Case ID: 3574

Judgment:
Appeal No. 2539 of 1972. (From the Judgment and Order dated 10 3 1972 of the Mysore High Court in Misc. First Appeal No. 234/70) H.S. Parihar for 1. N. Shroff	 for the Appellant. K.R. Nagaraja and P.N. Puri for the Respondent. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by BEG	 J. The judgment of a Division Bench of the Mysore High Court under appeal before us after certification of the case as fit for an appeal to us	 follows the decision of a Full Bench of that Court in Venkatamma vs Special Land Acquisition officer. (1) The FuII Bench had held that the date for the determination of compensation under the provi sions of section 23(1) of the Land Acquisition Act	 which was to. be applied to acquisitions under the City of Mysore Improvement Act 3 of 1903 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Mysore Act ')	 was the date of notification under section 18 of the Act corresponding to section 6 of the Acquisition Act. Recently	 we have had to deal with a case in which the provisions of the City of Bangalore Improvement Act	 1945	 corresponding substantially with those of the Act now before us	 were interpreted by us. The provisions of Sections 14	 16 and 18 of the Mysore Act of 1903	 as well as the Banga lore Act of 1945 are identical. And	 the provisions of section 23 of the Mysore Act are identical with those Sec tion 27 of the Bangalore Act. Therefore	 a Division Bench of the Karnataka High Court considered itself bound by the Full Bench decision of the Mysore High Court (subsequentiy the Karnataka High Court) on the provisions of the Mysore Act of 1903 even in interpreting the Bangalore Act of 1945. But	 this Court held	 in the Land Acquisition Officer	 City Improvement Trust Board vs H. Narayanaiah etc. 	(2) that the Division Bench decision of the Karnataka High Court holding that the market value	 for the purposes of compensa tion	 must be determined with reference to the date of notification under section 18 of the Bangalore Act	 was erroneous. It	 therefore	 allowed the appeals from the judgment of the Division Bench of the Karnataka High Court which had purported to follow the Full Bench decision of the Mysore Act of 1903. The main argument in the appeal before us is that this Court had observed in Narayanaiah 's case (supra) that the Full Bench decision related to an interpretation of provi sions of an Act as it stood in (1) A.I.R. (2) ; 551 1903	 when the date of market value	 to be determined for purposes of compensation	 was the date of notification under section 6 of the Acquisition Act. That date was subse quently changed by the Mysore Act 1 of 1927 to that of publication and notification under Section 4(1) of the Acquisition Act. It is true that this Court did observe that this difference was vital. In doing so	 it had ac cepted the. argument put forward on behalf of the Land Acquisition Officer. But	 it had not decided what was the real meaning of provisions of Section 23 of the Mysore Act which correspond with section 27 of the Bangalore Act. Section 23 of the Mysore Act now before us reads as follows: "23. The acquisition otherwise than by agreement of land within or without the City under this Act shall be regulated by the provisions	 so far as they are applicable	 of the Land Acquisition Act	 1894	 and by the following further provisions	 namely : (1 ) Upon the passing of a resolution by the Board that an improvement scheme under section 14 is necessary in respect of any locality	 it shall be lawful for any person either generally or spe cially authorised by the Board in this behalf and for his servants and workmen	 to do all such acts on or in respect of land in that locality as it would be lawful for an officer duly authorised by Government to act under section 4(2) of the Land Acquisition Act	 and for his servants and workmen	 to do thereunder	 and the provision contained in section 5 of the said Act shall likewise be ap plicable in respect of damage caused by any of the acts first mentioned. (2) The publication of a declaration under section 18 shall be deemed to be the publication of a declaration under section 6 of the Land Acquisi tion Act. (3) For the purposes of section 50(2) of the Land Acquisition Act	 the Board shall be deemed to be local authority concerned. (4) After the land vests in the Government under section 16 of the Land Acquisition Act	 the Deputy Commissioner shall	 upon payment of the cost of the acquisition	 and upon the Board agreeing to pay any further costs which may be incurred on account of the acquisition	 transfer the land to the Board	 and the land shall thereupon vest in the Board". The reasoning of the Full Bench of the. Mysore High Court	 which did not appeal to this Court in Narayanaiah 's case (supra)	 was that	 since a declaration under section 18 of the Act was equated with section 6 of the Acquisition Act	 proceedings under section 4(1) of the Acquisition Act could only be equated with the stage of a resolution 552 under section 14(1) of the Act which was anterior to the declaration under section 18 of the Mysore Act. section 16 of the Act is also anterior to Section 18. This Court found that	 although the procedure laid down in section 16 of the Bangalore Act	 which corresponds exactly with section 16 of the Mysore Act now before us	 is more elaborate than the procedure under section 4(1) of the Acquisition Act	 yet	 the purpose of section 16 of the Bangalore Act was the same as that of section 4 (1) of the Acquisition Act	 we think that this reasoning applies equally to the provisions of the Mysore Act. It is true that it can be more plausibly argued	 with regard to the provisions of Mysore Act of 1903	 that the market value for acquisition under this Act should be deter mined with reference to the Acquisition Act as it stood in 1903. After carefully considering this point of view	 we think that such a departure from the generally accepted procedure which regulates acquisition and compensation for it under similar Acts in the State of Mysore as well as under Land Acquisition Act today has to be justified by something more explicit	 express and substantial than the mere date of enactment of the Mysore Act. If Section 23(1) of the Acquisition Act lays down	 as we think it does	 the only procedure for award of compensation	 it has to be followed as it exist at the time of acquisition proceedings. No one has a vested right in a particular procedure. It is a fair interpretation of section 23 of the Mysore Act of 1903 to hold that it means that	 whatever may be the proce dure there	 with regard to matters regulating compensation under the Acquisition Act	. at the time of acquisition proceedings	 will apply to acquisition under the Mysore Act. If the procedure that the market value should be deter mined with reference to section 6 of the Acquisition Act had been replaced	 by an amendment of 1927. by the provision that the relevant date will be the date of notification under section 4(1) of the Acquisition Act	 we will really have to determine what is the equivalent in the Mysore Act of proceedings under section 4(1) of the Acquisition Act. The provision relating to determination of compensation with reference to Section 6 having disappeared was no longer available to be applied at all on the date of the acquisi tion with which we are now concerned. Hence. to argue that the equivalent of section 6 notification trader the Acquisi tion Act should govern even proceedings commenced after the amendment would be to apply what had ceased to exist long before the proceeding commenced. The amendment of section 23(1) of the Acquisition Act meant a legally valid substitu tion of the notification under section 4(1) for the one under section 6 of the Acquisition Act. This implied an effective repeal and replacement. In such a situa tion	 according to section 6 of the Mysore General Clauses Act	 only proceedings commenced before the repeal would be governed by the unamended procedure. We think that the language of section 23 of the Mysore Act applies the provisions of the Acquisition Act to acquisitions under the Mysore Act	 except to the extent of express deviation by the Mysore Act from the general procedure in the Acquisition Act as amended from time to time. The procedure contained in the Acquisition Act	 for the time being	 did 553 need to be expressly applied once again after each amendment of the Acquisition Act	 as the Mysore High Court seems to have opined. It was enough to lay	 down	 as section 23 of the Mysore Act does	 that the general procedure found in the Acquisition Act will apply except to the extent it was inapplicable. This means that amendments of the procedure in the Acquisition Act will apply if it is capable of appli cation. In the case before us	 the preliminary notification under section 16 of the Mysore Act of 1903 was published on 27th May	 1965. This we equate with notification under section 4(1) of the Acquisition Act for reasons we have already given in Narayanaiah 's case (supra). At that time	 there was no date other than the date of the notification under section 4(1) of the Acquisition Act prescribed for ascertainment of the market value	 as a matter of correct procedure for determining compensation. The procedure under the unamended Act may have had relevance for acquisition proceedings begun before the amendment of the Acquisition Act in 1927 when it really existed. But	 we think that it is a fair interpretation of the provisions of Section 23 of the Mysore Act to hold that compensation for acquisitions will be general provisions of the Acquisition Act as they exist on the date of a particular acquisition proceeding except to the extent to which a different procedure is expressly laid down in the Mysore Act. On the view we take	 the market value of the property acquired had to be deter mined with reference to the date of notification under Section 16 of the Mysore Act. Consequently	 we set aside the judgment and order of the Mysore High Court. We remand the case to the High Court for determination of the market value and disposal of the case in accordance with the law as declared by us. The parties will bear their own costs throughout. V.P.S. Appeal allowed.

Summary:
Section 23(1) of the Land Acquisition Act originally provided that the date for Section 23 (1) of the market value for purpose of compensation is the date of the notification under section 6. In 1927	 section 23(1) was amended making the date of section 4(1) notification as the relevant date. With respect to certain acquisitions under the City of Mysore Improvement Act	 1903. (Mysore Act) the notifica tion under section 16 of the Act was published in May 1965 and the notification under section 18	 which corresponds to section 6 of the Acquisition Act	 was published some	 time later. On the question of the date for the determination of market value for purposes of compensation under the provisions of section 23(1)	 Acquisition Act	 the High Court followed the Full Bench decision of that court in Venkatamma vs Special Land Acquisition Officer (AIR and held that the date of section 18 notification is the relevant date	 on the ground that section 23(1)	 Acquisition Act	 as it stood in 1903 should be applied	 since its amendment in 1927	 has not been made specially applicable to acquisitions after that date. Allowing the appeal to this Court and remanding the case to the High Court for determination of the market value as on the date of section 16 notification. HELD: (1) Section 23	 Mysore Act	 applied the provisions of the Acquisition Act to acquisitions under the Mysore Act	 except to the extent of any express deviation by the Mysore Act from the general procedure in the Acquisition Act. It is a fair interpretation of section 23	 Mysore Act	 to hold that it means that	 whatever may be procedure with regard to matters regulating compensation under the Acquisition Act	 at the time of acquisition proceedings	 will apply to acqui sitions under the Mysore Act. The procedure	 contained in the Acquisation Act for the time being need not be expressly applied once again after each amendment of the Acquisition Act	 and such procedure in the Acquisition Act would apply if it is capable of application	 since no one has a vested right in a particular procedure. [552 A F] Therefore: section 23(1) of the Acquisition Act	 which lays down the procedure for awarding compensation	 has to be followed as it exists at the time of requisition proceed ings. [552H 553A] (2) the 927 amendment of section 23(1)	 Acquisition Act	 meant a legally valid substitution of the notification under section 4(1) for the one under section 6 of the Acquisition Act	 that is	 an effective repeal and replacement. In such a situation	 according to section 6	 Mysore General Clauses Act	 only proceedings commenced before the repeat would be governed by the unamended procedure. [552 F G] (3) The date of notification under section 4(1) of the Acquisition Act would thus be the relevant date	 for determining market value. Although the procedure laid down in section 16	 Mysore Act	 is more elaborate than the proce dure under section 4(1)	 Acquisition Act	 the purpose of section 16	 Mysore Act is the same as that of section 4(1) Acquisition Act. Therefore	 the date of s 16 notification would be the rele vant date. [553 B F] 550 Land Acquisition Officer	 City Improvement Trust Board vs H. Narayanaiah etc.	 etc. ; 	 followed. Venkatamma vs Special Land Acquisition Officer (AIR overruled.