TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2014 (5) TMI 1036
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....ving rise to these appeals are that: A. The land of the respondents-tenure holders being survey no. 619/70, etc. ad measuring 50,000 big has situated in revenue village Chhatarpur, stood notified under Section 4 of the Act 1894 on 25.11.1980 for public purposes, namely, the "planned development of Delhi" and objections under Section 5A were invited from the persons interested within 30 days of the said Notification. B. Respondents - persons interested, filed their objections under Section 5A of the Act 1894. However, without considering and disposing of the same, declaration under Section 6 of the Act 1894 was made on 7.6.1985. Notices under Sections 9 of the Act 1894 were also issued on 30.12.1986 to the persons interested. It was at this stage that the tenure holders filed writ petitions before the High Court challenging the acquisition proceedings contending that proceedings could not be continued without disposing of the objections filed by them under Section 5A of the Act 1894. Admittedly, the Award No. 15/1987-88 was made by the Land Acquisition Collector on 5.6.1987. C. In respect of the land covered by the same notification under Section 4 of the Act 1894, a very l....
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....a Luthra and Shri Sanjay Poddar, learned Senior Counsel, have addressed a large number of legal and factual issues and also submitted that the judgment and order of the High Court are not sustainable in the eyes of law. Therefore, the question quashing the land acquisition proceedings in such circumstances did not arise. More so, the commencement of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (hereinafter referred to as the Act 2013) would not take away the proceedings initiated under the Act 1894 by operation of law as provided under Section 24 of the Act 2013. In the instant case, in case, the appeals succeed on the main ground as to whether the successor officer could submit the report on 5A objections there could be no prohibition for the appellants to proceed with the land acquisition proceedings initiated in 1980. The objections raised were vague and had been in respect of limitation and were not specific in nature. None of the writ petitioners had raised the issue about violation of principles of natural justice in the writ petitions, though some of them amended their writ petitions but at a subsequent stage.....
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....894 with a view to ensure that before any person is deprived of his land by way of compulsory acquisition, he must get an opportunity to oppose the decision of the State Government and/or its agencies/instrumentalities to acquire the particular parcel of land. Section 5-A(2) of the Act 1894, which represents statutory embodiment of the rule of audi alteram partem, gives an opportunity to the objector to make an endeavour to convince the Collector that his land is not required for the public purpose specified in the notification issued under Section 4(1) of the Act 1894 or that there are other valid reasons for not acquiring the same. Thus, section 5-A of the Act 1894 embodies a very just and wholesome principle that a person whose property is being or is intended to be acquired should have a proper and reasonable opportunity of persuading the authorities concerned that acquisition of the property belonging to that person should not be made. On the consideration of the said objection, the Collector is required to make a report. The State Government is then required to apply mind to the report of the Collector and take final decision on the objections filed by the landowners an....
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....ing the course of the arguments, and the party appearing to persuade the authority by reasoned argument to accept his point of view. If one person hears and another decides, then personal hearing becomes an empty formality. We therefore hold that the said procedure followed in this case also offends another basic principle of judicial procedure." (Emphasis added) 13. This Court in Rasid Javed & Ors. v. State of U.P. & Anr., AIR 2010 SC 2275 following the judgment in Gullapalli (supra), supra held that a person who hears must decide and that divided responsibility is destructive of the concept of hearing is too fundamental a proposition to be doubted. 14. A similar view has been re-iterated by this Court in Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association v. Designated Authority & Ors., (2011) 2 SCC 258, wherein this Court dealt with a case wherein the Designated Authority (DA) under the relevant Statute passed the final order on the material collected by his predecessor in office who had also accorded the hearing to the parties concerned. This court held that the order stood vitiated as it offended the basic principles of natural justice. 15. In view of the above, the law on the ....
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....er the award. The land acquisition proceedings had been challenged on various grounds. The High Court allowed the writ petitions and quashed the land acquisition proceedings and issued certain directions including restoration of possession as in the said case the possession had been taken from the tenure-holders. This Court in the appeal filed by the authority for whose benefit the land had been sought to be acquired, and who had been handed over the possession as the land vested in the State, approached this Court but the Court did not enter into the merit regarding the correctness of the judgment impugned therein rather held that it was not so necessary to deal with the correctness of the judgment in view of the provisions of the Act 2013 which provide for re-compulsory acquisition of land from the very beginning. The Court held as under: "11. Section 24(2) also begins with non obstante clause. This provision has overriding effect over Section 24(1). Section 24(2) enacts that in relation to the land acquisition proceedings initiated under 1894 Act, where an award has been made five years or more prior to the commencement of the 2013 Act and either of the two contingencies is s....
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.... years or more prior to the commencement of 2013 Act and possession of the land is not taken or compensation has not been paid. The legal fiction under Section 24(2) comes into operation as soon as conditions stated therein are satisfied. The applicability of Section 6 of the General Clauses Act being subject to Section 24(2), there is no merit in the contention of the Corporation." (Emphasis supplied) 18. The judgment of Bharat Kumar v. State of Haryana & Ors, 2014 (3) SCALE 393 was a reverse case wherein the land owner had lost before the High Court. The Court held: "Sub-section (2) of Section 24 commences with a non-obstante clause. It is a beneficial provision. In view of this provision, if the physical possession of the land has not been taken by the Acquiring Authority though the award is passed and if the compensation has not been paid to the land owners or has not been deposited before the appropriate forum, the proceedings initiated under the Act, 1894 is deemed to have been lapsed." (See also: Bimla Devi & Ors. v. State of Haryana & Ors., Civil Appeal Nos. 3871-3876 of 2014 decided on 14.3.2014) 19. In order to clarify the statutory provisions of the Act 2013 wit....
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....luded to determine the five year period and including such period if the award was made five years or more prior to the commencement of the Act, then the said acquisition proceedings will be deemed to have elapsed and fresh proceedings, if so desired, will have to be initiated in accordance with the new Act." The objects and reasons of the Act 2013 and particularly clause 18 thereof fortify the view taken by this court in the judgments referred to hereinabove. Clause 18 thereof reads as under: "The benefits under the new law would be available in all the cases of land acquisition under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 where award has not been made or possession of land has not been taken." (Emphasis added) 20. However, the aforesaid appeals have to be decided in the light of above settled legal propositions. The admitted facts of the case remains that the Respondents-Tenure Holders had filed objections under Section 5A of the Act 1894 as admitted in the affidavit filed by Smt. Usha Chaturvedi, Deputy Secretary (Land Acquisition), Land and Building Department, Vikas Bhawan, New Delhi, filed in January 2014 before this court. The award no. 15/87-88 had been made on 5.6.1987 and p....
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....ation/declaration. The appellants had been under the impression that the judgment delivered by the full bench in Balak Ram Gupta (Supra), laid down the law applicable to other persons also whose land stood covered by the said notification/declaration. 24. In Delhi Administration v. Gurdip Singh Uban & Ors., (2000) 7 SCC 296, this court again dealt with the same acquisition proceedings and observed that if a tenure holder had not filed objections under Section 5-A of the Act 1894, he cannot challenge the acquisition proceedings on the ground that objections had not been disposed of in accordance with law. 25. In Om Parkash v. Union of India & Ors., AIR 2010 SC 1068, this Court dealt with the cases arising out of the same acquisition proceedings, however, this batch of matters had expressly been separated from that batch and in those cases, the acquisition proceedings were not quashed on the ground that the acquisition proceedings had been challenged at a belated stage. 26. In the present batch of writ petitions filed before the High Court, the matter came to be heard by a Division Bench. One of the Hon'ble Judges vide his separate judgment was of the opinion that the procee....
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.... violation of principles of natural justice. 28. In the instant cases, there had been challenge to the acquisition proceedings on various grounds including the manner in which objections under Section 5-A of the Act 1894 had been decided. In some cases, the High Court allowed amendment to the writ petitions and such order had never been challenged by the appellants. In a case where on the basis of submissions advanced in the court on behalf of the parties, the court summons the original record to find out the truth, pleadings remain insignificant. In the instant cases, the High Court was satisfied after examining the original record that objections had been dealt with in flagrant violation of law and in such a fact-situation, the prejudice doctrine for non-observation thereof would not be attracted. We do not see any cogent reason to differ from such a view. No judgment had been brought to our notice on the basis of which it can be held that the decision of the Constitution Bench of this Court in Gullapalli Nageswara Rao (Supra) is not a good law. 29. It is evident from the record that in respect of a major chunk of land which stood covered under the same Section 4 notific....
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....5484-88 OF 2014 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) Nos. 24305-24309 OF 2007) Union of India & Ors. Appellants Versus K.S. Bakshi & Ors. Respondents With CIVIL APPEAL NOS. 5489-94 OF 2014 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) Nos. 208-213 of 2008) Union of India & Ors.Appellants Versus Pt. Jai Ram Singh & Anr. Respondents With CIVIL APPEAL NOS. 5495-98 OF 2014 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) Nos. 1085-1088 OF 2008) Union of India & Ors. Appellants Versus Ranbir Singh & Ors. Respondents With CIVIL APPEAL NOS. 5499-501 OF 2014 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) Nos. 2533-2535 OF 2008) Union of India & Ors. Appellants Versus Moti Lal Bhatia & Anr. Respondents 1 O R D E R 1. The facts and issue involved in the abovesaid appeals are identical and have to be decided in terms of our judgment passed today in Civil Appeal Nos. 5478-5483 of 2014. 2. The appeals are dismissed in terms thereof. No order as to costs. ............................................J. (Dr. B.S. CHAUHAN) ........................................J. (J. CHELAMESWAR) ........................................J. (M.Y. EQBAL) New Delhi, May 7, 2014 REPORTABLE IN THE SUP....