PRITAM SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Through this petition Pritam Singh resident of village Wadali Guru, district Amritsar, has challenged notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act) bearing No. 2455-4HG-73/32443 and notification under Section 6 of the Act bearing No. 3500-4-HG-73/3761. By these notifications the petitioner's land measuring 25 Kanals 11 Marlas situated in village Wadali Guru had been acquired. The petition has been contested by the respondents. The State of Punjab and the Collector, Land Acquisition, Amritsar, through the affidavit of Shri Sher Singh Sidhu, Sub-Divisional Officer-cum-Land Acquisition Collector, Amritsar, dated 18th September, 1974, whereby the issuance of these notifications is admitted and it is also accepted that the petitioner's land is situated to be acquired through these notifications.

(2.) On behalf of the petitioner the notifications have been challenged on a number of grounds, but for the decision of this petition it would suffice to take notice of two contentions which have been pressed before us.

(3.) It is firstly canvassed before us that the notification under Section 4 was invalid inasmuch as the substance of the notification was not published in terms of this provision. The second challenge to these notifications is based on Section 5A of the Act which requires that any person interested in any land which has been notified under Section 4(1) may within thirty days before the issuance of the notification file objections to the acquisition of the land. It is asserted that in this case whereas the proclamation calling for objections to be filed within thirty days was issued on 28th November, 1973, the notification under Section 6 of the Act was issued on 18th December, 1973. By this time the period for filing objections had not expired.