of the
notification making the declaration under s. 4 of the Land
Acquisition Act, the entire acquisition proceedings had
lapsed. The High Court granted interim stay in respect of
the acquisition of the lands. The petitions were later
dismissed. Appeals therefrom were also dismissed by a
Division Bench.
The petitioners preferred these special leave petitions
and obtained interim stay of dispossession.
Dismissing the special leave petitions, this Court,
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HELD: 1. The relief under Article 136 of the
Constitution is discretionary and a petitioner who
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approaches this Court for such relief must come with frank
and full disclosure of facts. If he fails to do so and
suppresses material facts, his application is liable to be
dismissed.[566B-C]
2.Whatever the ultimate effect of the stay orders, in
view of the provisions of s. 11-A of the Land Acquisition
ACt, the Fact of the stay orders was highly material in the
determination of these special leave petitions. There was no
reference in the special leave petitions to any of the stay
orders and the Court could know about these orders only when
the respondents appeared in response to the notice and filed
their counter affidavit. The said interim orders had a
direct bearing on the question raised and the non-disclosure
of the same certainly amounts to suppression of material
facts. On this ground alone, the special leave petitions
were liable to be rejected. [565G-H; 566A-B]
JUDGMENT:
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Special Leave Petition
Nos. 823-24 of 1990.
From the Judgement and Order dated 6.10.1989 of the
Karnataka High Court W.A. Nos. 321 & 322 of 1989.
S.R. Bhat for the Petitioners.
R.N. Narasimha Murthy, K.H. Nobin Singh, M. Veerappa
and S.N. Bhatt for the Respondents.
The following Order of the Court was delivered:
A few facts are necessary for the disposal of these
petitions.
The petitioners were the owners of certain lands which
were acquired by the respondents under the provisions of
Sections 17 and 19 of the Bangalore Development Act, 1976
(hereinafter referred to as "the Bangalore Act"). Under the
provisions of Section 36 of the Bangalore Act, where the
acquisitions, otherwise than by agreement, it will be
regulated by the provisions , as far they are applicable,
of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (hereinafter referred to
as "the Land Acquisition Act"). Section 11-A of the Land
Acquisition Act, which section was included in the said Act
in 1984 as set out hereinafter, very briefly states,
provides that the Collector must make his award within two
years from the date of the publication of the declaration
and that if no award is made within that period, the entire
proceedings for acqui-
565
sition of the land shall lapse. Under the Explanation to the
first proviso to Section 11-A,"the period during which any
action or proceeding to be taken in pursuance of the said
declaration is stayed by an order of a Court shall be
excluded". It was, inter alia contended by the petitioners
that as the awards in these cases has not been made within
two years of the notification making the declaration under
Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, the entire
acquisition proceedings had lapsed. That contention was
repelled along with certain other contentions in the
judgment of the High Court which is sought to be impugned
before us. The relevant dates which have to be borne in mind
in this connection, are as follows:
The notification making the declaration under Section 4
of the Land Acquisition Act in respect of the lands in
question was made on September 20, 1977. On September 20,
1984 Section 11-A which introduced into the Land,
Acquisition Act by the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act,
1984, was brought into force. Under the first proviso to
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Section 11-A it was prescribed that where the said
declaration (under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act)
has been published before the commencement of the Land
Acquisition (Amendment) Act, 1984, the award must be made
within a period of two years from such commencement. Thus,
the award should have been made within two years from
September 20, 1984. On September 11, 1985, the petitioners
obtained an interim order from this Court directing status
quo with regard to the possession of the lands in question
in Special Leave Petition No. 294 of 1985 preferred against
the order of the Karnataka High Court dated August 14, 1984,
with which we are not directly concerned here. The said
Special Leave Petition No.294 of 1985 was dismissed on April
29, 1987. On December 16-17, 1987, two writ petitions were
field by the respective petitioners in the Karnataka High
Court challenging the acquisition on the ground that the
awards were not made within the stipulated time. In these
two writ petitions, the Karnataka High Court granted interim
stay of further proceedings in respect of the acquisition of
the said lands. These petitions were dismissed by a learned
Single Judge of that High Court on November 29, 1988.
Appeals against the decision of a learned Single Judge were
dismissed by the Karnataka High Court on October 6, 1989, by
a Division Bench of that High Court. The petitioners
preferred these Special Leave Petitions, namely S.L.P. Nos.
823 and 824 of 1990 against the decision of the Devision
Bench of that High Court, and obtained an interim stay of
dispossession therein. Whatever the ultimate effect of the
stay orders, in view of the provisions of Section 11 -A of
the Land Acquisition Act, to which we have already referred
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earlier, it is beyond dispute that the fact of the stay
orders was highly material in the determination of these
Special Leave Petitions. Curiously enough, there is no
reference in the Special Leave Petitions to any to the stay
orders and we came to know about these orders only when the
respondents appeared in response to the notice and filed
their counter affidavit. In our view, the said interim
orders have a direct bearing on the question raised and the
non-disclosure of the same certainly amounts to suppression
of material facts. On this ground alone, the Special Leave
Petitions are liable to be rejected. It is well-settled in
law that the relief under Article 136 of the Constitution is
discretionary and a petitioner who approaches this Court for
such relief must come with frank and full disclosure of
facts. If he fails to do so and suppresses material facts,
his application is liable to be dismissed. We accordingly
dismiss the Special Leave Petitions.
There will be no order as to costs of these petitions.
R.P. SLPs dismissed.
567