Special Leave Petition Civil No 9013 9014 of 1984
From the Judgment and order dated the 3rd August 1984 of the Delhi High Court in C W No 1890 and 1891 of 1984 Dr L M Singhvi and Mrs Bharati Anand for the Petitioners
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by CHINNAPPA REDDY J
We are dismissing both the Special Leave Petitions
But we propose to give our reasons for doing so which we do not generally do as our attention has been invited to some judgments of High Courts which we consider have been wrongly decided proceeding as they do on a misunderstanding of some observations of this Court
A combined notification under sections 4 and 17 and a declaration under section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act were published in the Delhi Extraordinary Gazette on 1861984 in regard to the acquisition of certain lends in the Village Bijwasan for the purpose of construction of a New Transmitting Station for the Delhi Airport 
Public Notice of the substance of the notification under section 4 was alleged to have been given in the locality on 177
It was also alleged that the matter was under correspondence between various departments of the Government for nearly eight years before the notification and the declaration were publi 591 shed in the Gazette
A Writ Petition was filed in the Delhi High Court impugning the notification and the declaration on two grounds
The first was that the delay of 29 days in giving public notice of the substance of notification in the locality after the publication of the notification under section 4 in the Gazette was fatal to the notification itself
The second was that the very circumstance that a period of eight years was spent in interdepartmental discussion showed that there was no urgency necessitating the invocation of s 17 4 of the Land Acquisition Act to dispense with the enquiry under section 5 A
The High Court dismissed the Writ Petition in limine and the present Special Leave Petitions are directed against such dismissal
The very two questions which were raised before the High Court were again urged before us and reliance was placed by Dr L M Singhvi learned counsel for the petitioners on Narinderjit Singh vs State of Utter Pradesh1 Rattan Singh vs State2 section K Gupta vs Union of India3 Satish Kapur vs State of Haryana4 and C Suryanarayana vs Govt
of Andhra Pradesh5 In addition we have also perused Khub Chand vs State of Rajasthan6 State of Mysore vs Abdul Rajak7 Mohammad KHawaza vs Govt
of Andhra Pradesh5 and Sanjivaiah Nagar Depressed and Backward Classes Sangh vs District Collector Hyderabad9
Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act is as follows 1 Whenever it appears to the appropriate Government that land in any locality is needed or is likely to be needed for any public purpose a notification to that effect shall be published in the official Gazette and the Collector shall cause public notice of the sub stance of such notification to be given at convenient places in the said locality
2 Thereupon it shall be lawful for any officer either generally or specially authorised by such Government in this behalf and for his servants and workmen 592 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 the intended line of the work if any proposed to be made thereon to mark such levels boundaries and line by placing marks and cutting trenches and where otherwise the survey cannot be completed and the levels taken and the boundaries and line marked to cut down and clear away any part of any standing crop fence or jungle
Provided that no person shall enter into any building or upon any enclosed court or garden attached to a dwelling house unless with the consent of the occupier thereof without previously giving such occupier at least seven days  notice in writing of his intention to do so
 It may be noticed at once that section 4 1 does not prescribe that public notice of the substance of the notification should be given in the locality simultaneously with the publication of the notification in the official Gazette or immediately thereafter
Publication in the official Gazette and public notice in the locality are two vital steps required to be taken under section 4 1 before proceeding to take the next step of entering upon the land under section 4 2
The time factor is not a vital element of section 4 1 and there is no warrant for reading the words simultaneously  or immediately thereafter  into section 4 1
Publication in the official Gazette and public notice in the locality are the essential elements of section 4 1 and not the simultaneity or immediacy of the Publication and the Public Notice
But since the steps contemplated by section 4 2 cannot be undertaken unless publication is made and public notice given as contempleted by s 4 1 it is implicit that the publication and the public notice must be contemporaneous though not simultaneous or immediately after one another
Naturally contemporneity may involve a gap of time and by the very nature of the things the publication in the official Gazette and the public notice in the locality must necessarily be separated by a gap of time
This does not mean that the publication and the public notice may be separated by along interval of time
What is necessary is that the continuity of action should not appear to be broken by a deep gap
If there is publication in the Gaz 593 ette and if there is public notice in the locality the requirements of section 4 1 must be held to be satisfied unless the two are unlinked from each other by a gap of time so large as may lead one to the prima facie conclusion of lack of bona fides in the proceedings for acquisition
If the notification and the public notice are separated by such a large gap of time it may become necessary to probe further to discover if there is any cause for the delay and if the delay has caused prejudice to anyone
We may consider here an argument which is usually advanced against any time gap between the publication in the official Gazette and the public notice in the locality
Section 5 A provides that any person interested in any land which has been notified under section 4 1 may object to the acquisition of the land or of and in the locality within 30 days after the issue of the notification
It is therefore suggested that if the publication of the notification in the Gazette is not immediately followed by a public notice in the locality it may lead to a denial to the person interested of an opportunity to object to the acquisition
We think that this is too narrow an interpretation of section 5 A Notice to interested persons of a proposed acquisition of land is given by publicising a notification to the effect that land in any locality is needed or is likely to be needed for any public purpose in two ways first by causing publication of the substance of the notification to be given at convenient places in the locality
There is no reason to confine the period of 30 days prescribed by section 5 A to one mode
The period of 30 days may be reckoned from either the date of publication in the gazette or the date of public notice of the substance of the notification in the locality whichever is later
In our view that is the only reasonable and practical way of construing section 5 A so as to advance the object of that provision which is to provide a reasonable opportunity to interested persons to oppose the acquisition
We particularly notice that section 5 A does not refer either to the date of publication in the official Gazette or the date of public notice of the substance of the notification in the locality
It speaks of the issue of the notification 
This we consider is significant and in the context the words the issue of the notification  can only signify the completion of the prescribed process rather the twin process of notifying the interested public of the proposed acquisition in the manner provided for by s 4 1 that is by publication in the official Gazette and giving public notice in the locality
In Khub Chand and Ors
vs State of Rajasthan and ors
supra this Court Subba Rao CJ
and Shelat J ruled out the contention 594 that public notice under section 4 1 was not mandatory and held that both publication in the official Gazette and public notice in the locality were pre requisites to further action under section 4 2 of the Land Acquisition Act Non compliance with either of the requisites would render the land acquisition proceedings void
In Narinderjit Singh vs State of Uttar Pradesh supra the question was about the effect of the failure to cause public notice of the substance of the notification to be given at convenient places in the locality
The view taken in Khub Chand s case was reaffirmed and it was further pointed out that the dispensing with of the enquiry contemplated by section 5 A by the issuance of a notification under section 17 4 would make no difference to the necessity for strict compliance with both the requisites of section 4 1
It was said In our judgment the provisions of Section 4 1 cannot be held to be mandatory in one situation and directory in another
Section 4 1 does not contemplate any distinction between those proceedings in which in exercise of the power under Section 17 4 the appropriate government directs that the provisions of Section 5 A shall not apply and where such a direction has not been made dispensing with the applicability of Sec
5 A It lays down in unequivocal and clear terms that both things have to be simultaneously done under Section 4 1 ie a notification has to be published in the official gazette that the land is likely to be needed for any public purpose and the Collector has to cause notice to be given of the substance of such notification at convenient places in the locality in which the land is situated
The scheme of Section 4 is that after the steps contemplated under sub section 1 have been taken the officer authorised by the Government can do the various acts set out in sub section 2
 The observation that both things have to be simultaneously done has led some High Courts to conclude that simultaneity of publication in the gazette and public notice in the locality is a mandatory condition of section 4 1 and so to import an obsessive time factor
It is not so
What was apparently meant to be conveyed was that both things had to be done before the various acts set out in sub section 2 could be undertaken
The question whether the publication in the official Gazette and the public notice in the locality had to be simultaneous or whether there could be a gap of time was not an issue at all in that case
In State of Mysore vs Abdul Rajak supra this Court referring to section 4 1 held the section 595 prescribes two requirements namely 1 a notification to be published in the official Gazette and 2 the Collector causing to give of the substance of such notification to be given at convenient places in the concerned locality and unless both these conditions are satisfied section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act cannot be said to have been complied
The court also added It is only when the notification is published in the official Gazette and it is accompanied or immediately followed by the public notice that a person interested in the property proposed to be acquired can be regarded to have notice of the proposed acquisition
This sentence alongwith the sentence both things have to be simultaneously done under section 4 1 occurring in Narinderjit Singh s case have led to some confusion in some decisions of the High Courts
We have already explained the observation in the Narinderjit singh s case
We are unable to read the observations in State of Mysore vs Abdul Rajak as laying down any general principle that every time gap between the publication in the Gazette and the public notice in the locality is fatal to the acquisition Apart from the physical impossibility of synchronising the publication in the Gazette and the public notice in the locality one can visualise s9 variety of circumstances which may bring about a time gap between the two
There may be a break down of communications there may be a strike or bandh as happened in one of the reported case in Andhra Pradesh Anjuman Ahmediyya Muslim Mission vs State1 or there may be some other justifiable reason
This court did not lay down any general principle that an acquisition would be regarded as avoid if the notification published in the official Gazette was not accompanied or immediately followed by the public notice
What in fact appears to have been said was that a person interested in the property can be regarded to have had notice of the proposed acquisition if both the requirements of section 4 1 are complied with whether simultaneously or one after the other
As we said no invariable rule was laid down that an acquisition would be regarded as void whenever there was a gap of time between the publication in the Gazette and the public notice in the locality
We do not think that it is necessary to refer to the decisions of the High Courts in detail except to say that we consider Satish Kapur vs State of Haryana Rattan Singh vs State Suryanarayana Reddy vs Andhra Pradesh and Mohd Khawaza vs Govt
of A P were wrongly decided and that Sanjivaiah Nagar Depressed and Backward Classes Sangh vs District Collector Hyderabad was rightly decided
596 In the last mentioned case there is reference to several earlier Division Bench judgment and the judgment of the Full Bench which the learned judges had followed
In particular the learned judges have referred to the following observations of a Full Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in Shahnaz Salima vs Govt
of AP a decision which for some unknown reason has not been reported in any of the Law Reports There is no warrant for the contention that the publication in the official Gazette and the publication of the substance of the notification at convenient places in the said locality should be simultaneous and be done precisely at the same time
If that were the intention of the Legislature it could have said so
Something which is not in the section cannot be imported into it
The publication of the substance of section 4 1 notification at convenient places in the locality is required out of anxiety of the Legislature to make it certain that it is brought to the notice of the affected persons
What all that is required is that before any thing is done as contemplated by sub sec
2 the substance of section 4 1 notification must be published in the locality of the land
Several times it may prove to be a physical impossibility if simultaneous publication is insisted upon
It is not possible to think that the Legislature has provided for an impracticable and at the same time unnecessary task
What section 4 1 requires is that section 4 1 notification must be published in the official Gazette and its substance at convenient places in the said locality
 We agree with these observations
The other ground of attack is that if regard is had to the considerable length of time spent on interdepartmental discussion before the notification under section 4 1 was published it would be apparent that there was no justification for invoking the urgency clause under section 17 4 and dispensing with the enquiry under section 5 A
We are afraid we cannot agree with this contention
Very often persons interested in the land proposed to be acquired make various representations to the concerned authorities against the proposed acquisition
This is bound to result in a multiplicity of enquiries communications and discussions leading invariably to delay in the execution of even urgent projects
Very often the delay makes the problem more and more acute and increases the urgency of the necessity for acquisition
It is therefore not possible to agree with 597 the submission that more pre notification delay would render the invocation of the urgency provisions void
We however wish to say nothing about post notification delay
In Jaga Ram vs State of Haryana this court pointed out the fact that the State Government or the party concerned was lethargic at an earlier stage is not very relevant for deciding the question whether on the date on which the notification was issued there was urgency or not In Kash Reddy Papiah v Govt of Andhra Pradesh it was held Delay on the part of the tardy officials to take further action in the matter of acquisition is not sufficient to nullify the urgency which existed at the time of the issue of the notification and to hold that there was never any urgency In the result both the submissions of the learned counsel for the petitioners are rejected and the special leave petitions are dismissed
HSK Petitions dismissed


Summary:
A combined notification under ss4 and 17 and a declaration under section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894 which were published in the official Gazette in regard to the acquisition of certain lands were challenged in a writ petition before the High Court on two grounds 1 that there was delay of 29 days in giving public notice of the substance of notification in the locality after the publication of the notification under section 4 in the Gazette and that delay was fatal to the notification itself and 2 that since the matter was under correspondence between various departments of the Government for nearly eight years before the notification and the declaration were published in the Gazette that showed that there was no urgency necessitating invocation of section 174 of the Act to dispense with the enquiry under section 5 A
The High Court dismissed the writ petition in limine
The present special leave petitions were directed against dismissal of the writ petition
Dismissing the special leave petitions  HELD Section 41 of the Land Acquisition Act does not pres 589 cribe that public notice of the substance of the notification should be given in the locality simultaneously with the publication of the notification in the official Gazetter or immediately thereafter
Publication in the official Gazette and public notice in the locality are two vital steps required to be taken under s41 before proceeding to take the next step of entering upon the land under section 42
The time factor is not the vital element of section 41 and there is no warrant for reading the words simultaneously  or immediately thereafter  into section 41 But since the steps contemplated by section 42 cannot be undertaken unless publication is made and public notice given as contemplated by section 41 it is implicit that the publication and the public notice must be contemporaneous though not simultaneous or immediately after one another
Naturally contemporeneity may involve a gap of time and by the very nature of the things the publication in the official Gazette and the public notice in the locality must necessarily be separated by a gap of time
This does not mean that the publication and the public notice may be separated by a long interval of time
What is necessary is that the continuity of action should not appear to be broken by a deep gap
If there is publication in the Gazette and if there is public notice in the locality the requirements of section 41 must be held to be satisfied unless the two are unlinked from each other by a gap of time so large as may lead one to the prima facie conclusion of lack of bona fides in the proceedings for acquisition
If the notification and the public notice are separated by such a large gap of time it may become necessary to probe further to discover if there is any cause for the delay and that if the delay has caused prejudice to any one
592 H and 593 AB The submission that if the publication of the notification in the Gazette is not immediately followed by public notice in the locality it may lead to a denial to the person interested of an opportunity to object to the acquisition under section 5 A has no force
Section 5A provides that any person interested in any land which has been notified under section 41 may object to the acquisition of the land or of any land in the locality within 30 days after the issue of the notification
The section does not refer either to the date of publication in the official Gazette or the date of public notice of the substance of the notification in the locality
It speaks of the issue of the notification which in the context can only signify the completion of the prescribed process rather the twin process of notifying the interested public of the proposed acquisition in the manner provided for by section 41 that is by publication in the official Gazette and giving public notice in the locality
Therefore the period of 30 days may be reckoned from either the date of publication in the Gazette or the date of public notice of the substance of the notification in the locality whichever is later
593CG Khub Chand vs State of Rajasthan   Narinderjit Singh v State of
Uttar Pradesh AIR 1973 SC 552 State of Mysore vs Abdul Rajak  and Anjuman Ahmediyya Muslim Mission vs State AIR 1980 AP 246 referred to
Sanjivaiah Nagar Depressed and Backward Classes Sangh vs District 590 Collector Hyderabad AIR 1983 AP 142 and Smt
Shahnaz Salima vs Govt
of AP WP No 335376 decided by a Full Bench of Andhra Pradesh High Court on Sept 26 1978 approved
Satish Kapur vs State of Haryana AIR 1982 P and H 276 Rattan Singh v State AIR 1976 Pand H 279 FB C Suryanarayana vs Govt
of Andhra Pradesh AIR 1983 A P 17 and Mohammad Khawaza vs Govt
of Andhra Pradesh AIR 1982 NOC 270 AP overruled
It is not possible to agree with the submission that mere pre notification delay would render the invocation of the urgency provisions void
Very often persons interested in the land proposed to be acquired make various representations to the concerned authorities against the proposed acquisition
This is bound to result in a multiplicity of enquiries communications and discussions leading invariably to delay in the execution of even urgent projects
Very often the delay makes the problem more and mere acute and increases the urgency of the necessity for acquisition
596H 597A and 596G H Jaga Ram vs State of Haryana  and Kashi Reddy Papaiah vs Govt of Andhra Pradesh
AIR 1975 AP 269 referred to