CHANDRAKANT DAHYABHAI FUDNAWALA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In response to the notice issued by this Court, one Mr. R. S. Valvi has filed affidavit-in-reply on behalf of respondent No. 1. Heard the learned Advocates. By this petition, petitioners have challenged legality of notification under Sec. 6 of Land Acquisition Act, 1894 ('Act' for short) dated 7-12-1995 and the proceedings arising therein.

(2.) Of the numerous contentions challenging the same, one is that Sec. 6 notification is issued after the lapse of one year of issuance of notification under Sec. 4 and, therefore, in view of first proviso to sub-sec. (1) of Sec. 6, said notification is barred and void ab initio and the proceedings commenced on the basis of the same are, therefore, illegal and bad. It will be relevant to state first the facts to appreciate this contention. Date of Sec. 4 notification is 29-11-1994. It was published in the newspapers on 2nd and 3rd December 1994. It was placed on the Notice Board of Mamlatdar on 7-12-1994. It was published in the Government Gazette on 8-12-1994. Thereafter, declaration under Sec. 6 was made on 7-12-1995. It was published in Official Gazette on the same date. It was then published in the newspaper on 8-12-1995. Based on these facts, learned Counsel Mr. Thakker contended that declaration under Sec. 6 is published in the Official Gazette on 7- 12-1995 and published in the newspaper on 8-12-1995 and, therefore, the same is published beyond the period of one year of the publication of notification under Sec. 4 of the Act. To appreciate this contention, it will be relevant to refer to the relevant proviso to sub-sec. (1) of Sec. 6 of the Act, which reads as under :-

(3.) How declaration under Sec. 6 is required to be published is provided in sub-sec. (2) of Sec. 6, but, in our opinion, it is altogether for a different purpose. What is contemplated on the part of Land Acquisition Officer is to make a declaration under Sec. 6 within one year of the publication of the notification under Sec. 4. Question is how to calculate the period of one year contemplated in clause (ii) of first proviso to sub-sec. (1) of Sec. 6 of the Act. To calculate a period, there must be terminus a quo, i.e., the starting point, and terminus ad quem, i.e., destination-terminal point. On reading clause (ii) of first proviso to sub-sec. (1) of Sec. 6 of the Act, to count period of one year, it is to be started from the date of last publication of the notification under Sec. 4. Section 4 notification is required to be published in the manner and method prescribed therein. There, the mode is publication in Gazette, in two local newspapers and affixing of substance of such notification at convenient places in the locality where the land is situated. In the instant case, it would be the office of the Mamlatdar. When there are different modes of publication, there are all the possibilities of dates of publication being different. Therefore, question again would arise as to which date should be taken as the date of publication under Sec. 4. Section 4(1) itself provides for such a date and it is the last of the dates of such publication and the giving of such public notices. In the instant case, last date of such publication is 8-12-1994 when the said notification is published in Official Gazette. Other publications are prior in time. Therefore, 8-12-1994 is the starting point for calculating the period of one year for the purpose of deciding whether Sec. 6 declaration is made within the period of one year or not.