M SYED MOHAMMAD SHAFI Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Land was needed for construction of municipal bus stand at Punalur. So acquisition proceedings were resorted to by the Government on the requisition made by the Municipality. A Notification was published under S.4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short 'the Act') stating that a certain extent of land was needed for the purpose. Later a Declaration under S.6(1) of the Act was also published. Land Acquisition Officer who was appointed by the Government for this purpose after holding the enquiry, has passed an award under S.11 of the Act fixing the market value of different plots of land involved and determining the amount of compensation payable to each of the owners of the land. But now the acquisition proceedings are under challenge. Some of the owners of the land involved have filed the present original petition mainly on the strength of two contentions. First is that Notification under S.4(1) of the Act stood lapsed with the expiry of one year from the date of publication, and hence no Declaration under S.6(1) of the Act should have been published thereafter. Second contention is that even assuming that Declaration under S.6(1) of the Act was published within time the award should have been passed within two years therefrom. According to the learned Counsel the award now passed is not legally enforceable as the same was passed only after two years from the date of publication.

(2.) Learned single Judge before whom the original petition came up dismissed it repelling both contentions. The present appeal is, therefore, filed by the land owners reiterating the twin contentions pressed before the learned single Judge.

(3.) Admitted facts are the following: Notification under Section 4(1) of the Act was published in the Official Gazette on 3-12-1991 and it was later published in two newspapers having circulation in the locality. (For convenience it will be referred to as the Notification hereafter). Declaration under Section 6(1) of the Act was published in the Official Gazette on 22-1-1993 and later it was published in two newspapers also (for convenience it would be referred to as the Declaration hereafter). Award was passed on 9-3-1995 as per Section 11 of the Act.