Appeals Nos 166 and 167 of 1962
Appeals from the judgment and decrees dated October 25 1957 of the Allahabad High Court in Special Appeals Nos 140 and 139 of 1957
JB Goyal for the appellants in CANo 166 of 62
1 C B Agarwala and P C Agarwala for the appellants in CA No 167 of 62
428 K section Hajela and C P Lal for respondent No I in both the appeals
C P Lal for respondent No 2 in both the appeals
April 26
The judgment of the Court was delivered by WANCHOO J
These two appeals on certificates granted by the Allahabad High Court raise common questions and will be dealt with together
It will be enough if we mention the facts in appeal No 167 for the facts in the other appeal are exactly the same except that the lands in dispute are different in the two cases though lying in the same area in the city of Kanpur
Deoki Nandan appellant in appeal No 167 is the lessee of two plots in Anwarganj Bans Mandi Kanpur and his lease is for a period of 99 years from 1943
On these plots there exists a mill known as Om Cotton Ginning and Oil Mill
Besides the mill there are pacca godowns also on the plots and two thirds of the area is under buildings while onethird is open land paved with bricks
No part of the land is waste or arable
It appears that in February 1932 the Government of U P sanctioned by notification a scheme known as Pechbagh Dalelpurwa Scheme No XX hereinafter referred to as scheme No XX of the Improvement Trust Kanpur
It may be mentioned that the Improvement Trust Kanpur has now been replaced by the Development Board Kanpur hereinafter referred to as the Board by the Kanpur Urban Area Development Act No VI of 1945 hereinafter referred to as the Kanpur Act which repealed the U P Town Improvement Act No III of 1920 insofar as it applied to Kanpur
It is not clear what 429 happened to scheme No XX after 1932 but it does appear that it was not fully carried out
It appears that in 1955 a scheme known as subsidized industrial housing scheme was sponsored by Housing Department of the U P Government
This scheme was to be put in force in four phases
and we are concerned in the present appeal with the fourth phase
For that phase the Government of India had sanctioned over rupees two crores and it was decided to build 6973 tenements of which 1368 were to be in an Ahata on the Hamirpur road
We are concerned with this part of the scheme for the lands in dispute are in this locality
The decision in this connection was taken by the Government of U P in May 1955
Thereafter on January 6 1956 a notification was issued under section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act No I of 1894 by the Governor of U P to the effect that the two plots in dispute were required for the construction of tenements in the fourth phase of the subsidized industrial housing scheme sponsored by the Government of U P as well as for general improvement and street scheme No XX of the Board
This was followed by a notification under section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act on January 31 1956
That notification further said that the case being one of urgency the Governor was pleased under sub sections
1 and I A of section 17 of the Land Acquisition Act to direct that the collector of Kanpur though no award under section 11 has been made might on the expiration of the notice mentioned in section 9 1 take possession of lands buildings and structures forming part of the land mentioned in the schedule for public purposes
Then followed a notice under section 9 by the Collector on February 10 1956 which said that possession would be taken over 15 days after the issue of the notice i e on February 25 1956
On receipt of this notice Deoki Nandan appellant filed his objections before the Collector on February 21 1956 430 Two days later on February 23 1956 he filed the writ petition in the High Court out of which the present appeal has arisen
In this writ petition two main points were urged on behalf of the appellant
It was first urged that as the acquisition was for the purposes of scheme No XX of the Board action had to be taken in accordance with section 114 of the Kanpur Act and the schedule thereto and as no action had been so taken the proceedings for acquisition were bad
In the second place it was urged that it was not open to the Governor to issue the notification under section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act without first taking action under section 5 A thereof
It is not in dispute that no action was taken under section 5 A and no report was made as required therein
The writ petition was dismissed by the learned Single judge who heard it
On the first question he held that this was not a case to which the Kanpur Act applied
On the second question he held that section 17 4 applied and therefore it was not necessary to take proceedings to comply with section 5 A before issuing a notification under section 6
Then followed an appeal which was heard by a Division Bench of the High Court
The appeal court upheld the view taken by the learned Single Judge and dismissed the appeal
However the appeal court granted a certificate as prayed for and that is how the matter has come up before us
The same two questions which were agitated in the High Court have been raised before us
In the first place it is urged that as the acquisition was for scheme No XX of the Board action should have been taken under the Kanpur Act and as this was Dot done the entire proceedings are bad including the issue of the notifications under section 4 and section 6
In the second place it is urged that section 17 4 could not 431 apply in the present case and no notification under section 6 could be issued unless section 5 A had been complied with
As no such compliance was admittedly made the notification under section 6 in any case is bad even if the notification under section 4 is good
Turning now to the first point the main reliance of the appellant is on section 114 of  the Kanpur Act which is in these terms  Modification of the Land Acquisition Act 1894 For the purpose of the acquisition of land for the Board under the land Acquisition Act 1894 a the said Act shall be subject to the modification specified in the Schedule to this Act b the award of the Tribunal shall be deemed to be the award of the court under the Land Acquisition Act 1894
 We may also refer to section 108 which provides for constitution of the tribunal and section 109 which lays down that the tribunal shall perform the functions of the court with reference to the acquisition of land for the Board under the Land Acquisition Act 1894
Further it is necessary to refer to section 71 1 also which provides that the Board may with the previous sanction of the State Government acquire land under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act 1894 as modified by the provisions of this Act for carrying out any of the purposes of this Act
The argument on behalf of the appellants is that where land is acquired for the purposes of the Board action has to be taken under ch
VII which provides for various kinds of development schemes for the Board and the procedure for making such schemes
After this procedure laid down in ch
VII is gone through and it is not in dispute that no s c procedure was gone through in the present case insofar as scheme No XX is concerned section 114 comes 432 into play and acquisition has to take place under the modified provisions of the Land Acquisition Act even where the Government is acquiring the land
Stress in this connection is laid on the words acquisition of land for the Board in section 114 and it is said that whenever there is acquisition of land for the Board action can only be taken even though it is the Government which is acquiring the land under the modified provisions of the Land Acquisition Act contained in the Kanpur Act
We are of opinion that this argument is fallacious
If one looks at the scheme of the Kanpur Act one finds that ch
VII provides for various kinds of development schemes and the procedure for finalising them
After the scheme is finalised under ch
VII power is given to the Board to purchase the land required for the scheme or take it on lease under section 70
Then section 71 provides in the alternative that the Board may with the previous sanction of the State Government acquire land under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act as modified by the provisions of the Kanpur Act
It is only when the Board proceeds to acquire land by virtue of its powers under section 71 that section 114 comes into play and the proceedings for acquisition have to take place under the Land Acquisition Act as modified by section 114 read with the schedule
It is true that section 114 speaks of acquisition of land for the Board and the argument is that when section 114 speaks of acquisition of land for the Board it applies to acquisition of land for the Board by the Government and not to acquisition by the Board which is provided by section 71 1
This interpretation of  section 114 is in our opinion incorrect
Section 71 certainly provides for acquisition of land by the Board when it says that the Board may acquire land under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act as modified by the Kanpur Act but that  acquisition is also by that very section for carrying out the 433 purposes of the Act ie for the Board
Therefore when section 71 authorises the Board to acquire land under the Land Acquisition Act as modified by the Kanpur Act the acquisition is for the Board
Section 71 further speaks of the modification of the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act
This modification is not provided in section 71 itself
In order to find out the modification we have to go to section 114
Therefore s114 merely serves the purpose of indicating the modification which has been mentioned in section 71
There is no reason to hold because the words acquisition of land for the Board appear in s114 that this acquisition is by the Government for the Board
The scheme of the Kanpur Act clearly shows that the Board frames a scheme and then decides to acquire the land for itself tinder section 71 with the previous sanction of the State Government
If it so decides section 114 applies to such an acquisition by the Board for itself with the necessary modification in the Land Acquisition Act
We may in this connection refer to section 109 which describes the duties of the tribunal
Now there is no doubt that where the Board is acquiring land under section 71 of the Kanpur Act it is the tribunal which takes the place of the court in the Land Acquisition Act
But section 109 also uses the same words namely acquisition of land for the Board
As the acquisition by the Board is also for the Board there can be no doubt that the scheme of the Kanpur Act is that the Board first proceeds under ch
VII then decides to acquire land under section 71
and if it so decides s114 comes into play with the modifications in the Land Acquisition Act mentioned in the schedule
Two modifications in the schedule are the replacement of the notification under s4 by the notification under section 53 in ch
VII and the replacement of notification under section 6 by the notification under s60 also in chap
It is obvious that ch
VII section 11 s1 14 and the other provisions in ch
XI dealing with modifications and the modifications in the schedule are all part of one scheme where the Board is acquiring 434 land itself for its own purpose with the previous sanction of Government but where the acquisition is as in the present case by the Government under the Land Acquisition Act for public purpose though that purpose may be the purpose of the Board the Kanpur Act has no application at all
 and the Government proceeds to acquire under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act alone
The contention therefore on behalf of the appellants that the Kanpur Act has not been complied with and therefore the proceedings for acquisition of land are bad has no force and must be rejected
We now come to the second point raised on behalf of the appellants
For that purpose we may briefly refer to the scheme of the Land Acquisition Act The proceedings for acquisition start with a preliminary notification under s4
By that notification the Government notifies that land in any locality is needed or is likely to be needed for any public purpose
On that notification certain consequences follow and authority is conferred on an officer either generally or specially by Government and on his servants and workmen to enter upon and survey and take levels of any land in such locality to dig or bore into the sub soil to do all other acts necessary to ascertain whether the land is adapted for such purpose to set out the boundaries of the land proposed to be taken and so on
Then section 5 A provides that any person interested in any land which has been notified in s4 may within thirty days of the issue of the notification object to the acquisition of the land or of any land in the locality as the case maybe
Every such objection shall be made to
the Collector in writing and the Collector has to give the objector an opportunity of being heard
After hearing all objections and after making further inquiry if any as he thinks fit the Collector has to submit the case for the decision of the Government together with the record of the proceedings held by him and the report 435 containing his recommendations on the objections
the decision of the Government on the objections is final
Then comes the notification under s6 which provides that when the appropriate government is satisfied after considering the report if any made under section 5 A that any particular land is needed for a public purpose a declaration shall be made to that effect and published in the official gazette
After such a declaration has been made under s6 the Co llector has to take order for acquisition of land
It is marked out measured and planned under section 8 if necessary and notice is given under section 9 to persons interested
The Collector then holds inquiry under section II and makes an award
After the award is made the Collector has got the power to take possession of the land under section 16 and the land then vests absolutely in the Government free from all encumbrances
It will be clear from this scheme that compliance with the provisions of section 5 A is necessary before a notification can be issued under section 6
As soon as the preliminary notification is issued under s4 the officer authorised by Government may enter upon the land to survey it and to do all other necessary acts to ascertain whether the land is adapted for the purpose for which it is to be acquired and this action if taken will give sufficient notice to those interested to object
If objections are made the Collector will consider those objections and make his recommendation thereon in his report to Government
If no objections are made the Collector will report that no objection has been made and the Government then proceeds to issue a notification under s6
In either case however the Collector has got to make a report with his recommendations on the objections if they are filed or inform the Government that there are no objections filed in pursuance of the notification under section 4 and it is thereafter that the Government is empowered under section 6 to issue a notification
This as We have saidis the usual procedure to be followed 436 before the notification under s6 is issued To this usual procedure there is however an exception under s17 and that is why in section 6 we find the words if any in the clause after considering the report  if any made under section 5A
When action is taken under section 17 4 it is not necessary to follow the procedure in section 5 A and a notification under s6 can be issued without a report from the Collector under section 5 A
In the present appeals we are concerned with sections 17 1 and 17 4 which we now read 17 1
In cases of urgency whenever the appropriate Government so directs the Collec tor though no such award has been made may on the expiration of fifteen days from the publication of the notice mentioned in section 9 sub section 1 take possession of any waste or arable land needed for public purposes or for a company such land shall thereupon vest absolutely in the Government free from all encumbrances 17 4
In the case of any land to which in the opinion of the appropriate Government the provisions of sub section 1 or sub section 2 are applicable the appropriate Government may direct that the provisions of section 5A shall not apply and if it does so direct a declaration may be made under section 6 in respect of the land at any time after the publication of the notification under section 4 subsection 1
 It will be seen that section 17 1 gives power to the Government to direct the Collector though no award has been made under section 11 to take possession of any waste or arable land needed for public purpose and such land thereupon vests absolutely in the Government free from all encumbrances
If action is taken under section 17 1 taking possession and vesting which 437 are provided in section 16 after the award under section 11 are accelerated and can take place fifteen days after the publication of the notice under section 9
Then comes section 17 4 which provides that in case of any land to which the provisions of sub section
1 are applicable the Government may direct that the provisions of section 5 A shall not apply and if it does so direct a declaration may be made under section 6 in respect of the land at any time after the publication of the notification under section 4 1
It will be seen that it is not necessary even where the Government makes a direction under section 17 1 that it should also make a direction under section 17 4
If the Government makes a direction only under section 17 1 the procedure under section 5 A would still have to be followed before a notification under section 6 is issued though after that procedure has been followed and a notification under section 6 is issued the Collector gets the power to take possession of the land after the notice under section 9 without waiting for the award and on such taking possession the land shall vest absolutely in Government free from all encumbrances
It is only when the Government also makes a declaration under section 17 4 that it becomes unnecessary to take action under section 5 A and make a report thereunder
It may be that generally where an order is made under section 17 1 an order under section 17 4 is also passed but in law it is not necessary that this should be so
It will also be seen that under the Land Acquisition Act an order under section 17 1 or section 17 4 can only be passed with respect to waste or arable land and it cannot be passed with respect to land which is not waste or arable and on which buildings stand
This brings us to section 17 I A introduced in section 17 of the Land Acquisition Act by the Land Acquisition U P Amendment Act No XXII of 1954
Section 6 of that Act is in these terms  After sub section 1 of section 17 of the Principal Act i a Land Acquisition Act the 438 following shall be inserted as a new sub section I A I A
The power to take possession under sub section 1 may also be exercised in the case of other than waste or arable land where the land is acquired for or in connection with sanitary improvements of any kind or planned development
 It is not in dispute before us that the land in the present case was required for planned development
Therefore subsection 1 A as inserted by the U P Act into the Land Acquisition Act applies
The contention on behalf of the appellants however is that sub section 1 A gives merely power to take possession of land other than waste or arable land where the land is acquired for or in connection with sani tary improvements of any kind or planned development
It is further urged that sub section
1 is mentioned in sub section
I A merely to import the circumstances in which the power to take possession may be exercised with respect to land other than waste or arable and the time when such power may be exercised thearguement further is that section 17 4 was not amended by the UP Act XXII by including the new sub s1A also in that sub section
Sub section 4 still stands as it was therefore it still applies to waste and arable land only
There is force in this argument
There has been no change by the U P Act in sub section
1 and therefore when sub section
4 speaks of any land to which sub section
1 applies it still refers only to waste or arable land and no other
It is true that by sub section I A as introduced by U P Act in section 17 power has been given to take possession in case of land other than the waste or arable but this does not necessarily mean that sub section
4 will also apply to a case of and other than waste or arable simply because power has been 439 given by sub section
I A to take possession of land other than waste or arable
It seems to us that when sub section
1 is mentioned in sub section
I A as introduced by the U P Act it only means that the power can be exercised to take possession of land other than waste or arable in the same circumstances and at the same time as it could be exercised with respect to arable or waste land as provided in sub section
1 and nothing more Sub section I A as introduced by the U P Act therefore has the effect only of accelerating the taking of possession which normally can take place after the award has been made under section 11 in the case of land other than waste or arable in the circumstances and under the conditions mentioned in sub section
But sub section
I A does not amend sub section
1 so as to include within that sub section land other than waste or arable
Therefore when sub section
4 was not amended by the U P legislature to include sub section
1 A as introduced by it can apply only to waste or arable land mentioned in sub section
1 which also remained unamended
We have already pointed out that it is not necessary in law that when an order is passed under section 17 1 an order under section 17 4 must also be passed
similarly if an order is passed under sub section 1 A it does not necessarily follow that an order must bepassed under section 17 4
Sections 17 1 and 17 4 are independent of each other in the sense that an order under the former does not necessarily require an order under the latter
Similarly section 17 I A must be independent of section 17 4 and an order under section 17 I A would not necessarily mean that an order under section 17 4 must be passed
In these circumstances it seems to us that if the legislature intended that provisions of sub section
4 should also apply to a case falling under sub section
I A it has failed to carry out that intention
Sub section I A has been added as an independent sub section and no amendment has been made either in sub section
1 or sub section
4 nor has any separate provision been made 440 for applying sub section
4 to a case falling under sub section
I A and so subs
4 cannot be applied to sub section
I A
The right to file objections under section 5 A is a substantial right when a person s property is being threatened with acquisition and we cannot accept that that right can be taken away as if by a side wind because sub section
I A mentions sub section
As we have already pointed out sub section
1 has been mentioned in sub section I A merely to indicate the circumstances and the conditions under which possession can be taken
The legislature has mentioned sub section
1 in sub section
I A as a measure of economy otherwise sub section
I A would have read as follows  In cases of urgency whenever the appropriate Government so directs the Collector though no such award has been made may on the expiration of fifteen days from the publication of the notice mentioned in section 9 sub section 1 take possession of any land other than waste or arable land for public purposes where the land is acquired for or in connection with sanitary improvements of any kind or planned development
 Now if there had been Do economy of words and sub section
I A had read as we have indicated above it could Dot have been possible to argue that sub section
4 of section 17 also covered cases of section 17 1 A
Therefore simply because for the sake of economy of words the legislature has used the words which it did in sub section
I A it cannot be said that it was either amending sub section
1 or sub section
In the absence of such amendment either in sub section
1 or sub section
4 and in the absence of any specific provision being introduced in section 17 by which sub section
4 was also to apply to the new sub section
I A it cannot be said that power was conferred on the State Government to apply sub section
4 also to a case falling under sub section
1 A 441 simply by the introduction of sub section
I A in the form in which it was introduced in section 17
We are therefore of opinion that it was not open to the State Government to say in the notification under section 4 that proceedings under section 5 A shall not take place
This part of the notification under section 4 is therefore beyond the powers of the State Government
In consequence the notification under section 6 also as it was issued without taking action under section 5 A must fall
The appeals must therefore be allowed and the notification under section 6 and that part of the notification under section 4 which says that the Governor was pleased to direct that under sub section 4 of section 17 the provisions of section 5 A shall not apply are bad and are hereby set aside
Rest of the notification under section 4 will stand and it will be open to the Government if it so chooses to proceed with the acquisition after action is taken under section 5 A and thereafter to issue a noti fication under section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act
In the circumstances we feel that the appellants should be given an opportunity under section 5 A now though the period for making objections provided in that section expired long ago in view of the misunderstanding of the law on the part of the Government by treating the objections made before the Collector after the issue of the notices under section 9 as objections under section 5 A
The appellants will get their costs of this Court from the respondents one set of hearing fee
Appeals allowed


Summary:
In these two appeals the same questions of law arise and the facts in CA No 166 of 1962 are similar to those in CA 167 of 1962 which are stated below
The appellant in CA No 167 of 1962 is the owner of certain lands situated in the city of Kanpur
The land is occupied by a Mill and godowns and no part of the land is waste land or arable land
In 1932 the U P Government sanctioned by a notification a Scheme Scheme No XX of the improvement Trust Kanpur
This Trust has been replaced by the Development Board Kanpur by reason of the Kanpur Urban Area Development Act 1945
426 In 1955 the Housing Department of the Government of UP sponsored a scheme for building industrial tenements
Part of the scheme concerned the locality in which the land in dispute is situated
In 1956 a notification was issued under section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894 by the Governor of UP to the effect that the plots in dispute were required for the construction of tenements tinder the subsidized industrialhousing scheme of the UP Government as well as for general improvement and street scheme No XX of the Board
This was followed by a notification under section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act stating that the case being one of urgency the Governor was pleased under sub sections
1 and I A of section 17 of that Act to direct that the Collector of Kanpur though no award under section II had been given might on the expiration of the notice mentioned vs 91 take possession of land mentioned in the schedule
Subsequently a notice under section 9 was issued which stated that possession of the land will be taken within 15 days
The appellant thereupon filed a writ petition under article 226 of the Constitution in the High Court
Two main points were raised in the petition
Firstly it was contended that as the acquisition was for the purpose of Scheme No XX of the Board action had to be taken in accordance with section 114 of the Kanpur Act and the schedule thereto and as no action had been so taken the proceedings for acquisition were bad
In the second place it was urged that it was not open to the Governor to issue the notification under section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act without first taking action under section 5A thereof
The High Court rejected both these contentions and in the result dismissed the writ petition
The present appeal was filed with a certificate issued by the High Court
In the appeal before this Court the same questions which were agitated before the High Court were raised
Held it is only when the Board proceeds to acquire land by virtue of its powers under section 71 that section 114 comes into play and the proceedings for acquisition have to take place under the Land Acquisition Act as modified by section 114 read with the schedule
But where the acquisition is as in the present case by the Government under the Land Acquisition Act for public purposes though that purpose may be the purpose of the Board the Kanpur Act has no application at all and the Government proceeds to acquire under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act alone
From the scheme of the Act it is clear that compliance with the provisions of s5 A is necessary before a notification 427 can be issued under section 6
Even where the Government makes a direction under section 171 it is not necessary that it should also make a direction under section 174
If the Government makes a direction only under section 171 the procedure under section 5 A would stil have to be followed before a notification under section 6 is issued
It is only when the Government also makes a declaration under section 174 that it becomes necessary to take action under section 5 A and make a report thereunder
Under the Land Acquisition Act an order under section 171 or section 174 can only be passed with respect to waste or arable land and it cannot be passed with respect to land which is not waste or arable land on which buildings stand
just as section 171 and section 174 are independent of each other section 171A and section 174 are independent of each other and an order under section 17 I A would not necessarily mean that an order under section 174 must be passed
The right to file objections under section 5 A is a substantial right when a person s property is being threatened with acquisition and that right cannot be taken away as if by a side wind because section 171 A mentions section 171
Section 171 A mentions section 171 merely to indicate the circumstances and the conditions under which possession can be taken
It was not open to the State Government to say in the notification under section 4 that proceedings under section 5 A will not take place
This part of the notification under section 4 is beyond the powers of the State Government and in consequence the notification under section 6 also as it was issued without taking action under section 5 A must fail