1968 (12) TMI 113 - SC - Indian Laws

Supreme Court Validates Land Acquisitions, Resolves Legal Discrepancies

The Supreme Court upheld the Validating Act of 1962, validating acquisitions under the Mysore Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and eliminating the need to ... - Issues Involved:1. Validity of Ordinance I of 1960 and Mysore Act XIII of 1960.2. Non-compliance with the City of Bangalore Improvement Act, 1945.3. Discrimination between two classes of cases.4. Estoppel in one specific petition.Detailed Analysis:1. Validity of Ordinance I of 1960 and Mysore Act XIII of 1960:The High Court declared Ordinance I of 1960 and the Amending Act XIII of 1960 unconstitutional. The Ordinance violated Article 213(1) as it was promulgated without the instructions of the President. The Amending Act violated Article 254(2) because it was not reserved for the President's consideration nor assented to by him. These grounds were so clear that no counter-arguments were presented.2. Non-compliance with the City of Bangalore Improvement Act, 1945:The High Court found that the provisions of Chapter III of the Improvement Act, which outlines the procedure for land acquisition, were not followed. This resulted in discrimination as the procedure was bypassed, violating the equality clause of the Constitution. The State argued that the Validating Act of 1962 (Act 19 of 1963), which received the President's assent, validated all acquisitions under the Mysore Land Acquisition Act, 1894, notwithstanding any breach of the Improvement Act or other laws. The Validating Act effectively removed the Improvement Act from consideration, making the acquisitions valid under the Mysore Land Acquisition Act alone.3. Discrimination between two classes of cases:The High Court found discrimination between cases where the Improvement Act was followed and those where it was not. The State contended that the Validating Act eliminated this discrimination by retrospectively applying a single law for acquisitions. The Supreme Court agreed, stating that the Legislature has the power to retrospectively remove one of the competing laws, thus eliminating discrimination. The Validating Act's non-obstante clause put the Improvement Act out of the way, and the acquisitions were to be continued under the Mysore Land Acquisition Act.4. Estoppel in one specific petition:In one petition, the petitioners argued estoppel, claiming they had incurred expenses based on the Board's sanction. The High Court did not decide on this issue. Therefore, the Supreme Court remanded this particular writ petition (Writ Petition No. 1076 of 1959, C.A. No. 111 of 1966) to the High Court for consideration of the estoppel argument.Conclusion:The Supreme Court allowed all appeals except for the one involving estoppel, which was remanded to the High Court. The other writ petitions were dismissed, and no order as to costs was made. The Validating Act of 1962 was upheld, validating the acquisitions under the Mysore Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and removing any requirement to follow the City of Bangalore Improvement Act, 1945.