MUSTAFA HUSSAIN Vs. UNION OF INDIA UOI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Parliament, in furtherance of the directive principles enshrined in Article 39 (b) of the Constitution of India, enacted the Esso (Acquisition of Undertakings in India) Act, 1974, the Burmah Shell (Acquisition of Undertakings in India) Act, 1976 and the Caltex (Acquisition of Shares of Caltex Oil Refining (India) Ltd. and of the Undertakings in India of Caltex (India) Ltd.) Act, 1977, hereinafter referred to as the Esso Acquisition Act", "the Burmah Shell Acquisition Act", The Caltex Acquisition Act", respectively. The main object underlying each of these Acts is to acquire the right, title and interest of the three major oil companies carrying on in India the business of distributing and marketing petroleum products with a view to subserve the common good. As per some of the provisions which are common to each of these Acts, the right, title and interest of each of the oil companies in relation to its undertaking in India stood transferred and vested in the Central Government. Section 5 of the Esso Acquisition Act deals with leases and right of tenancies of the Esso with third parties in respect of the properties existing on the appointed day, and lays down that they shall be deemed to have been transferred and vested in the Central Government. Section 5 (2) of the Esso Acquisition Act provides that on the expiry of the term of. any. lease or tenancy, referred to in Sub-section (I) such lease or tenancy shall, if so desired by the Central Government be renewed on the same terms and conditions on which the lease or tenancy was held by Esso immediately before the appointed day. In the Burmah Shell Acquisition Act also we find Section 5 in the same language and to the same effect. In the Caltex Acquisition Act Section 7 deals with this aspect, and Section 7 (3) lays down that on the expiry of the term of any lease, tenancy or arrangement referred to in Sub-section (I) or Sub-section (2), such lease or tenancy or arrangement shall, if so desired by the Central Government, be renewed or continued, so far as may be, on the same terms and conditions on which the lease or tenancy or argument was originally granted or entered into. After the enactments of these three Acts, admittedly the entire undertakings of these three oil companies got vested in the Central Government, which by certain orders, look over and created two major oil corpora-lions, viz.. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation. The undertakings of the Esso Company and the Caltax Oil Company which were vested in the Central Government were merged into a single Corporation, viz., Hindustan Petroleum Corporation. The Burmah Shell Company was similarly incorporated by the Government as Bharat Petroleum Corporation.

(2.) The petitioners in all these writ petitions are the owners of some pieces of land which were leased out by them to the three then existing companies. In these writ petitions the petitioners are questioning the Constitutionality of Section 5 (2) of the Esso Acquisition Act and the Burmah Shell Acquisition Act, and Section 7 (3) of the Caltex Acquisition Act.

(3.) Before we advert to the main questions involved, it is useful to extract the impugned provisions of law, so that we can have an idea of the nature of the leases with which we are concerned. Section 5 of the Esso Acquisition Act reads as follows:--