DEVIREDDY VENKATASUBBAREDDY Vs. DISTRICT COLLECTOR NELLORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The main contention urged in this writ petition is that, notification under S.4(1), Land Acquisition Act not having been published in two daily newspapers, as required by the Central; Amendment Act 68 OF 1984, the notification itself fails and must be quashed.

(2.) By the Central Amendment Act, the following words are added to sub-s (1) of S.4 after the words

(3.) The notification impugned herein was published in the District Gazette on 7-11-1984 and till the matter was heard in the month of March, 1985, it is admitted, the notification was not published in to daily newspapers. The contention of the learned Government Pleader , however, is that the said requirement is not ,mandatory, but is only directory and, therefore, the non-compliance therewith does not render the notification void. I am not prepared to agree. Before this amendment, S.4(1)required the notification to be published in two modes, viz. One, in the Official Gazette, and the second , publication in the locality of the substance of the notification (which shall be referred to, for the sake of convenience hereinafter, as local publication ). The local publication has been held to be mandatory by the Supreme Court, and the non-compliance therewith has been held to vitiate the very notification. The reasons for which the local publication has been held to be mandatory must equally apply to the additional requirements of publication in two daily newspapers. The idea behind the local publication, as well as the publication in two daily newspapers, is that several persons who may be interested in the land proposed to be acquired but whose names may not be found in the Official Gazette, is statutorily deemed as a public notice, the law recognized that, in practice, it is not a sufficient notice. It, therefore , provided an additional mode of publication, viz. The local publication. Now, the parliament seems to feel that, even that is not sufficient , and has provided an additional requirement of publication in two daily newspapers circulated in the locality, of which atleast on should be in the regional language. Having regard to the fact that the notification proposes to compulsory acquire the land of a person, and also because all the persons interested should be put on notice of such proposal, I am of the opinion that the said requirement is mandatory.