ivil Appeal No 2458 and SLP No 9019 of 1980 From the Judgment and Order dated 712
1979 of the Allahabad High Court in Civil Misc
Writ Petition No 3174 of 1975 RN Trivedi Additional Advocate General Gopal Subramaniam and Ms Shobha Dikshit for the Appellants
FS Nariman Raja Ram Agarwal Yogeshwar Prasad Mrs Rani Chhabra and Ms Suman Bagga for the respondent
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by DESAI J
Respondent Raja Ram Jaiswal moved Civil Miscellaneous Writ Petition No 3174 of 1975 under article 226 of the Constitution in the High Court of Judicature at Allahadad questioning the validity of the Notification dated February 6 1975 issued under Sec
41 of the Land Acquistion Act  Act  for short as also a notice dated March 6 1975 served upon him pursuant to the afore mentioned notification
The impugned notification was published in the UP Government Gazette dated February 15 1975
By this impugned notification land bearing Plot No 62 approximately admeasuring 8265 sq
was sought to be acquired as being needed for a public purposse namely for extension of Hindi Sangrahalaya of the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan Prayag
A substances of this notification was published in the locality where the land sought to be acquired is situate
On March 22 1975 a corrigendum dated March 13 1975 was published by which the impugned notification dated February 15 1975 was to stand corrected Plot No 26 instead of 62 and the area sought to be acquired to be read as 2865 sq
1000 instead of 8265 sq
After the publication of the corrigendum the petitioner sought amendment of the petition which was granted
Validity of the amended notification was challenged on diverse grounds
However at the hearing of the petition the challenge was confined to the following four grounds as summarised in the judgment of the High Court
They may be extracted 1
Notification dated 6275 issued under Sec
4 of the Land Acquisition Act is invalid in as much as it had been issued without first complying with the provisions of rule 4 of the Land Acquisition Companies Rules 1963
Acquisition proceedings are mala fide
Notice under section 41 of the Act was served upon the petitioner on 6th March 1975 when only two days time was left for filing objections under Section 5 A of the Land Acquisition Act
This rendered the proceedings illegal
The notification under Section 41 did not relate to plot No 26 belonging to the petitioner
Proceedings to acquire the said plot are therefore without jurisdiction
 After the petition was amended two additional grounds of challenge were pressed on behalf of the respondent
They are 1
The notification dated 13th March 1975 is invalid for the very same reason for which the notification dated 6th February 1973 is claimed to be invalid
The Land Acquisition proceedings are invalid inasmuch as the notification dated 13th March 1975 was neither published nor was its substance notified in the locality as also because no notice thereof had been served upon the petitioner
 Negativing all the challenges except the one that as there was failure to cause public notice of the substance of notification under Sec
41 to be published at convenient place in the locality on 1001 this short ground the impugned notification was quashed
Hence this appeal by the Collector Allahabad and the Land Acquisition Officer by special leave
Respondent who was the original petitioner but is respondent in the appeal filed by the Collector will be referred to as the petitioner in this judgment
Petitioner field Special Leave Petition No 9019 of 1980 against the same judgment contending that the High Court committed an error in rejecting the challenge to the validity of the impugned notification on the ground of legal mala fides as also on the ground of non compliance with Rule 4 of the Land Acquisition Companies Rules 1963
As both these matters arise out of the same judgment they were heard together and are being disposed of by a common judgment
It may be mentioned that connected Civil Appeal No 2437 of 1981 was to be taken up for hearing after the hearing concluded in D the present appeal and therefore the judgment in this matter was postponed because the observations in one were likely to have some impact on the disposal on merits of the contentions in the cognate appeal
Though very much delayed by circumstances beyond our control few days back the hearing in the cognate appeal is over and therefore both the appeals can now be disposed of though by separate judgments
A brief resume of the facts leading to the writ petition field in the High Court would be quite instructive in this case
The Hindi Sahitya Sammelan  Sammelan  for short for whose benefit the land was sought to be acquired was initially formed as a voluntary organisation in 1910 and on January 8 1914 it was registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act retaining the same name
Some where in 1950 difference arose between the members of the society and the attempt to alter the constitution of the society ultimately led to litigation
UP Legislature enacted an Act styled as UP Hindi Sahitya Sammelan Act No 36 of 1956 under which a statutory body was created under the name of Hindi Sahitya Sammelan
The statutory body was to take over the management and properties of the society
The Act was however struck down as unconstitutional in Damyanti Naranga vs Union of India  Orsl The pre existing Sammelan which was a registered society 1  1002 continued to function as such
It is for the benefit of the Sammelan that the land involved in the dispute was sought to be acquired
According to the Sammelan it is in need of land for building Sangrahalaya  which was roughly translated as museum cum library cum reading room
At the instance of the Sammelan Allahabad Municipal Board agreed to hand over the land and building in which a municipal school was located situated at Kamta Prasad Kakkar Road adjacent to the Central office and Press of the Sammelan on certain conditions
The Sammelan needed the land as it was then declared to establish a museum
The land with the school building thereon was transferred to the Sammelan in 1953
It may be mentioned that even till today the area of land admeasuring 7315 sq
in possession of the Sammelan is Lying vacant and for the quarter of a century museum has not come up
This aspect is mentioned in some detail as it has an impact on the contention canvassed in these appeals
Petitioner Jaiswal along with the members of his family purchased land bearing plot No 26 with a building thereon admeasuring 2978 sq
situated at K P Kakkar Road in March 1970
The petitioner wanted to build a sound proof air conditioned cinema theatre on the plot No 26 purchased by him
The plan for the proposed theatre was sanctioned both by the District Magistrate and the local municipality in December 1970
It may be recalled here that the judgment of this Court holding Hindi Sahitya Sammelan Act unconstitutional was rendered on February 23 1971
The Sammelan was wholly opposed to the construction of a theatre near its campus as in its view a theatre and a research cum study centre can go ill together
Therefore when the petitioner applied for a certificate of approval under Rule 3 read with rule 72 of the UP Cinematograph Rules 1951 for construction of a cinema theatre authorities of the Sammelan raised a storm of protest sometimes peaceful occasionally likely to turn violent impelling authorities to impose restrictive orders under Sec 144 Code of Criminal Procedure
Sammelan also submitted a long memorandum setting out its objections with a view to persuading the authorities not to grant a certificate of approval for construction of a cinema II 1  1003 building
Overrullng the objections the District Magistrate the Licencing Authority under the UP Cinemas Regulation Act 1955 granted the requisite certificate of approval under Rule 3 which would in law imply that having regard to the provisions of the 1955 Act and 1951 Rules there was no legal impediment to constructing a cinema theatre on plot No 26
Thereupon Secretary of the Sammelan addressed a letter to the Chief Minister of State of UP complaining against the grant of the permission by the District Magistrate and requesting the Chief Minister to cancel the permission
Ultimately having failed to thwart the grant of certificate of approval
the Sammelan wrote a letter on October 13 1971 for acquiring land bearing Plot No 26
It may be recalled that the certificate of approval for constructing a cinema building was granted by the District Magistrate on March 24 1972
The Sammelan addressed various letters to various authorities including the then Prime Minister of India requesting them to cancel the certificate of approval granted to the petitioner
Ultimately on January 31 1974 a notification under Sec
41 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894 was issued stating therein that the land bearing plot No
26 admeasuring approx
2865 sq
was needed for a public purpose namely for extension of Hindi Sangrahalaya of Hindi Sahitya Sammelan Prayag 
This notification was published in the UP Government Gazette on February 9 1974A notice under Sec
41 bearing the same date was served upon the petitioner as also the same was published in the locality
The petitioner challenged the validity of this notification on diverse grounds in Writ Petition No 1932174 and as a measure of interim relief the High Court stayed further proceeding that may be taken to acquire the land
In the meantime by notification dated February 6 1975 the earlier notification under Sec
41 dated January 31 1974 was cancelled and a fresh notification was issued to acquire land bearing plot No 62 admeasuring 8265 sq
yds for the earlier mentioned public purpose 
Consequently the writ petition in which the validity of the earlier notification was questioned was disposed of as infructuous
The second notification dated February 6 1975 was published in the UP Gazette on February 15 1975A notice dated March 6 1975 under Sec
5A of the Land Acquisition Act was served upon the petitioner inviting him to file his objection if there be any against the proposed acquisition
The petitioner filed detailed objections on March 8 1975 inter alia contending that the acquisition is for a 1004 company and the pre requisite for acquisition for a company having not been carried out the acquisition is bad in law
It was also contended that the petitioner is not the owner of plot No 62 admeasuring 8265 sq
Promptly on March 13 1975 a corrigendum was issued and published in the Gazette on March 22 1975 correcting the notification dated February 6 1975 to read that instead of plot No 62 plot No 26 be read and instead of area 8265 sq
2865 sq
be read
In between the issue of the notification and the corrigendum the petitioner filed Writ Petition 317475 questioning the validity Or the notification dated February 6 1975
The High Court struck down the notification as invalid and during the pendancy of the writ petition in the High Court further continuance e of the acquisition proceedings were stayed
If the petitioner questioned the validity of the notification on ground of mala fides he ought to have joined Sammelan as respondent
Having failed to implead a proper party he behaved curiously in opposing the application of the Sammelan for being impleaded as a party
The High Court was in error in rejecting the application
Therefore when the Sammelan moved an application for intervention under Order XX rule 3 of the Supreme Court Rules 1966 we granted the same and Mr SN Kacker learned counsel appeared for the Sammelan at the hearing of these appeals and addressed his oral arguments and submitted written submissions
The High Court struck down the notification holding that in order to be a valid notification under Sec
41 it has to be published or notified for general information in the Official Gazette and for purposes of Sec
SA of the Act it would be taken to have been published on the date of such publication in the Official Gazette and the second part of Sec
41 requires the publication of the substance of the notification in the locality  This having not been complied with the notification was bad and invalid
The correctness of this view is questioned on behalf of the appellants
After scruitinising the evidence placed on record the High Court has recorded a finding that the substance of the notification was not published in the locality either after 15th February 1975 when the notification dated February 6 1975 was first published in the Official Gazette or after March 22 1975 when the corrigendum was 1005 published in the Official Gazette and thus the requirement of the second part of Sec
41 has not been complied with
The finding that there was no such publication as herein indicated was not seriously questioned and in fact could not be questioned
A few facts will affirmatively establish it
The first notification dated January 31 1974 was published in the official Gazette dated February 9 1974 and in respect of which a notice was published in the locality in March 1974A copy of the notice was served on the petitioner on March 6 1974
This notification bore the number 78 VIII LAQ and it was in respect of plot No 26 admeasuring 2865 sq
This notification was cancelled and superseded by another notification No 552 VIII LAQ dated February 6 1975 which was published in the Official Gazette dated February 15 1975
This latter notification clearly recites that the earlier notification dated February 9 1974 is thereby cancelled
In the latter notification dated Feb 6 19751 the land proposed to be acquired was shown to be plot No 65 admeasuring 8265 sq
Admittedly notice of the substance of this notification was not published in the locality
The petitioner had nothing to do with land bearing plot No 62 admeasuring 8265 sq
As the previous notification was cancelled he had nothing to worry about the second notification which has no relevance to the plot belonging to him
The corrigendum dated March 13 1975 was issued and published in the Official Gazette dated March 22 1975 correcting the plot number and the area and the corrected entry was to be in reference to plot No 26 and area to be acquired was to be 2865 sq
Admittedly there was no notice of publication of the substance of the notification dated February 15 1975 nor of the corrigendum dated March 22 1975 in the lacality
The High Court was therefore right in holding that in respect of the later notification and corrigendum no notice was published in the locality and latter part of Sec
41 was not complied with
41 in its application to the State of UP read as under 41 Whenever it appears to the appropriate Government or Collector 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 substance of 1006 such notification to be given at convenient places in the said locality
 By Land Acquisition UP Amendment And Validation Act Vlll of 1974 the section was amended to read as under 41 Whether it appears to the appropriate Government and the Collector 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 except in the case of any land to which by virtue of a direction of the State Government under Sub section 4 of Sec 17 the provisions of Sec
5 A shall not apply the Collector shall cause public notice of the substance of such notification to be given at convenient places in the said locality
 Though this amendment of 1974 is subsequent to the impugned notification yet some reference was made to it to buttress the sub mission that the only purpose of a notification under Sec
41 and the public notice in the locality is to make functionally effective the provisions of Sec
5A so that the persons interested in the land sought to be acquired can canvass his objections against the proposed acquisition
We shall presently deal with it
Mr SN Kacker for the intervener and Mr Dikshit for the State of UP urged that ordinarily courts do not interfere at the 
stage of Sec
4 notification because it merely constitutes a proposal which will be meticulously examined after the objections are filed under Sec
5A by the person interested in the land wherein all aspects of the matter can be threadbare gone into and examined
Broadly stated one cannot take serious exception to this submission
However as a notification under Sec 4 1 initiates the proceedings for acquisition of land aud uses the expression shall  the mandate of the legislature becomes clear and therefore the infirmities therein cannot be wholly overlooked on the specious plea that the courts do not interdict at the stage of a mere proposal
bare perusal of Sec 4 1 clearly shows that in order to comply with the statutory requirements therein set out a notification 1007 stating therein the land which is needed or is likely to be needed for a public purpose  has to be published in the official Gazette
The second part of the sub section provides that the Collector has to cause public notice of the substance of such notification to be given at convenient places in the locality in which the land proposed to be acquired is situated
Both the conditions are held by a catena of decisions to be mandatory Whether the second condition is mandatory or directory is no more res integra
In Khub Chand and Ors
vs State of Rajasthan and Ors1 Subba Rao CJ speaking for the court observed that the statutory intention is therefore clear namely that the giving of public notice is mandatory
If so the notification issued under section 4 without complying with the said mandatory direction would be void and the land acquisition proceedings taken pursuant thereto would be equally void  While reaching this conclusion the Court distinguished the decision in Babu Barkya Thakur vs The State of Bombay2 wherein it was held that any defect in the notification under Sec 4 is not fatal to the validity of the proceedings particularly when the acquisition is for a company and the purpose has to be investigated under section 5A or section 40 necessarily after the issue of the notification under section 4 of the Act 
The Court pointed out that the defect with which the notification in Bahu Barkya Thakur s case sufferred was of a formal nature and did not go to the root of the matter
However the decision is not an authority for the proposition that if a public notice of the notification was not given as prescribed by section 4 it can be ignored
The pertinent observation of the court is that such an approach would constitute rewriting The section
The court also referred to Smt
Somavanti and Ors
vs The State of Punjab  Ors3 and quoted with approval the statement therein made that a valid notification under sub section
I of Sec 4 is a condition precedent t  the making of a declaration under sub section
1 of Sec 6
This view has been consistently followed and was approved in State of Mysore vs Abdul Razak Sahib4 wherein it was observed that in the case of a notification under Sec 4 of the Land Acquisition Act the law has prescribed that in addition to the publication of the notification in the Official Gazette the Collector must also give publicity of the substance of the notification in the concerned locality
Unless both these conditions are satisfied section 4 1  at 125
2 3 4  1008 of the Land Acquisition Act cannot be said to have been complied with
The publication of a notice in the locality is a mandatory requirement
Mr Kacker however drew our attention to a few more observations in the judgment wherein it was said that there is an important purpose behind publication of the substance of the notification in the locality because in the absence of such publication the interested persons may not be able to file their objections challenging the proposed acquisition and they will be denied an opportunity afforded by section 5A which confers a very valuable right
Relying on this observation Mr Kacker urged that if the underlying purpose behind publication of a notice in the locality is to give an opportunity to the person interested in the land to object to the acquisition where in a case the purpose is achieved as in this case the petitioner having filed his objections the failure to publish the substance of the notification in the locality need not be treated fatal and cannot invalidate the proceedings
The submission as presented is very persuasive and but for binding precedents we would have accorded considerable attention to it
But we would not whittle down a mandate of legislation recognised by a long line of decisions solely depending upon the facts of a given case
Further the submission is predicated upon an assumption that the sole purpose behind publication of substance of notification in locality is to make requirements of Sec
5A functionally effective
The assumption as would be pointed out is not well founded
In fact the court in the last mentioned case went so far as approving the decision of the Mysore High Court in Gangadharaih vs State of Mysore  Orsl wherein it was ruled that when a notification under section 4 1 is published in the official Gazette and it is accompanied by or immediately followed by the public notice that a person interested in the property pro posed to be acquired can be regarded to have had notice of the proposed acquisition  This is a mandatory requirement for legal compliance with requirements of Sec 4 1
In Narendra Bahadur Singh and Anr
vs State of UP  Ors2 this Court reiterated that a publication of the notice in the locality as required by the second part of section 4 1 is mandatory and unless that notice is given in accordance with the provisions contained therein the entire acquisition proceedings are vitiated
Repelling the contention that 1 2  1009 the only purpose behind publication of a notice in the locality is to give opportunity to the person interested in the land to prefer objections under Sec
5A which confers a valuable right it was held that even though in the facts of that case the inquiry under section 5A was dispensed with by a direction under Sec
17 4 of the Act the failure to comply with the second condition in Sec 4 1 is fatal
It was pertinently observed that provisions of Sec
41 cannot be held to be mandatory in one situation and directory in another and therefore it cannot be said that the only purpose behind making the publication of notice in the locality mandatory is to give an opportunity to the persons interested in the land to file objections under Sec
Of course what other object it seeks to subserve has been left unsaid
But the answer is not far to seek
At least we have no doubt that the only visible and demonstralle purpose behind publication of the substance of the notification under Sec 4 1 in the locality where the land proposed to be acquired is situated is to give the persons interested in the land due opportunity to submit their considered objections against the proposed notification
Incidentally it may be pointed out that after the 1974 amendment Sec 4 1 on its true interpretation may unmistakably indicate that where the enquiry under Sec
5A is not dispensed with by resorting to Sec 17 4 compliance with the second part of Sec 4 would be mandatory
We however do not propose to go into this aspect because the amendment is subsequent to the notification
Mr Kacker however on behalf of the interveners while conceding that there cannot be a valid acquisition unless a notification is published in the Official Gazette and a substance of the notification is published in the locality urged that publication in locality need not necessarily follow the publication of the notification in the Official Gazette but it may even precede the same because what is of importance is the decision to acquire the notification and publication of the notice are mere formal expressions of the decision of the Govt
to start acquisition proceedings
Proceeding along it was said that the second requirement of Sec
4 1 v z publication of the notice in the locality is only to make effective the provisions of Sec
5A and that such minor defect cannot invalidate notification under Sec 4
To substantiate this submission reliance was placed upon the decisions in Babu Barkya Thakur s case State of Madhya 1010 Pradesh  Ors
vs Vishnu Prasad Sharma  Orsl and Narendra Bahadur Singh s case
All these decisions do not bear out or substantiate the submission of Mr Kacker for the reasons already mentioned
Assuming that a notification in the Official Gazette is a formal expression of the decision of the Government the decision of the Government is hardly relevant unless it takes the concrete shape and form by publication in the Official Gazette
Where a decision of the Government to be effective and valid has to be notified in the Government Gazette the decision itself does not become effective unless a notification in the Official Gazette follows
In Mahendra Lal Jaini vs The State of Uttar Pradesh  Ors2 it was held that a notification under Sec
4A of the is required to be published in the Gazette and unless it is so published it is of no effect
Logically the same view must be adopted for a notification under Sec 4
Therefore assuming that a notification is a formal expression of a decision of the Government to acquire land unless the decision is notified in the Government Gazette by an appropriate notification the proceedings for acquisition cannot be said to have been initiated and the decision would remain a paper decision
Sec 4 1 further requires that the Collector shall cause public notice of the substance of such notification to be given at convenient places in the said locality  The expression such notification  in the latter part of Sec 4 1 and sequence of events therein enumerated would clearly spell out that first the Government should reach a decision to acquire land then publish a notification under Sec4 1 and simultaneously or within a reasonable time from the date of the publication of the notification cause a notice to be published containing substance of such notification meaning thereby that notification which is published
Obviously therefore there cannot be a publication in the locality prior to the issuance of the notification
The submission of Mr Kacker does not commend to us
In this context it was next contended that at any rate the petitioner has not suffered any prejudice by the failure of the Government to publish a notice in the locality because the petitioner has filed detailed objections against the proposed acquisition
If the 1 2 1963 Supp 1 SCR 912
1011 only purpose behind publishing the notice in the locality was to give an opportunity to the persons interested in the laid to file their objections the submission would have merited consideration but the same has been expressly negatived and therefore it is futile to examine the same
To be brutally frank if this was the only ground for invalidating the notification in the backdrop of facts we would have our serious reservations in upholding the decision though as the law stands the High Court was perfectly justified in reaching this conclusion
Our reservations have nothing to do with the perfectly legal view taken by the High Court
They stem from the facts of this case and our understanding of the purpose behind publication of notice as set out by us earlier
In such a situation we would have developed the concept of prejudice and the absence of it resulting in negativing the contention
But there are other formidable challenges to the validity of the impugned notification which of course have not found favour with the High Court but we are inclined to take a different view of the matter
Therefore we let the decision of the High Court on this point stand
Turning to the petition for special leave filed by the petitioner we grant special leave to appeal and proceed to examine the two challenges to the validity of the notification under Sec
41 which have been negatived by the High Court
The petitioner questioned the validity of the notification inter alia on the ground that the acquisition was malafide and that the acquisition being for a Company it would be invalid for failure to comply with the provisions of rule 4 of the Land Acquisition Companies Rules 1963
The High Court negatived both the challanges
Mr Nariman learned counsel for the petitioner invited us to examine them
The relevant averments on the question of mala fides as set out in the writ petition filed in the High Court may be briefly summarised
As the objections by the Sammelan for not granting a certificate of approval for constructing a cinema building on Plot No 26 were not accepted by the Licensing authority and a certificate of approval was subsequently granted to the petitioner the Sammelan in order to achieve the same object namely not to permit a theatre to be constructed at the place moved the authorities for acquiring the land
It is averred that the genesis of the proceeding for acquisition is not in the need of the Sammelan but its failure to stop the cinema theatre coming up and thus the purported need is non 1012 existent and the initiation of the acquisition proceedings was mala fide
Its sole purpose is to deprive the petitioner of the cinema business which he would legally carry on
Frankly the averments are not very specific clear precise and to the point
But the comulative effect of the allegations is that Sammelan being actuated by the ulterior motive to thwart the petitioners  project to construct a cinema building resorted to the dubious method of seeking acquisition of the land even though it had no need present or in near future of the land in question
Obviously if such be the allegation the Sammelan ought to have been impleaded as a party to the writ petition Not only the Sammelan was not impleaded as the party but when the Sammelan moved an application for intervention or for being joined as a party the petitioner was ill advised to object to the same and unfortunately the objection prevailed with the High Court
We are unable to appreciate both the objections and the view taken by the High Court
Therefore when Nariman pressed his petition for special leave to appeal against the rejection of the challenge on the afore mentioned two grounds we made it abundantly clear that we would be least interested in examining the challenge founded on the ground of mala fides in the absence of the Sammelan
The Sammelan had moved a petition for intervention which it must be stated in fairness to Mr Nariman was not objected in this Court and we made it abundantly clear that the request for being impleaded as a party in the High Court ought not to have been objected
Accordingly the petition for intervention was granted and the Sammelan was given an opportunity to file its affidavit as well as any material that it chooses to place on record
According to the rules the interveners are not entitled to address oral submissions to the court but in the background of the facts of this case we gave full opportunity to Mr Kacker to address oral submissions
It is in the backdrop of these facts that we propose to examine the challenge founded on the ground of mala fides
A few facts will have to be recapitulated
After the petitioner purchased the Plot No 26 and submitted an application on July 6 1971 to the licensing authority for grant of a certificate of approval as envisaged by rule 3 read with rule 7 of UP Cinematograph Rules 1951  1951 Rules  for short for constructing a cinema building on Plot No 26 the Sammelan promptly objected to the grant of certificate of approval on the ground that existence of a cinema theatre within the vicinity of the campus of the institute of culture learning 1013 and research like the Sammelan would be destructive of the environment and the atmosphere of the institute and existence of a cinema theatre at such a place would be an incongruity
May be it might be the honest and genuine belief of the office bearers of the Sammelan that an institute of learning and research cannot co exist with a cinema theatre in its vicinity and that the latter may pollute the educational and cultural environment The District Magistrate as the licensing authority after corresponding with the State authorities granted the certificate of approval on February 24 1974
On October 13 1971 the Sammelan sent a communication addressed to the Chief Minister of UP in which it was stated that a cinema building should not be permitted to be constructed in the vicinity of the campus of the Sammelan
The letter also refers to an earlier application addressed to the Chief Minister requesting him to intervene so that the proposed cinema house may not be permitted to be constructed near the campus of the Sammelan because it is likely to cause nuisance and interfere with the activities and the academic environment of the Sammelan
Further request was made in the letter that administrative sanction may be granted for acquisition of land on which the cinema building is proposed to be constructed offering that the Sammelan is ready to pay whatever compensation that may have to be paid for acquisition of the land and the building thereon
The Ditrict Magistrate by his letter dated November 8 1971 addressed to the Pradhan Mantri of the Sammelan pointed out that the Revenue Board had directed that no institution should be given land more than that required for its purpose and that where the land is to be acquired by a body such a body itself must make an attempt to directly purchase the land
Then comes a sentence which may be extracted It is also evident by your above referred letter that you stood in need of acquiring land because the owner of the land wants to construct a cinema house over it and the institution does not want that a cinema should be constructed over the same
It is clear by the above circumstances that the land is not so much required by the institution as for the construction of the cinema house
Therefore I would request you to consider the matter and if your aim is that the cinema house is not constructed you may resort to other means underlining ours 1014 In the meantime on December 16 1971 Joint Secretary to the Government of UP wrote to the District Magistrate enquiring as to whether in granting the certificate of approval Rule 7 2 of the 1951 Rules was violated What is the sphere of the activities of the Sammelan does it undertake teaching or other such activities by virtue of which it may be placed in the category of Educational Institutions if for some other reasons construction of cinema house on proposed site is against public interest seek Government s approval in this respect specifying the reasons thereon obtain written objections from the Sammelan if required take Government s approval making recommendations and intimate whether cinema building will be sound proof  On March 24 1972 the District Magistrate as the licensing authority sent a detailed reply inter
alia stating that the Sammelan is not an educational institution nor a residential institution and it has no regular programme of class teaching and it cannot be styled as an educational institution within the meaning of the expression in rule 7
He also opined that having regard to all relevant factors and other circumstances construction of a cinema building on the proposed site is not against the public interest
He also opined that the approved plans of the building show an air conditioned sound proof cinema theatre which would enhance the beautification of the locality and would enrich the coffers of the State
It was lastly pointed out that the distance between the proposed cinema building and the campus of the Sammelan was about 95 feet as crow fly measure
He concluded by saying that having regard to all the circumstances he was of the opinion that public interest in no way would be damaged if the permission is granted for construction of the cinema house in question on the proposed site and that he was proceeding to grant permission to the applicant which is being forwarded to the Government
After the receipt of the permission the old existing building on Plot No 26 was demolished by the petitioner and construction of a modern cinema theatre fully air conditioned and sound proof was commenced On August 7 1983 the Sammelan moved a formal application requesting for initiating acquisition proceedings of land included in Plot No 26 as it was needed by the Sammelan for the purpose of extension of Hindi Sangrahalya Museum 
Skipping over some of the intermediate steps including a request to the then 1015 Prime Minister to intervene and thwart the cinema project when the first notification under Sec 4 1 was published the purpose for which the land was to be acquired was shown to be extension of Hindi Sangrahalya at Hindi Sahitya Sammelan Prayag 
Way back on July 22 1949 the Sammelan with a view to establishing a museum in connection with a Hindi University approached the Allahabad Municipal Board to transfer a middle school building along with the Gymnacia attached to it
The Municipal Board unanimously sanctioned the proposal to handover the building of the school with appurtenant land situated at Kanta Prasad Kakkar Road that is the road on which the irritating cinema theatre has come up to the Sammelan subject to the condition that the Sammelan would construct a school building at South Malaka at a cost of Rs 30000
The Sammelan accepted the condition and complied with it
The Government accorded sanction to the proposal on September 9 1953 and since then the school building with the land over which it is standing and the Gymnacia were transferred to the Sammelan
It is an admitted position that an area of 7315 sq
Of land in the Sammelan campus is lying vacant open and unutilised till today that is for thirty two years
This will have a direct impact on the alleged need of the Sammelan of the land propsed to be acquired
At the time of taking over the school building the Sammelan had contemplated putting up a museum
That again is the purpose for which the land involved in this appeal is sought to be acquired at the instance of the Sammelan
When this rather disturbing position emerged on analysis and evaluation of uncontroverted facts it was suggested that the Sammelan wanted to construct a building for Natyashala and Rangmanch for which plans have not been prepared
All these inconvenient facts found reflection in the order sheet of the Collector dated September 3 1973 in which it is stated that since the authorities of the Sammelan have capacity to approach the highest authority of the democratic Government as is evident from the letters received from their office the office is not capable to offer any comments whatever might be the proposal whether it is according to the rules or against the rules or the same should be allowed to remain as it is etc
 Later on the Sammelan stated that after the land is acquired it would be utilised for implementation of some new schemes
Thus though the Sammelan indisputably had and has open land in its possession from 1953 till 1973 it did not construct the museum for which it had obtained land from the 1016 Allahabad Municipal Board
That apart it again moved the Government for acquiring the land of the petitioner under the pretext that it is needed for constructing a museum
When the facts counter indicated the purported need it came out with a suggestion that it proposed to construct Natyashala and Rangmanch
One may in passing a bit humourously note that Natyashala is a place where dramatic performances are staged and Rangmanch is a place where dances are performed
The Sammelan would put up with them
That would show that such performances would not be destructive of educational and cultural environment of the campus of the Sammelan but a modern air conditioned sound proof cinema building would
We leave this without comment
But as these proposals failed to carry conviction its latest stand is that let the land come they would devise schemes for its proper utilisation as and when the land is made available
This demonstrates the hollowness of the alleged need and removes the veil thereby disclosing the real purpose for acquiring the land
Mr Kacker urged that quitting the quibbling so far resorted to the Court may examine a forthright submisson that the Sammelan s interest in getting the land acquired is not merely to construct Sangrahalya but it is equally if not more interested in not having a cinema theatre at the place where it is being constructed
Shorn of embellishment the Sammelan would not tolerate the theatre and therefore when it failed to thwart the grant of certificate of approval and cinema theatre came up it took the second step to achieve the first mentioned object viz seek acquisition of land to satisfy an imaginary or non existent need
The challenge on the ground of legal mala fides to the validity of the notification under Sec 4 1 a preliminary step in the process of acquisition has to be examined evaluated and answered in the backdrop of these facts
It can be stated without fear of contradiction that need of the land for Sangrahalya is a figment of imagination conjured up to provide an ostensible purpose for acquisition
There is enough land roughly admeasuring 7315 sq
Lying vacant and unutilised with the Sammelan for over a quarter of a century
The Sangrahalya has not come up though this was the land which was taken from the Municipal Board for the avowed object of putting up a Sangrahalya
The Sammelan moved on to Rangamanch and Natyashala and then ultimately adopted a position that when the land is made available 1017 schemes will be devised for its proper use
Could it be said with confidence that the Sammelan was ever interested in acquiring the land for effectuating any of its objects
It has neither the plans nor the wherewithals nor any specific object for which it needs land and it is unable to use over years the land already available at its disposal
Therefore Mr Kacker took bold and to some extent an imaginative stand
He said that in seeking acquisition of the land the Sammelan is actuated by a desire not to have the cinema theatre in its vicinity or if it has come into existence to do away with the same
When these facts stare into the face can it be said with confidence that the Government or the Collector in whom the power to acquire land is vested exercised the power for the purpose for which it is vested or are they guilty of legal mala fides
The High Court disposed of the contention by an over simplification of this tangled web of facts without making the least attempt at unearthing the real motives of the Sammelan The tell tale facts disclose motives and unravel hidden objects The High Court by passed them by simply observing that there is nothing on record to indicate that the Collector or the State Government are inclined to act against the petitioner for any improper motives
The High Court unfortunately missed the real contention of legal mala fides as also an important piece of evidence that the Collector on whom the statute confers power to initiate proceeding for acquisition himself was satisfied that Sammellan sought acquisition not because it requires the land but it wants to stop or do away with the cinema theatre
This becomes evident from the letter of the District Magistrate dated November 8 1971
It is well settled that where power is conferred to achieve a certain purpose the power can be exercised only for achieving that purpose
Sec 4 1 confers power on the Government and the Collector to acquire land needed for a public purpose
The power to acquire land is to be exercised for carrying out a public purpose
If the authorities of the Sammelan cannot tolerate the existence of a cinema theatre in its vicinity can it be said that such a purpose would be a public purpose  May be the authority of the Sammelan may honestly believe that the existence of a cinema theatre may have the pernicious tendency to vitiate the equcational and cultural environment of the institution and therefore it would like to wish 1018 away a cinema theatre in its vicinity
That hardly constitutes public purpose
We have already said about its proclaimed need of land for putting up Sangrahalya
It is an easy escape route whenever Sammelan wants to take over some piece of land
Therefore it can be fairly concluded that the Sammelan was actuated by extraneous and irrelevant considerations in seeking acquisition of the land the statutory authority having known this fact yet proceeded to exercise statutory power and initiated the process of acquisition
Does this constitute legal mala fides Where power is conferred to achieve a purpose it has been repeatedly reiterated that the power must be exercised reasonably and in good faith to effectuate the purpose
And in this context in good faith  means for legitimate reasons 
Where power is exercised for extraneous or irrelevant considerations or reasons it is unquestionably a colourableq exercise of power or fraud on power and the exercise of power is vitiated
If the power to acquire land is to be exercised it must be exercised bona fide for the statutory purpose and for none other
If it is exercised for an extraneous irrelevant or non germane consideration the acquiring authority can be charged with legal mala fides In such a situation there is no question of any personal ill will or motive
In Municipal Council of Sydney vs Compbell1 it was observed that irrelevant considerations on which power to acquire land is exercised would vitiate compulsory purchase orders or scheme depending on them
In State of Punjab vs Gurdial Singh  Ors 2 acquisition of land for constructing a grain market was challenged on the ground of legal malafides Upholding the challenge this Court speaking through Krishna Iyer J explained the concept of legal malafides in his hitherto inimitable language diction and style and observed as under Pithily put bad faith which invalidates the exercise of power sometimes called colourable exercise or fraud on power and oftentimes overlaps motives passions and satisfactions is the attainment of ends beyond the sanctioned purposes of power by simulation or pretension of gaining a legitimate goal
If the use of the power is for the fulfilment of a legimate object the actuation or cataly 1 at 375
2  1019 sation by malice is not legicidal
The action is bad where the true object is to reach an end different from the one for which the power is entrusted goaded by extraneous considerations good or bad but irrelevant to the entrustment
When the custdian of power is influenced in its exercise by considerations outside those for promotion of which the power is vested the court calls it a colourable exercise and is undeceived by illusion
In a broad blurred sense Benjamin Disraeli was not off the mark even in Law when he stated I repeat that all power is a trust that we are accountable for its exercise that from the people and for the people
all springs and all must exist After analysing the factual matrix it was concluded that the land was not needed for a Mandi which was the ostensible purpose for which the land was sought to be acquired but in truth and reality the Mandi need was hijacked to reach the private destination of depriving an enemy of his land through back seat driving of the statutory engine
The notification was declared invalid on the ground that it suffers from legal mala fides
The case before us is much stronger far more disturbing and unparalelled in influencing official decision by sheer weight of personal clout
The District Magistrate was chagrined to swallow the bitter pill that he was forced to acquire land even though he was personally convinced there was no need but a pretence Therefore disagreeing with the High Court we are of the opinion that the power to acquire land was exercised for an extraneous and irrelevent purpose and it was colourable exercise of power namely to satisfy the chagrin and anguish of the Sammelan at the coming up of a cinema theatre in the vicinity of its campus which it vowed to destroy
Therefore the impugned notification has to be declared illegal and invalid for this additional ground
The validity of the impugned notification was also challenged on the ground that even though the acquisition is for the Sammelan a company the notification was issued without first complying with the provisions of rule 4 of the Land Acquisition Companies Rules 1963
The High Court has negatived this challenge
We must frankly confess that the contention canvassed by Mr Nariman in this behalf would necessitate an indepth examination of the contention
However we consider it unnecessary in this case to undertake this exer 1020 cise because the judgment of the High Court is being upheld for the additional reason that the acquisition in this case was mala fide
Therefore we do not propose to examine the contention under this head
For the reasons which appealed to the High Court and for the additional reasons herein stated the appeal preferred by the Collector and the District Magistrate and another fails and is dismissed while the appeal on the grant of special leave to the petitioner is hereby partly allowed to the extent herein indicated
Substantially the Civil Appeal No 2458 of 1975 fails and is dismissed with no orders as to costs
SR Appeal dismissed and Petition allowed


Summary:
Raja Ram Jaiswal along with the members of his family purchased land bearing plot No 26 with a building thereon admeasuring 2978 sq
situated at KP Kakkar Road in March 1971
The plan for a sound proof air condition ed cinema theatre on the said plot submitted by him was sanctioned both by the District Magistrate and the local municipality in December 1970 and thereafter he applied for a certificate of approval under Rule 3 read with Rule 7 2 of the UP Cinematograph Rules
1951 for construction of a Cinema theatre
The Hindi Sahitya Sammelan which was initially formed as a voluntary organisation in 1910 and registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act on January 8 1914 retaining the same name had earlier acquired and taken possession from the Allahabad Municipal Board land admeasuring 7315 sq
and in which a municipal school was located for purpose of building Sangrahalaya or a museum cum library cum reading room
However no museum has come up and the land lies vacant
This Sammelan raised objections to the grant of a permit for the constructions of the cinema theatre as in its view a theatre and a research cum study center can go ill together
Overruling the objections the District Magistrate the Licensing Authority under the UP Cinema Regulation Act 1955 granted the requisite certificate of approval on March 24 1972 under Rule 3 which would in law imply that having regard to the provisions of the 1955 Act and 1951 Rules there was no legal impediment to the construction of a cinema theatre on plot No 26
Having failed to thwart the grant of certificate of approval the Sammelan wrote a letter on October 13 996 1971 for acquiring land bearing plot No 26 admeasuring approximately 2865 sq
On the ground that it was needed for a public purpose namely for extension of Hindi Sangrahalaya of Hindi Sahitya Sammelan Prayag
This Notification was published in the UP Government Gazette on February 9 1974A notice under section 4 1 bearing the same date was served upon the petitioner as also the same was published in the locality
The petitioner challenged the validity of the notification on diverse grounds in Writ Petition No 193274 and obtained interim stay of taking over possession
In the meantime by Notification dated February 6 1975 the earlier Notification dated January 31 1974 was cancelled and a fresh Notification was issued to acquire land bearing No 62 admeasuring 8265 sq yds and published in the UP Gazette on February lc 1975
Consequently Writ Petition No 1932174 was got dismissed as infructuous
A notice dated March 6 1975 under section 5 of the Land Acquisition Act was served upon the petitioner inviting him to file his objections if any
The petitioner filed detailed objections on March 8 1975 inter alia contending that the acquisition is for a company and the pre requisite for acquisition for a company having not been carried out the acquisition is had in law
It was also contended that the petitioner is not the Owner of plot No 2 admeasuring 8265 sq
yds Promptly on March 13 1975 a corringendum was issued and published in the Gazette on March 22 1975 correcting the notification dated February 6 1975 to read that instead of plot No 62 Plot No 26 be read and instead of area 8265 sq
yds 2865 sq
be read
The substance of Gazette the notifications dated 1521975 March 22 1975 were not published in the locality as required under section 4 1
Tn between the issue of the notification and the corrigendum the petitioner filed Writ Petition 3174175 questioning the validity Or the notification dated February 6 1975 and duly amending the grounds after issue of the corrigendum
The High Court negatived the challenges namely a that the Notification was bad for non compliance first with the provisions or the Land Acquisition Companies Rules 1953 and b that the acquisition proceedings are malafide but quashed the impugned notification on the ground of failure to cause public notice of the substance of Notification under section 4 1 to be published is the locality
Hence the State appeal CA No 245880 by special leave and the Special Leave Petition No 901980 by Raja Ram
Dismissing the State appeal and allowing in part the Special Leave Petition
the Court
 HELD 1
When the validity of a Notification is questioned on the ground of malafides proper parties affected by such an allegation must be impleaded in the petition
In this case Sammelan s application for intervention under Order XX Rule 3 of the Supreme Court Rules 1966 must be granted though the Sammelan has not moved this Court against the High Court s order rejecting the application for impleading
1004D E 21 It is true that ordinarily courts do not interfere at the stage of Sec
4 notification because it merely constitutes a proposal which will be meticulously examined after the objections arc filed under Section SA by tho person interested 997 in the land wherein all aspects of the matter can be threadbare gone into and examined
However as a notification under section 4 I initiates the proceedings for acquisition of land and uses the expression shall  the mandate of the legislature bcomes clear and therefore the infirmities therein cannot be wholly overlooked on the specious plea that the courts do not interdict at the stage of a more proposal
11006 G 22 A bare perusal of section 4 1 clearly shows that in order to comply with the statutory requirements therein set out a notification stating therein the land which is needed or is likely to be needed for a public purpose has to be published in the official Gazette
The second part of the sub section provides that the Collector has to cause public notice of the substance of such notification to be given at convenient places in the locality in which the land proposed to be acquired is situated
Both the conditions are mandatory
Unless both these conditions are satisfied section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act cannot be said to have been complied with
Nor can Court whittle down a mandate of legislation recognised by a long line of decisions solely depending upon the facts of a given case as is herer Further after the 1974 UP Amendment and Validation Act VIII of 1974 Section 4 1 on its true interpretation may unmistakably indicate that where the enquiry under Section 5 A is not dispensed with by resorting to Sec
17 4 compliance with the second part of Section 4 would be mandatory
1006H 1007A D 1009D E Khub Chand and Ors
vs State of Rajasthan and Ors
 1967 I SCR 120 at 125 Babu Barkya Thakur vs The State of Bombay 1961 I SCR 128 Smt
Somavanti and Ors
vs The Sf are of Punjab  Ors  State of Mysore vs Abdul Razak Sahib 1973 I SCR 856 referred to
Gangadharaih vs State of Mysore  Ors 1961 Mys
LJ 883 approved
23 It is not correct assume that the sole purpose behind publication of substance of Notification in locality as required secondly in section 4 1 of the Land Acquisition Act is to make requirement of section 5 A functionally effective
1009G Where a decision of the Government to be effective and valid has to be notified in the Government Gazette the decision itself does not become effective unless a notification in the Official Gazette follows
Therefore assuming that a notification is a formal expression of a decision of the Government to acquire land unless the decision is notified in the Government Gazette by an appropriate notification the proceedings for acquisition cannot be said to have been initiated and the decision would remain a paper decision Section 4 1 further requires that the Collector shall cause public notice of the substance of such notification to be given at convenient places in the said locality  The expression such notification  in the latter part of Section 41 and sequence of events therein enumerated would clearly spell out that first the Government should reach a decision to acquire land then publish a notification under section 4 1 and simultaneously or within a reasonable time from the date of the publication of the notification cause a notice to be published containing substance of such notification meaning thereby that notification which is pub 998 lished
Obviously therefore there cannot he a publication in the locality prior to the issuance of the notification
1010B G Babu Barkya Thakur vs The State of Bombay 1961 I SCR 128 Narendra Bahadur Singh and Anr
vs State of UP  Ors   State of Madhya Pradesh  Ors
vs Vishnu Prasad Sharma  Ors  held in applicable
Mahendra Lal Jaini vs The State of Uttar Pradesh  Ors 1963 Supp
I SCR 912 relied on
31 Where power is conferred to achieve a purpose the power must be exercise reasonably and in good faith to effectuate the purpose
And in this context in good faith  means for legitimate reasons
Where it is exercised for extraneous or irrelevant consideration or reasons it is unquestionably a colourable exercise of power or fraud on power and the exercise of power is vitiated
If the power to acquire land is to be exercised it must be exercised bona fide for the statutory purpose and for none other
If it is exercised for an extraneous irrelevant or non germane consideration the acquiring authority can be charged with legal malafides
In such a situation there is no question of any personal ill will or motive 1018C E Municipal Council of Sydney vs Compbell 1925 AC 338 at 375 quoted with approval
State of Punjab vs Gurdial Singh  Ors 1980 I SCR 1071 explained and followed
32 Where power is conferred to achieve a certain purpose the power can be exercised only for achieving that purpose
Section 41 confers power on the Government and 
the Collector to acquire land Deeded for a public purpose
The power to acquire land is o be exercised for carrying out a public purpose
If the authorities of the Sammelan cannot tolerate the existence of a cinema theatre in its vicinity it cannot he said that such a purpose would be a public purpose
The authority of the Sammelan may honestly believe that the existence of a cinema theatre may have the pernicious tendency to vitiate the educational and cultural environment of the institution and therefore
it would like to wish away a cinema theatre in its vicinity
That hardly constitutes public purpose
The proclaimed need of land for putting up Sangrahalya is an easy escape route whenever Sammelan wants to take over some piece of land
Need of the land for Sangrahalya is a figment of imagination consured up to provide an ostensible purpose for acquisition
There is enough land roughly admeasuring 7315 sq
Lying vacant and unutilised with the Sammelan for over a quarter of a century
The Sangrahalya has not come up though this was the land which was taken from the Municipal Board for the avowed object of putting up a Sangrahalya
The Sammelan moved on to Rangamanch and Natyashala and then ultimately adopted a position that when the land is made available scheme will be devised for its proper use
The Sammelan was ever interested in acquiring the land for effectuating any of its objects
It was neither the plans nor the wherewithal nor any specific object 999 for which it needs land and it is unable to use over years the land already available at its disposal
Therefore the Sammelan was actuated by extraneous and irrelevant considerations in seeking acquisition of the land and the statutory authority having known this fact yet proceeded to exercise statutory pwoer and initiated the process of acquisition
1017F H 1018A B 33 The power to acquire land was a exercised for an extraneous and irrelevant purpose and it was colourable exercise of power namely to satisfy the chagrin and anguish of the Sammelan at the coming up of a cinema theatre in the vicinity of its campus which vowed to destroy
There fore the consideration dated 6 21975 is illegal and invalid
1019E F