1968 (10) TMI 113
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....ssued. Since that is the only question * raised in these petitions, Instead of a question being referred to us, the petitions have been referred to us for decision. 2. Desai, C. J. and R. N. Sharma, J. In Sheikh Ghulam Maula v. State of U. P. took the view that a notification under Section 17(4) of the Act without there being an earlier notification under Section 17(1) of the Act would be invalid. 3. Section 17 so far as it is relevant for our purposes reads:-- "17(1) in cases of urgency, whenever the appropriate Government so directs, the Collector, though no such award has been made, may, on the 'expiration of fifteen days' from the publication of the notice mentioned in Section 9, Sub-section (1), take possession of any ....
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....17 did not exist in the Act. These provisions were introduced by Sections 3, and 4 respectively of Act 38 of 1923. That Act was a remedial statute enacted to provide a remedy to the citizen against the acquisition of his land. Section 5-A of the Act gives a citizen the opportunity of objecting to the acquisition of his land. The object of introducing Sub-section (4) of Section 17 in the Act is to extinguish the applicability of Section 5-A in case of urgency. 5. In our opinion Sub-sections (1) and (4) of the Act are two independent pro-, visions capable of being enforced at two different stages of land acquisition proceedings. An analysis of Section 17 of the Act, as it stands today, reveals that under Sub-section (1) the Collector may t....
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....er, owing to any sudden change in the channel of any navigable river or other unforeseen emergency, it becomes necessary for any Railway Administration to acquire the immediate possession of any land for the maintenance of their traffic or for the purpose of making thereon a river-side or Ghat station" occurring in Sub-section (2) and place them in Sub-section (4) of Section 17 of the Act. This course was adopted for reasons of legislative convenience and to avoid the repetition of the words occurring in subsections (1) and (2) of Section 17 of the Act in Sub-section (4) and thus relieve that provision of cumbersomeness and make it neat and intelligible. In our opinion, Sub-section (4) is not correlated to Sub-sections (1) and (2) of Sec....
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....must also be passed. ............... Sections 17(1) and 17(4) are Independent of each other in the sense that an order under the former one does not necessarily require an order under the latter." In the second case Shah, J. who spoke for the Court observed as follows:-- "But by Section 17 two distinct powers exercisable by the appropriate Government in case of urgency are conferred: the first is the power to take possession before the award of compensation is made by the Collector, and the second is the power to dispense with an enquiry which the Act contemplates has to be made under Section 5-A(2)." 8. We respectfully disagree with the view taken in (Supra). Desai, C. J., who spoke for the Division Bench in that case observed:-- ....
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....vernment would straightway issue a direction under Section 17(4) of the Act. It is not comprehensible as to why a direction of under Sub-section (4) of Section 17 would at all be necessary if a direction has already been issued by the appropriate Government to the Collector under Section 17(1) of the Act to take possession of the land, because in that case the stage under Section 5-A would have been passed already. 9. There is nothing in the language of any provision in the Act including all the Sub-clauses of Section 17 to indicate that before a notification under Section 17(4) is issued one under Section 17(1) must already have been issued. 10. Mr. Shafiq Mirza has invited our attention of Sadruddin Suleman Jhaveri v. J. H. Patwardh....
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