BHAJAN SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS order shall dispose of CWPs No. 2622, 2825, 2828, 2832, 2847, 2856 & 2869 of 2014 as in all the cases the petitioners have laid challenge to the notification dated 24.12.2013 issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (in short, 'the Act'). Though a request was 'made by learned State counsel to enable him to file reply but since a pure question of law has been raised, we do not deem it necessary to call upon the respondents to file their reply, at this stage. For brevity, the facts are being extracted from CWP No. 2622 of 2014. The primary contention of the petitioner is that the Notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (since repealed) has been issued on 24.12.2013 and was actually published in the newspapers on 02.01.2014. Meanwhile, the 1894 Act was repealed and the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 has come into force w.e.f. 01.01.2014. Its Section 24 says that: - -

(2.) IT is undeniable that no award has been passed in the instant cases and only the proposal, for acquisition of land was notified under Section 4 of the 1894 Act (since repealed). It may be seen from Section 24(1)(a) of the 2013 Act that where no award under Section 11 of the 1894 Act was passed as on 01.01.2014 when the new Act came into force, the provisions of the new Act shall apply for determination of the compensation. In other words, the acquisition process initiated under the repealed Act would remain valid but the compensation shall have to be assessed in accordance with the provisions of the 2013 Act.

(3.) IT appears from the plain reading of Section 24(1)(a) that it contemplates a situation where acquisition proceedings were near completion but no award under Section 11 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 was made till the new Act came into force on 01.01.2014. In our considered view, the object behind this provision is to save the final declaration regarding acquisition made under the 1894 Act even if no award could be passed. The previous proceedings in such a situation would not lapse and shall remain valid except that the compensation shall be determined under the new Act. To say it differently, Section 24(1)(a) would be attracted only in a case where final declaration for acquisition of land under Section 6 of the 1894 Act had been made and only the award was left to be passed.