LEKHRAJ SABUMAL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal by two of the original plaintiffs is directed against the judgment and decree of the learned Judge of the City Civil Court 6 Court Ahmedabad dated 29th September 1973 in suit No. 74 of 1970 which was dismissed by the learned Judge.

(2.) Respondent No. 2 is the original defendant. State of Gujarat while respondents Nos. 2 to 47 are original plaintiffs Nos. 3 to 48. The plaintiffs instituted the said suit for a declaration that the notification and the land acquisition proceedings were not binding on the plaintiffs and illegal and they prayed for an injunction restraining the defendant. Government from taking possession of the land on which the plaintiffs had constructed their huts and structures and from removing the said constructions without obtaining orders from the competent court or without following the required procedure under law.

(3.) It was the case of the plaintiffs that in the land of survey number 62 of Behrampura ward Ahmedabad there were huts rooms and buildings in the property called Lekhraj Mahdev Chawl and the same were constructed by them 20 years before the purported acquisition by their own money and they were residing theren with their families and their occupation was with the consent of the owner of the suit land to whom they were regularly paying rent in respect of the land in their possession over which they had constructed the said structures. The State Government issued the notification under sec. 4 of the Land Acquisition Act (`the Act) for acquiring the suit land for the purposes of a burial ground and a slaughter house for the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and it was the plaintiffs case that though they were persons interested in the 1and no notices were served on them and no intimation of the said proceedings was given to them though they were persons in actual possession of the land. The notification under sec. 4 of the Act was issued on 5th April 1957 and the notification under sec. 6 was issued on 21st November 1963 and in August 1969 on being threatened that their constructions would be forcibly removed it the same were not removed by 22nd August 1969 the 48 plaintiffs filed the said suit against the defendant. State and special land acquisition officer (defendant No. 2) and Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (defendant No. 3). Defendants Nos. 2 and 3 were later deleted by an order passed as per Ex. 38 in the suit and the suit therefore proceeded against the sole defendant that is State of Gujarat.