RADHA RAMAN Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution.

(2.) THE petitioner, Raja Radha Raman, was the owner of two villages, Pakaria Naugawan and mindia Panai Urf Songarhi, pargana and Tahsil Pilibhit, before the vesting order passed by the state Government. But as portions of these two villages lie within the limits of the Municipal board of Pilibhit, those portions still continue in the ownership of the petitioner. The plots which are the subject-matter of dispute in the present petition, lie in the portion of village Pakaria naugawan, which is still in the ownership of the petitioner and others. In September 1943, a co-operative society was formed by a number of persons and this society is known as the co-operative Housing Society Ltd. Pilibhit. In the beginning the membership was open to all persons of good character, sound mind and above the age of 18 years, residing or carrying on any trade, business or profession in Pilibhit, and who are not members of any other housing society operating in Pilibhit. A few months later, an amendment was made and a further condition was added that only those persons could be members who owned no house or land in pilibhit. There are about 90 members of this Society, and some of them do own houses in Pilibhit but they had become members before the amendment, and now continue to be members. This society wanted that the land in dispute should be acquired, and on 19-4-1949 a notification was issued by the U. P. Government under Sections 4 and 5 of the Land Acquisition Act. This notification said that the Governor was pleased to notify for general information that the land, mentioned in the schedule, was needed for a public purpose and that any person interested in it might within 30 days make an objection to the acquisition of the land in writing to the Collector under Section 5-A of the said Act, The purpose of acquisition was mentioned as the construction of residential houses for the members of the co-operative Housing Society Ltd. Pilibhit. The greater portion of this land belonged to the petitioner and on 18-5-1949 he filed an objection before the Land Acquisition Officer under Section 5-A of the Act. This objection contained a number of grounds, the more important of which were that the land was not being acquired for any public purpose, that the application of the Society was not bona fide, that the members wanted to acquire the land for their own benefit, that many of these members were already awning houses in Pilibhit and that the land was needed by the petitioner for purposes of a goshala.

(3.) THE Land Acquisition Officer then commenced enquiries under Section 5-A of the Act and submitted his report to the Uttar Pradesh Government in July 1950. The petitioner made a number of representations to the Hon'ble Ministers of Agriculture and Development and to the general Secretary, Co-operative Department, but these proved to be of no avail. The present petition was filed on 20-8-1951 and at that time the report of the Land Acquisition officer was under consideration of the Government, but the Government had started taking steps under Section 41 of the Act and had written to the Secretary, Co-operative Society, that he should execute an agreement as contemplated by Sections 39 and 41 of the Act. During the time that the petition had been pending, the agreement contemplated by Section 41 was executed between the said Society and the Government, though no notification under Section 6 of the Act has yet been issued, as this Court at the time of admitting the petition had passed an interim order prohibiting the issue of the notification. The prayer made in the petition is that a writ of certiorari be issued cailing for the record of the case and quashing all proceedings under Sections 5-A, 39, 40 and 41 of the said Act, and that a writ of prohibition be issued to the Slate of Uttar Pradesh (respondent No. I) directing it not to give its consent under Section 39 of the Act to the aforesaid acquisition, nor to issue a notification under Section 6 of the Act.