Ravi Khullar And Another vs Union Of India And Others

The High Court dismissed all the writ petitions preferred by the appellants herein.

A few broad facts may be noticed at the threshold to appreciate the contentions urged on behalf of the parties in these appeals.

Since the 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 OF 2003 The appellants 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, 2005. On 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 acquisition proceeding.

However, the 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.

The High Court has 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.

CIVIL APPEAL ARISING OUT OF SLP ) NO. 8574 OF 2001 The appellant in this appeal is M/s. Punjab Potteries whose lands were notified for acquisition under Section 4 of the Act on December 3, 1971 and the declaration under Section 6 was published on July 10, 1972. The petitioner had earlier filed a writ petition being C.W.P. No. 432 of 1987. It appears from the order passed in the said writ petition dated February 18, 1987 that a prayer was made for leave to withdraw the petition. The order notices the fact that in the aforesaid writ petition there was no prayer for mandamus directing the respondents to allot any alternative site. It merely questioned the acquisition and validity of the Notifications under Sections 4 and 6 of the Act. The High Court recorded a finding that it found nothing wrong with the acquisition so far as the validity of the Notifications under Sections 4 and 6 was concerned. It accordingly dismissed the writ petition as withdrawn but with liberty to file a fresh petition for claiming any alternative site, if it had any such right. Whereafter the petitioner filed the instant writ petition on March 7, 2003. In the instant petition as well the acquisition proceedings were challenged but the same was dismissed by the High Court on March 26, 2003. The High Court noticed the order passed by the Court earlier on February 18, 1987 and also the fact that the writ petition was being filed after a lapse of 16 years. It did not entertain the challenge to the Notifications issued under Sections 4 and 6 of the Act since challenge to the aforesaid Notifications stood rejected by order of February 18, 1987. It noticed the earlier common judgment delivered in the writ petitions preferred by other appellants in this batch of writ petitions and held that the inordinate delay in filing the writ petition challenging the validity of the Notifications was not condonable.

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 Court by the impugned judgment dismissed the writ petition filed by the petitioner on February 13, 2003 whereafter the award was pronounced on March 1, 2003.

We, therefore, find no merit in the appeal arising out of SLP (C) No.6093 of 2003 and the same is accordingly dismissed.

We, therefore, find no merit in this appeal and the same is accordingly dismissed.

We shall, therefore, consider the material placed on record by the parties on the question of rehabilitation.

We find substance in the stand of respondents.

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.

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.

In the result Civil Appeals arising out of SLP ) Nos. 6093/2003; 6384/2003 and 8574 of 2003 are dismissed. Civil Appeal arising out of SLP ) No. 6095 of 2003 is allowed and it is declared that the award made by the Collector on March 1, 2003 was barred by limitation prescribed by Section 11A of the Act and as such the acquisition proceeding in relation thereto lapsed on February 18, 2003, which was the last date for making the award. Parties shall bear their own costs.