IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) FRIDAY, THE TWENTY SECOND DAY OF FEBRUARY TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION NO : 517 of 2008 Between: 1 A.Anuradha W/o.Venkata RAmesh R/o. Hiramandalam Village & Mandal, Srikakulam District. 2 A.Vijayakumar S/o.Satyanarayana R/o. Hiramandalam Village & Mandal, Srikakulam District. 3 D.Krishnakumari W/o.Nageswara Rao R/o. Laxminarasupeta, Hiramandalam Mandal, Srikakulam District. 4 D.Sriramachandra Murthy S/o.Krishnamurthy R/o. Laxminarasupeta, Hiramandalam Mandal, Srikakulam District. ..... PETITIONERS AND 1 The Government of Andhra Pradesh, rep. by its Prl. Secretary, Irrigation Department, Secretariat, Saifabad, Hyderabad. 2 The District Collector, Srikakulam, Srikakulam District. 3 The Special Dy. Collector (L.A.) Unit I, Hiramandalam, Srikakulam District. .....RESPONDENTS Counsel for the Petitioners:MR.K.R.PRABHAKAR Counsel for Respondent No.1: None appeared Counsel for Respondent Nos.2 & 3: AGP FOR IRRIGATION & COMM AREA DEV. The Court made the following : ORDER: This writ petition is filed for a writ of mandamus to declare notification, dated 15.11.2007 issued under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short ‘the Act’) as illegal. By the said notification, the lands belonging to the petitioners were proposed for acquisition for a public purpose, namely, construction of bund of Hiramandalam Reservoir. A perusal of the record shows that in the notification published in Srikakulam District Gazette, on 15.11.2007, it is mentioned that the Governor of Andhra Pradesh empowers the Special Collector, Unit-I, Vamsadhara Project, Stage-2, Phase-2, Duggupuram to discharge the functions of the District Collector, under the provisions of the Act. In the publication made in a local newspaper called ‘Ratnagarbha’, it is notified that under Section 17(4) of the Act, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh further directs that in view of the urgency of the case, the provisions of Section 5A of the Act shall not apply. A perusal of the record further reveals that declaration under Section 6 of the Act was dated 24.11.2007 and the same was published in the District Gazette of Srikakulam on 23.11.2007. The above-mentioned facts reveal negligence of the highest order on the part of the respondents. While the District Gazette which published the notification under Section 4(1) of the Act envisaged holding of enquiry under Section 5A of the Act, the notification published in the newspaper, dispensed with the enquiry under Section 5A of the Act. Further, the declaration under Section 6 purported to have been issued on 24.11.2007 the Act was shown to have been published in the District Gazette, dated 23.11.2007, which is not only improbable but physically impossible. These defects show a total non- application of mind and criminal negligence on the part of the officers, who are responsible for publishing the above-mentioned proceedings. As held by the Supreme Court in MUNSHI SINGH v. UNION OF INDIA[1] the proceedings relating to compulsory acquisition of land shall be specific and unambiguous. By the blatant negligent acts on the part of the respondents, they have created confusion in the minds of the landowners. In view of the above, both the notification issued under Section 4(1) of the Act and declaration issued under Section 6 of the Act cannot be sustained. They are, therefore, quashed. This Court is perplexed at the negligence shown in issuing the proceedings under the Act for acquiring the lands for a very important public purpose, namely, an irrigation project. The Court feels that the reprehensible conduct of the officers responsible for the fiasco is required to be enquired into and responsibility fixed on them. The Chief Secretary of the Government of Andhra Pradesh is directed to initiate appropriate proceedings in this regard. The writ petition is accordingly allowed. This order does not preclude the respondents from initiating fresh land acquisition proceedings. C.V. NAGARJUNA REDDY, J 22nd FEBRUARY, 2008 Note: copy be marked to the Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad. kvni [1] AIR 1973 SC 1150