Full Judgment Text
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PETITIONER:
RAGHUNATH & ORS.
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA & ORS.
DATE OF JUDGMENT07/04/1988
BENCH:
RANGNATHAN, S.
BENCH:
RANGNATHAN, S.
MUKHARJI, SABYASACHI (J)
CITATION:
1988 AIR 1615 1988 SCC (3) 294
JT 1988 (2) 32 1988 SCALE (1)661
CITATOR INFO :
RF 1990 SC 731 (9)
ACT:
Land Acquisition Act, 1894: Sections 4 and 6-Valid
declaration under section 6-Scope of Notification under
section 4 gets exhausted-Not so when declaration under
section 6 is invalid, ineffective or infructuous-No
distinction between declaration held invalid by court and
declaration withdrawn by government when some illegality is
pointed out.
HEADNOTE:
%
The appellants’ lands were among those sought to be
acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 by means of a
notification under section 4, followed by a declaration
under section 6. The Notification and the declaration were
challenged by way of a Writ Petition on the short ground
that the appellants had not been heard before making the
declaration. When the Writ Petition was heard, a statement
on behalf of the Government was made, to the effect that the
notification under section 6 was being withdrawn. On the
basis of this statement the Writ Petition was disposed of as
withdrawn. Thereafter the appellants were heard under
section 5A and a fresh declaration under section 6 was
issued. The appellants filed a Writ Petition and again
challenged the Notification under section 4 as vitiated by
mala fides and non-application of mind. The High Court
rejected the same. Another question raised before the High
Court was that the withdrawal of the earlier declaration had
the automatic effect of rendering the Notification under
section 4 ineffective and infructuous. The High Court
rejected that contention as well. Hence this appeal by
special leave.
Dismissing the appeal, this Court,
^
HELD: 1. Once there is a valid declaration under
section 6, the scope of the notification under section 4
will get exhausted. This principle cannot clearly apply to a
case where the declaration under section 6 proves to be
invalid, ineffective or infructuous for some reason. There
is no distinction between a case where a declaration under
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section 6 is declared invalid by the Court and a case in
which the Government itself withdraws the declaration under
section 6 when some obvious illegality is pointed out.
[444E, 445B]
442
Girdhari Lal Amrit Lal v. State, [1966] 3 SCR 437;
State v. Haider Bux, [1976] 3 SCC 536 and State v. Bhogilal
Keshavlal, [1980] 2 SCR 284 followed.
State v. Vishnu Prasad Sharma, [1966] 3 SCR 557
distinguished.
Ajit Singh v. State, AIR 1972 Bombay 177 disapproved.
2. Between the date of withdrawal of the earlier Writ
Petition and the issue of the second declaration under
section 6, the Government had issued a fresh Notification
under section 4 for the acquisition of certain lands. The
lands in the two Notifications under section 4 do not
completely overlap, but some fields are common in both. No
declaration under section 6 had been issued in furtherance
of the second notification under section 4 when the High
Court heard the matter. In respect of the lands covered by
the first notification under section 4 which are also
covered by or comprised in the second notification under
section 4, further proceedings regarding acquisition shall
be taken in accordance with law only in pursuance of the
latter notification and the proceedings initiated by the
first notification should be deemed to have been superseded.
[445C-F]
JUDGMENT:
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 1274 of
1988.
From the Judgment and order dated 7.10.1986 of the
Bombay High Court in W.P. No. 1143 of 1985.
Masodkar and A.K. Gupta for the Appellant.
V.S. Desai and A.S. Bhasme for the Respondents
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
RANGANATHAN, J. 1. We grant special leave and proceed
to dispose of the appeal after hearing both counsel
2. The point raised in the appeal is a very short one.
The lands, belonging to the petitioners were among those
sought to be acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894
(hereinafter referred to as ’the Act’) by means of a
notification under Section 4 issued on 22nd June, 1982. This
was followed up by a declaration under Section 6 dated 15th
March, 1983. The petitioners challenged both the
notification and the
443
declaration in writ petition No 947 of 1983 before the High
Court The notification under Section 4 was challenged on the
ground of mala fides and the declaration under Section 6 on
the short ground that the petitioners’ objections had not
been heard before the making of the declaration. When this
writ petition came up for hearing, a statement was made on
behalf of the Government that the notification under Section
6 was being withdrawn. On this statement being made, the
writ petition was withdrawn and disposed of accordingly.
Thereafter the petitioners were heard under Section 5 A of
the Act and a fresh declaration under Section 6 was issued
on 4th April, 1985.
3. The petitioners again filed a writ petition in the
High Court, being writ petition no. 1143 of 1985, the
judgment in which forms the subject matter of the present
appeal. In this writ petition they again challenged the
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notification under Section 4 as vitiated by mala fides and
non-application of mind. The High Court has found no merit
in this contention and rejected the same. We see no reason
to interfere with this conclusion of the High Court.
4. However, another question was also raised by the
petitioners, namely, that the withdrawal of the earlier
declaration dated 15.3.1983 had the automatic effect of also
rendering the notification under Section 4 dated 22.6.1982
ineffective and infructuous. On the strength of the decision
of this Court in State v. Vishnu Prasad Sharma, [1966] 3 SCR
557, it was contended that, once a declaration under section
6 was issued, the notification under Section 4 exhausted
itself. It made no difference, it was said, that the
notification issued under S. 6 had been withdrawn. Reliance
was also placed on the decision of the Bombay High Court in
Ajit Singh v. State, AIR 1972 Bombay 177 in support of this
proposition. This contention, however, was rejected by the
High Court and hence the present appeal.
5. We are of opinion that the decision of the High
Court is correct and should be upheld. The Bench has rightly
pointed out that Ajit Singh’s case (supra) had failed to
take note of the decisions of this Court in Girdhari Lal
Amrit Lal v. State, [1966] 3 SCR 437: State v. Haider Bux,
[1976] 3 SCC 536 and State v. Bhogilal Keshavlal, [1980] 2
SCR 284 and therefore, does not represent the correct law.
6. In Vishnu Prasad Sharma’s case (supra) the question
for consideration of this Court was whether there could be
successive declarations in respect of various parcels of
land covered by a notification under Section 4(1).
Considering the scheme of the Act as it then stood,
444
the Court held that the Act envisaged a single declaration
under Section 6 in respect of a notification under Section 4
and that, when once a declaration under Section 6
particularising the area in the locality specified in the
notification under Section 4(1) is issued, the remaining
non-particularised area stands automatically released. The
Court also referred to the provisions of Section 48 of the
Act in this context. The following observations appear in
the judgment of Sarkar J.
"..... It seems to me that if the correct
interpretation is that only one declaration can be
made under S. 6, that also would exhaust the
notification under S. 4; that notification would
no longer remain in force to justify successive
declarations under S. 6 in respect of different
areas included in it. There is nothing in the Act
to support the view that it is only a withdrawal
under S. 48 that puts a notification under S. 4
completely out of the way. The effect of s. 48 is
to withdraw the acquisition proceedings. including
the notification under s. 4 with which it started
We are concerned not with a withdrawal but with
the force of a notification under S. 4 having
become exhausted "
7. The High Court was correct in pointing out that the
above observations were made in the context of a valid
declaration under S 6 The Court held that once there is a
valid declaration under S. 6, the scope of the notification
under S 4 will got exhausted This principle cannot clearly
apply to a case where the declaration under S 6 proves to be
invalid. ineffective or infructuous for some reason. It has
been so held by this Court in a number of decisions. In
Girdhari Lal Amrir Lal’s case (supra) which was decided
about a week earlier to Vishnu Prasad Sharma’s case, this
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Court held that. where a notification under S. 6 is invalid,
the Government may treat it as ineffective and issue in its
place a fresh notification under S 6 and that there is
nothing in S 48 of the Act to preclude the Government from
doing so This view has been repeated in State v. Haider Bux,
[1976] 3 SCC 536 and State v. Bhogilal Keshavlal, [1980] 2
SCR 284. These decisions have clearly pointed out the
distinction between a case where there is an effective
declaration under S. 6 (which precludes the issue of further
declarations in respect of other parts of the land covered
by the notification under S. 4 not covered by the
declaration issued under S 6) and a case where? for some
reason, the declaration under S 6 is invalid.
8. It is true that in the present case there was no
occasion for the High Court in the earlier writ petition to
pronounce the declaration
445
dated 15.3.1983 to be invalid. But the validity of the
declaration had been challenged on the ground that the
petitioners had not been heard under S. 5A, an irregularity,
which ex facie rendered the declaration invalid. The State
Government obviously acknowledged this and withdrew the
declaration on its own instead of obtaining a judgment to
that effect from the Court. In principle, there is no
distinction between a case where a declaration under S. 6 is
declared invalid by the Court and a case in which the
Government itself withdraws the declaration under S. 6 when
some obvious illegality is pointed out. The point in issue
in this appeal is thus directly governed by the three
earlier decisions of this Court and the High Court was fully
justified in dismissing the writ petition on this ground.
9. Before concluding we must refer to one circumstance
which was brought to our notice by learned counsel for the
petitioners and which has also been noticed in the judgment
of the High Court. It appears that, between the date of
withdrawal of the earlier writ petition (namely, 23rd
August, 1983) and the issue of the second declaration under
S. 6 (namely, 4.4.1985), the Government had issued a fresh
notification under S. 4 for the acquisition of certain
lands. The lands in the two notifications under S. 4 do not
completely overlap but it appears that some fields are
common in both. No declaration under S. 6 appears to have
been issued in furtherance of the second notification under
S. 4 when the High Court heard the matter. Learned counsel
for the petitioners points out that, at least in respect of
such of the lands comprised in the S. 4 notification dated
22.6.1982 as are also covered by the subsequent notification
under S. 4, it is legitimate to infer that the State
Government has superseded the earlier notification by the
latter one. This contention is clearly well founded. We
would, therefore, like to make it clear that in respect of
the lands covered by the first notification under S. 4 which
are also covered by or comprised in, the second notification
under S. 4, further proceedings regarding acquisition should
be taken, in accordance with law, only in pursuance of the
latter notification and the proceedings initiated in respect
of such lands by the first notification dated 22.6.1982
should be deemed to have been superseded.
10. With the above clarification, we affirm the order
of the High Court had dismiss this appeal. In the
circumstances, however, we make no order to costs.
G.N. Appeal dismissed.
446
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