PANNALAL ROY Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal ought to be allowed. It is directed against a judgment and order dated April 30, 1963. The appellants are the owners of certain plots of land mentioned in paragraph 1 of the petition. On December 23, 1958, a Notification under section 4 of the West Bengal Land Development and Planning Act, 1948 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'), was issued relating to 15. 33 acres of land in Mouza hariharpur P. S. Baraset, District 24-Parganas. By another notification dated October 27, 1959, the State Government cancelled the previous notification so as to exclude 3. 14 acres of land from the acquisition proceeding. Thereafter, on October 27, 1959, a declaration was published under section 6 of the Act with regard to 12. 19 acres oh' land in the aforesaid mouza. It was slated in the declaration that the land was acquired for settlement of immigrants. This declaration was followed by another notification dated March 25, 1970, whereby the State Government cancelled the declaration under section 6 of the Act published earlier on October 27, 1959. An affidavit has been filed on behalf of the State Government affirmed an May 4, 1973, in paragraph 6 of which ii, is stated that in view of the cancellation of the declaration under section 6 of the Act making the declaration under that section void, the Collector has taken up the case afresh from, the stage of the notification under section 4 al ready published by notification dated december 23, 1958, read with notification dated October 27, 1959.

(2.) AGGRIEVED by the issue of the notification and the declaration the appellants obtained a Rule nisi which was discharged by the judgment under appeal.

(3.) TWO points were urged by Mr. S. K. Roy Chaudhury on behalf of the appellants. Firstly, he argued that notified area has been defined by section s (c) of the Act to mean an area declared under sub-section (1) of section 4 to be a notified area. He urged that the original notification under section 4 of the act dated December 23, 1958 was modified by subsequent notification dated october 27, 1959 so that it could not be said that there was a particular area which was a notified area under that act. It was argued also that under section 4 (1) of the Act, the Collector was required to cause a public notice of the subsistence of such notification to be given and therefore, the original notification having been modified by the subsequent notification there was no notification in existence of which the collector could give a public notice under section 4 (1) of the Act. It was further argued on this point that under section 4a (1) of the Act any person interested in any land within a notified area may within 30 days from the date of issue of notification object to the acquisition of the land in which he is interested. It was submitted that as the original notification under section 4 of the Act dated December 23, 1958 was modified by the subsequent notification of October 27, 1959 it would be impossible for a party aggrieved by the notice under section 4 to file his objection with in 30 days as required by section 4a (1)of the Act. It seems to us that there is a good deal of force in this contention of the learned Advocate for the appellants. It is to be noticed that a declaration under section 6 (1) of the Act requires that where a development scheme is sanctioned under section 5 (2) of the act and the State Government is satisfied that any land as notified in the notified area is needed for the purpose of executing such a scheme, a declaration to that effect will be made. If the notified area itself is from time to time allowed to be changed by the state Government as claimed by the learned Advocate for the respondents, a declaration under section 6 (1) cannot be made because the notified area con templated by section 6 (1) of the Act is not the same as the one with regard to which such declaration can be made after amendment of the notification under section 4 of the Act. It cannot be over-looked that a declaration under section 6 (1) of the Act can be made only with regard to a notified area which has been defined by s. 2 (c) of the Act.