ANANT RAM BALMOKAND Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ANANT Ram petitioner, claiming to be the owner of agricultural land measuring about 6 Kanals and 7 Marlas situated in village Ballabgarh, district Gurgaon, has approached this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution Praying for a writ to quash the notification No. 185-41-B (1) 59/426 dated 8th January 1960 issued by the Governor, Punjab, purporting to act under Sections 4 and 17 of the Land acquisition Act, and the order of the Collector dated 13th January 1960 authorising taking into possession of the land mentioned above. The impugned notification and order have been described to be illegal, without jurisdiction, ultra vires and outside the scope of the Act and, therefore, ineffectual and unconstitutional.

(2.) THE principle, and indeed the only, attack against the notification and the order mentioned above is that the land in question has been acquired for the Good Year tyre and Rubber Company limited (respondent No. 3) which is a company and which wants to set up a factory for the manufacture of rubber tyres on the land in question. It is asserted that the entire compensation for the acquired land is to be paid by the said company and no portion thereof is to be paid out of the public revenue or a fund controlled or managed by a local authority. The mandatory provisions of Sections 39 to 41 of the Land Acquisition Act have not been complied with and the acquisition, being meant for a company simpliciter, is wholly unauthorised and unconstitutional.

(3.) THIS petition was filed in March 1961, but on 22nd April 1961 a supplementary affidavit was filed in which it was elaborated that the land, which is the subject-matter of the impugned notification, has not been acquired for a public purpose nor at public expense as wrongly stated in the notification. The land, according to the petitioner, has been acquired illegally for a private purpose namely, for the purposes of the respondent company who has borne the entire expense for the acquisition. It is further stated in this affidavit that in pursuance of the award given by the Land Acquisition Collector, Palwal, it is the respondent company which has deposited a sum of Rs. 3,34,369. 11 np. on account of compensation on monday, the 23rd January 1961, in the sub-treasury Ballabgarh, as is clear from a copy of letter No. 20500, dated 25th January, 1961, from the Regional Manager northern India, Good Year Tyre and Rubber Company of India, Private Limited, to the Deputy commissioner Gurgaon. In this affidavit a reference has also been made to letter No. 903, dated 25th january 1960, from the Deputy Commissioner, Gurgaon to the Secretary to government, Punjab, Industries Department wherein it is stated that as the land is to be acquired for a private company necessary action under Section 17 (1) of the land Acquisition Act would be taken only after the provisions of Section 40 and 41 of the said Act are complied with. It is then averred that in spite of the above letter, the provisions of Sections 39 to 43 of the Act were no complied with before acquiring the land in question. Justification for this supplementary affidavit has been sought from the assertion that this information was received by the petitioner after inspecting the acquisition files. In support of his case the petitioner has in this affidavit made a reference to a decision of the Supreme Court in Jhandu lal v. State of Punjab, AIR 1961 SC 343.