IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) WEDNESDAY, THE THIRTEENTH DAY OF AUGUST TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT PRESENT THE HON'BLE MS JUSTICE G.ROHINI WRIT PETITION NO : 17573 of 2008 Between: B.Srinivasulu, S/o.B.Kondaiah, R/o. D.No.11-41, Pebbair Village and Mandal, Mahaboobnagar District , A.P., ..... PETITIONER AND 1 Government of Andhra Pradesh, rep by its Principal Secretary, Land Acquisition, Secretriat, Hyderabad. 2 The Special Deputy Collector, Land Acquisition, Rajeev Ettipothala Pathakam-II, Pebbair Village and Mandal, Mahaboobnagar District. 3 The Special Collector,(L.A), Bheema Project, Mahaboobnagar, Mahaboobnagar District. .....RESPONDENTS Petition under Article 226 of the constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the Affidavit filed herein the High Court will be pleased to issue an appropriate writ, order or Direction, more particularly one in the nature of writ of Mandamus to declare the impugned Notification issued in LR.no.C1/630/2008 dated 25-7-2008 U/sec.4(1) of the Land Acquisition act issued by the respondents Nos.2 and 3 invoking Section 17(4) of the Land Acquisition Act, published in Andhra Jyothi Daily dated 7-8-2008 in so far as lands of the petitioner to an extent of Ac.1-30 in sy.No.65/2 situated at Chellimilla Village, Pebbair Mandal, Wanaparthy Division, Mahaboobnagar District, as illegal, arbitrary and contrary to the provisions of L.A. Act and consequently set aside the same, and to grant such other relief or reliefs Counsel for the Petitioner: MRS.S.NANDA Counsel for Respondents: GP FOR LAND ACQUISITION The Court made the following : ORDER: This writ petition is filed seeking a declaration that the notification dated 25- 07-2008 published under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, (for short ‘the Act’) under which an extent of Ac.1.30 of land belonging to the petitioner situated in S.No.65/2 of Chellimilla Village, Pebbair Mandal, Wanaparthy Division, Mahaboobnagar District, is sought to be acquired for the purpose of Enukunta Balancing Reservoir D-19 Main Canal as arbitrary and illegal. The only contention raised by the petitioner is that the action of the respondents in invoking the urgency clause under Section 17 (4) of the Act and thereby dispensing with the enquiry under Section 5-A of the Act is arbitrary, illegal and unwarranted. Having heard the learned counsel appearing for both the parties and having perused the material on record, I do not find any justifiable reason to interfere with the impugned notification on the sole ground that the enquiry under Section 5-A of the Act is dispensed with. The law is well-settled that the notification under Section 4 of the Act can be struck down by the Court only where the mandatory requirements of Section 4 (1) have been violated and where any of the statutory conditions for acquisition has not been satisfied. In the instant case, there is no allegation of mala fides nor the public purpose for which the land acquired is disputed. There is also no allegation of violation of any statutory requirements. The question whether it is a case of urgency is a subjective one. This Court is not competent to enquire into the sufficiency of the grounds for forming such opinion. The settled principle of law is that there is a presumption of regularity of official acts and mere denial that the Government had not formed an opinion as to the urgency or the allegation that the Government did n o t apply its mind to the question of urgency cannot be a ground warranting interference by this Court. Hence interference by this Court is not warranted. However, it is made clear that the petitioner shall not be dispossessed from the land in question without complying with the statutory requirement under sub- sections (3) and (3-A) of Section 17 of the Act. Accordingly, the Writ Petition is disposed of at the admission stage. No costs. ____________ (G. Rohini, J.) 13th August, 2008 Note: C.C. in 3 days. (B/o) Js. ASSISTANT REGISTRAR // TRUE COPY // SECTION OFFICER To 1 Government of Andhra Pradesh, rep by its Principal Secretary, Land Acquisition, Secretriat, Hyderabad. 2 The Special Deputy Collector, Land Acquisition, Rajeev Ettipothala Pathakam-II, Pebbair Village and Mandal, Mahaboobnagar District. 3 The Special Collector,(L.A), Bheema Project, Mahaboobnagar, Mahaboobnagar District. 4 2 CCs to G.P for Land Acquisition, High Court of A.P. Hyderabad.(OUT) 5 2 CD copies.