Case: Ravi Khullar  Vs. Union Of India

In the appeals arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 6093 of 2003; 6095 of 2003 and 6384 of 2003 the appellants have impugned the common judgment and order of the High Court of Delhi dated February 13, 2003 disposing of Civil Writ Petition Nos. 2672 of 1996 ; 1851 of 1986 and 2003 ofthe appeal arising out SLP No. 8574 of 2003, M/s. Punjab Potteries has assailed the judgment and order of the High Court of Delhi in C.W.P. No.2168 of 2003 dated 26th March,High Court dismissed all the writ petitions preferred by the appellantsfew broad facts may be noticed at the threshold to appreciate the contentions urged on behalf of the parties in theseNotification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act) was issued by the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi on January 23, 1965 for acquisition of lands measuring 6241 bighas 12 biswas in village Mahipalpur which was required for a public purpose, namely - Planned Development of Delhi. A declaration under Section 6 of the Act relating to 4759 bighas 1 biswa was made on December 12, 1966 and another declaration relating to 1459 bighas 18 biswas was made on December 26, 1968. Another Notification under Section 4 of the Act was published on December 3, 1971 for acquisition of land in Village Nangal Dewat for a public purpose, namely - Development of Palam Airport. A declaration under Section 6 of the Act was made with respect to the said lands on July 16,case of the appellants is that the matter remained pending for a considerable period and it appears from various documents which have been brought on record that the lands acquired were really for the benefit of the International Airport Authority of Indiais placed on a Resolution dated September 10, 1981 of the Delhi Development Authority regarding change of land user from "Green Belt and Agriculture Cultivable Land" to "Circulation Airport". The Resolution recites that the Delhi Development Authority had approved the change of land user so that the land could be utilized for the purpose of development of the Palam Airport. This was subject to the condition that the IAAI prepared a detailed plan which should include the proposal for rehabilitation/resettlement of the villagers to be affected by the proposed expansion of the Airport, and the plan be discussed with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Delhi Electric Supply Undertaking. It also appears from the record that the notice issued under Section 9(1) of the Act on June 22, 1983 was challenged in several writ petitions filed before the High Court in which an interim order was passed directing maintenance of status quo with regard to possession of the lands but permitted the acquisition proceeding to continue. Reliance has been placed on the correspondence exchanged between the various statutory authorities to indicate that it was really for the purpose of IAAI that the lands were being utilised. The letter of the Land Acquisition Officer dated July 1, 1986 indicates that IAAI had supplied details of khasra numbers to be acquired for the expansion of the Delhi Airport which had been discussed. A statement enclosed with the aforesaid communication showed that the lands to be acquired were in villages Mahipalpur, Nangal Dewat and Nangal Dewat Village abadi measuring 69 bighas 11 biswas, which included some of the khasra numbers belonging to some of the appellants herein. A communication from the Secretary, Department of Civil Aviation, addressed to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi dated September 15, 1986 emphasised the need to acquire immediately the industrial structures in the Mahipalpur and Nangal Dewat area in the overall interest of security and development of Delhi Airport. The IAAI was said to be willing to accept the suggestion for provision of land for land, provided alternative land was acquired by the Delhi Administration/Delhi Development Authority and no further liability was imposed on IAAI for payment of additional compensation for acquired industrialSeptember 19, 1996 an Award under Section 11 of the Act was declared by the Land AcquisitionDecember 23, 1986 a Notification was issued under Section 4 of the Act for acquisition of land for a public purpose, namely for rehabilitation of the persons displaced or affected due to the expansion/development of the Palam Airport. The lands mentioned therein are in village Malikpur Kohithe challenge to the acquisition failed and the appellants were not provided alternative sites under the rehabilitation package, they approached the High Court for relief which, as noticed earlier, has been refused by the High Court. It will, however, be necessary to deal with each writ petition separately since the facts of each case are different as also the pleas raised therein.APPEAL ARISING OUT OF SLP NO. 6093 OFappellants before us are the son and daughter of Late Balraj Khullar. The lands in question in village Mahipalpur measuring 23 bighas and 18 biswas (approximately 5 acres) devolved upon the appellants after the death of their father. Late Balraj Khullar had constructed a factory over the lands in question in the year 1955 which went into production later after obtaining registration on July 27, 1960. He carried on the business of manufacture of ceramic goods in the name and style of M/s. Pelican Ceramic Industries. On January 23, 1965 the aforesaid lands of the appellants were notified for acquisition under Section 4 of the Act for the public purpose of planned development of Delhi. According to the appellants, when the factory was established and became functional, there was no Master Plan of Delhi, which came into existence only in the year 1962 in which the lands were shown as green area. Late Balraj Khullar objected to the acquisition but without considering his objections, a declaration under Section 6 was made on December 26, 1968. A notice under Section 9(1) of the Act was issued on June 23, 1983. Upon receipt of the notice late Balraj Khullar challenged the acquisition by filing a writ petition before the Delhi High Court, being Civil Writ Petition No. 1550 of 1983 primarily on the ground of inordinate delay in completing the acquisition proceeding and other illegalities in Section 4 Notification. Notice was issued in the said writ petition on July 26, 1983 and an interim order was passed for maintenance of status quo with regard to possession. The interim order dated July 26, 1983 was modified on August 30, 1983 directing maintenance of status quo with regard to possession but the acquisition proceedings were allowed to continue. During the pendency of the writ petition, the award was announced on September 19, 1986 which was followed by notices under Sections 12(2) and 13(1) of the Act. The total area acquired measured 23 bighas and 18 biswas. Ultimately the writ petition filed by late Balraj Khullar was dismissed by the High Court by its order dated December 14,coming to know about the dismissal of the said writ petition, the petitioners (appellants herein) filed a special leave petition before this Court being SLP No. 7821 of 1996. The same was, however, withdrawn on a statement being made on behalf of the petitioners that they would file a review petition before the High Court. It appears from the special leave petition filed by the petitioners that a contention was raised before this Court that the lands having been acquired for the planned development of Delhi, could not be given to the IAAI since the development of the Palam Airport was not within the contemplation of the notification under Section 4 of the Act. Accordingly the petitioners filed the review petition being Review Petition No.42 of 1996 before the High Court in which several fresh grounds were also urged but the said review petition was dismissed by the High Court by its order of May 24, 1996 observing that the new points sought to be raised in the review petition had not been pleaded in the original writ petition. The High Court also rejected the contention of the petitioners that on discovery of new facts a review petition was maintainable. No appeal was preferred against the order dismissing the review petition and hence the proceeding initiated by filing of C.W.P. No. 1550 of 1983 challenging the acquisition proceeding got a quietus by dismissal of the review petition by the High Court. Apparently, therefore, the petitioners cannot be permitted to challenge the same acquisitionthe petitioners filed another writ petition, being Writ Petition No. 2672 of 1986 again questioning the acquisition proceeding. The said writ petition was dismissed by order dated July 4, 1996. It appears from the record that the point sought to be urged in the aforesaid writ petition was that the acquisition proceeding was bad for non compliance with the provision of Chapter VII of the Act. The submission proceeded on the basis that the acquisition was for the purposes of a Company within the meaning of that term in the Act, namely the International Airport Authority of India (IAAI). The same submission has been urged before us as well.

Reasoning:
15. We are of the view that the High Court was justified in rejecting this contention. As noticed by it, the Notification under Section 4 was issued on January 23, 1965. The public purpose for which the acquisition was made was stated to be "planned development of Delhi". Admittedly at the relevant time when Section 4 Notification was published, the management of the airport vested with the Department of Civil Aviation. It cannot be denied that the words used in the Notification, namely "the planned development of Delhi" are wide enough to include the expansion and development of the airport. That is also a "public purpose." Since the IAAI came into existence much later only on December 8, 1971 and was vested with the power to manage the airports, there was no question of the acquisition being made for the purpose of the IAAI since that body did not exist in the year 1965. The acquisition was for the planned development of Delhi and, as observed earlier, the expansion and modification of the airport is a "public purpose". It so happened that after the constitution of the IAAI, the power of management of airports, was vested in it and, therefore, the development work which otherwise would have been undertaken by the concerned competent authority in the year 1965, was to be executed by the IAAI. The submission that the provisions ofof the Act were not complied with must, therefore, be rejected because the acquisition purported to be for the planned development of Delhi and it is no ones case that the Notification had been issued mala fide. The procedure laid down inof the Act was not attracted since the acquisition was not for any "Company" within the meaning ofof the Act.16.The High Courthas also rejected the submission on the ground that it was barred by the principle of constructive res judicata. It is not necessary for us to express any opinion on this issue, in view of our earlier finding, but the appellants have themselves drawn the attention of this Court to the fact that the land was being acquired for the purpose of the IAAI as was evident from the Resolution of the Delhi Development Authority dated September 10, 1981. The appellants, therefore, admit that they had knowledge of the fact that the land was to be utilized by the IAAI for its own purposes, which according to the appellants, was not a part of the planned development of Delhi. Such being the factual position, the father of the appellants who filed Writ Petition No.1550 of 1983 ought to have challenged the acquisition on the ground of non compliance with the provisions of Chapter VII of the Act since all the relevant facts were within his knowledge. He not having done so, we do not find that the High Court was in error in holding that the writ petition was barred also by the principle of constructive res judicata.Thus it cannot be said that the land is actually being utilized for any purpose other than that for which it was acquired. The only difference is that whereas initially the development work would have been undertaken by the D.D.A. or any other agency employed by it, after the constitution of the IAAI, the said development work had to be undertaken by the newly constituted authority. Thus there has been no change of purpose of the acquisition. All that has happened is that the development work is undertaken by another agency since constituted, which is entrusted with the special task of maintenance of airports. Since the said authority was constituted several years after the issuance of the Notification under Sections 4, the acquisition cannot be invalidated only on the ground that the public purpose is sought to be achieved through another agency. This, as we have noticed earlier, was necessitated by change of circumstances in view of the creation of the authority i.e. IAAI. Moreover since there is no change of public purpose for which the acquired land is being utilized, the acquisition cannot be invalidated on that ground. The purpose for which the lands are being utilized by a governmental agency is also a public purpose and as we have noticed earlier, would come within the ambit of the public purpose declared in Section 4 Notification.29. Therefore, the acquisition cannot be challenged on the ground that the acquired lands are not being utilized for the declared public purpose. Having regard to the facts of the case it cannot be contended, nor has it been contended, that the Notification under Section 4 of the Act was issued mala fide.30. We, therefore, find no merit in the appeal arising out of SLP (C) No.6093 of 2003 and the same is accordingly dismissed.The documents relied upon by the respondents do establish that though at different stages the question of rehabilitation of the affected persons as a result of the acquisition was considered, no firm decision was ever taken to rehabilitate the industries affected thereby. The decision taken was only to provide alternative sites for residence of the oustees from village Nangal Dewat in village Rangpuri. The proposal to allot lands for setting up the displaced industrial units was always turned down and it was decided that owners of such industries would only be entitled to compensation under the Land Acquisition Act. Having regard to the material on record we are satisfied that no scheme was ever framed for rehabilitation of industrial units. The scheme was framed only for the affected villagers of village Nangal Dewat and that too for residential purpose alone.52. Learned counsel for the appellants strenuously urged before us that the land in village Rangpuri is still available and even if the three industries with which we are concerned in the instant batch of appeals are allotted land to the extent of 25,000 sq. yards each, as recommended in the Joint Survey Report, their purpose will be served.53. We are afraid we cannot accede to the request because that is a matter of policy and it is for the government to take appropriate decision in that regard. In law we find no justification for the claim that even in the absence of a scheme for rehabilitation of displaced industries alternative sites should be allotted to them for relocating the industrial units. It is no doubt true that the acquisition of land in village Rangpuri by issuance of Notification under Section 4 of the Act on December 23, 1986 was for the public purpose, namely for rehabilitation of the persons displaced or affected due to the expansion/development of the Palam airport. Learned counsel appearing for the State contended that this public purpose has been achieved and the persons who were displaced from village Nangal Dewat in view of the acquisition of their lands for the development of Palam airport have been allotted plots in village Rangpuri for their residence. There is nothing in the Notification which obliges the State to provide equal alternative site to the industries for their rehabilitation. We find substance in the stand of respondents.CIVIL APPEAL ARISING OUT OF SLP NO. 6095 of 200354. In this appeal apart from other questions which have been raised in this batch of appeals, a question of limitation has been raised. It is submitted on behalf of the appellant that the award made by the Collector in the instant case was barred by limitation under Section 11A of the Act inasmuch as it was not made within a period of 2 years from the date of the publication of the declaration after excluding the period during which an order of stay granted by the High Court operated. The facts are not in dispute and since this plea became available to the appellant only after the dismissal of the writ petition by the High Court, we permitted the appellant to raise this plea after giving an opportunity to the respondents to reply to the same. Since the facts are not in dispute, we proceed to decide the question of limitation in this appeal.55. It is not in dispute that the Notification under Section 4 of the Act was issued on January 23, 1965. A declaration under Section 6 of the Act was published on December 26, 1968. The appellant filed the writ petition before the High Court on September 12, 1986 in which an order for maintenance of status quo was made on September 18, 1986. It is the case of the respondents that in view of the status quo order the award could not be pronounced. While the awards were pronounced in other cases on September 19, 1986, it was not pronounced in the case of the appellant in view of the status quo order.The High Courtby the impugned judgment dismissed the writ petition filed by the petitioner on February 13, 2003 where after the award was pronounced on March 1, 2003.56. We may notice that the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act, 1984 came into force w.e.f. September 24, 1984.In our view the principle laid down in this judgment is of no help to the respondents and if at all it supports the contention of the appellant that the period of limitation prescribed cannot be curtailed by order of the Court. As a necessary corollary it cannot be extended contrary to the statutory provisions. We have, therefore, no doubt in holding that so far as the acquisition of the lands belonging to Palam Potteries is concerned, the proceedings lapsed for failure of the Collector to make an award within the prescribed period of limitation under Section 11A of the Act.68. Before parting with this matter we may notice the fact that in the award made by the Collector three khasra numbers belonging to the appellant were not included. It was, therefore, submitted before us that in any view of the matter the acquisition proceedings in relation to those 3 khasra numbers must lapse. This was indeed not contested by the respondents. However, in view of the fact that we have reached the conclusion that the acquisition proceeding as against the lands of the appellant lapsed for failure to make an award within the period prescribed by Section 11A of the Act, this aspect of the matter lose its significance.