THIRUMANI DHARMARAJ Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Aggrieved by the dismissal of the Writ Petition, challenge in which was to the Land Acquisition proceedings initiated under Sec. 11(1) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, the Appellant/Writ Petitioner is on Appeal.

(2.) An extent of about 5/2/0 hectares of land was sought to be acquired for the purpose of providing a Channel for carriage of Flood Waters from Kannadian Channel by the District Collector of Tuticorin on 8/10/2020 purportedly under Sec. 11(1) of the 2013 Act. A publication as required under the said Sec. was also made in Vernacular and English News Papers. The said Notification was published in the Tuticorin District Gazette. The Appellant submitted his Objections. In the entire extent of 5/2/0 hectares of land that was sought to be acquired, 2/52/0 hectares belonged to the Appellant. The Appellant along with others challenged the said Notification issued by the District Collector on 13/10/2020, published in the District Gazette on 8/12/2020, mainly on the ground that publication of the Notification under Sec. 11(1) of the 2013 Act in the District Gazette, would not amount to proper compliance with the requirements of the said provision. Reliance was also placed on Rule 13 of the Rules enacted by the Government of Tamil Nadu under Sec. 109 of the Act and sub-sec. (39) of Sec. 3 of the General Clauses Act, 1897, which defines the term "Official Gazette" in support of the said contention.

(3.) The said Writ Petition was resisted by the Respondents contending that the Judgment in A.S. Periasamy v. State of Tamil Nadu, 2004 (2) CTC 406, reliance on which was placed by the Appellant herein, would not apply since it was rendered under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and since the definition of the term "Appropriate Government" under the said enactment was different from the definition of the term "Appropriate Government" under the 2013 Act. Since the term "Appropriate Government" has been defined to include the District Collector, according to the Respondents, the term "Official Gazette" should also be read as "including the District Gazette".