MAHADEO (D) THROUGH LRS & ORS.versusSTATE OF U.P. & ORS.

                    [2013) 2 S.C.R. 539

          MAHADEO (D) THROUGH LRS & ORS.                          A
                              v.
                   STATE OF U.P. & ORS.
            (Civil Appeal No. 2944 of 2013 etc.)
                      APRIL 08, 2013
                                                                  B
   [SURINDER SINGH NIJJAR AND M.Y. EQBAL, JJ.]

    LAND ACQUISITION ACT, 1894:

     s.48 - Resolution by Development Authority to withdraw       c
acquisition in respect of a part of the land acquired - Held:
Once the land is acquired and mandatory requirements are
complied with including possession having been taken, the
land vests in the State Government free from all
encumbrances - Merely because some land was left at the           0
relevant time, that does not give any right to the Authority to
send proposal to the Government for release of the land in
favour of the land owners.

     By Notification dated 27 .1.1990 issued u/s 4(1) of the
Land Acquisition Act, 1894, land admeasuring 246.931 E
acres was proposed to be acquired for the purpose of
construction of residential/commercial buildings under
Planned Development Scheme by the Meerut
Development Authority (MDA). Declaration u/s 6 read with
ss. 17(1) and (4) was made on 18.3.1990. Notice u/s 9 was F
issued. Award was passed on 17.3.1992. By resolution
dated 17.9.1997, the MDA decided to withdraw the
acquisition of the land except 42.018 aces for which
compensation had been paid.· However, the State
Government decided not to accede to the decision of G
MDA for de-requisition of the land. In the writ petitions,
the High Court, inter alia, directed MDA to press its
resolution dated 17.9.1997 if it was not in need of the land
so acquired.
                            539                              H
    540     SUPREME COURT REPORTS               [2013] 2 S.C.R.

A         Dismissing the appeals, the Court
         HELD: 1.1 It is the settled proposition of law that
    once the land is acquired and mandatory requirements
    are complied with including possession having been
    taken the land vests in the State Government free from
8
    all encumbrances. Even if some unutilised land remains,
    it cannot be re-conveyed or re-assigned to the erstwhile
    owner by invoking the provisions of the Land Acquisition
    Act. [para 16] [546-H; 547-A]

C        Govt. of A.P. and Anr. vs. V. Syed Akbar2004 (6) Suppl.
    SCR 208 = AIR 2005 SC 492; Satendra Prasad Jain & Ors.
    vs. State of U.P. and Ors., 1993 (2) Suppl. SCR 336 =AIR
    1993 SC 2517 - relied on.

0       1.2 Indisputably, land in question was acquired by
   the State Government for the purpose of expansion of
   city i.e. construction of residential/commercial building
   under planned development scheme by the Meerut
  ·Development Authority and that major portion of the land
E has already been utilized by the Authority. Merely
   because some land was left at the relevant time, that does
   not give any right to the Authority to send proposal to the
   Government for release of the land in favour of the land
   owners. The impugned orders passed by the High Court
F directing the Authority to press the Resolution are
   absolutely unwarranted in law. [para 18] [549-B-C]
                        Case Law Reference:
          2004 (6) Suppl. SCR 208       relied on     para 16
G         1993 (2) Suppl. SCR 336       relied on     para 17
        CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No.
    2944 of 2013.

          From the Judgment and order dated 09.04.2010 of the
H
 MAHADEO (D) THROUGH LRS & ORS. v. STATE OF 541
                U. P. & ORS.
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in CMRA No. 44945 of           A
2010 in CMWP No. 21407 of 2002.
                                wm-t
Civil Appeal Nos. 2945, 2946 and 2947 of 2013.

    Vijay Hansaria, Sanjay Sarin, Mahesh Singh, Gagan Deep           8
Kaur, Manjusha Wadhwa for the Appellants.

      L. Nageswara Rao, lrshad Ahmad, AAG, Abhisth Kumar,
  Raman Yadav, Vishwajit Singh, Abhindra Maheswari, Pankaj
. Singh, Gunnam Venkateswara Rao, M.P. Shorawala, Jyoti              c
  Saxena, N.M. Popli, Bhagmal Singh, Tajendra Kaur, Anurag, ·
  B. Sunita Rao, Jitendra Mohan Sharma, Sandeep Singh, Harsh
  Vardhan for the Respondents.

     The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
                                                                     D
     M.Y. EQBAL, J. 1. Leave granted.

      2. These appeals are directed against the orders dated
2.12.2009 passed by a Division Bench of the Allahabad High
Court in Civil Misc. Writ Petition Nos. 7748 of 2002 and 21407       E
of 2002 whereby the writ petitions filed by the appellants herein
were disposed of with a direction to respondent No. 4 - Meerut
Development Authority to press its resolution dated 17.09.1997
if the said Authority is not in need of the land so acquired and
the orders dated 9.4.2010 whereby the review applications filed
                                                                     F
against the orders dated 2.12.2009 in the said writ petitions
were rejected.

     3. The facts of the case lie in a narrow compass. The
appellants filed the aforementioned writ petitions seeking the
following reliefs:                                                   G

     i. Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus
     commanding the respondent no. 1 to accept the proposal
     for withdrawing from acquisition in view of the resolution
     dated 17.9.97 submitted by the Meerut Development               H
    542       SUPREME_ COURT REPORTS                     [2013] 2 S.C.R.


A         Authority at the earliest within a period to be fixed by this
          Hon'ble Court.

          ii. Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari
          quashing the entire land acquisition proceedings in
          pursuance of the notification u/s 4 dated 27 .1.1990 and
B
          declaration u/s 6 of the Act dated 7.3.90.

          ii-a. Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari
          quashing the order/decision communicated by letter dated
          24.08.2002 (Annexure-16 to the writ petition).
c
          iii. Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of
          mandamus commanding the respondents not to
          dispossess the petitioners from their respective lands
          forcibly in pursuance of the acquisition for declaration was
D         issued u/s 6 of the Act on 6.3.90.

          iv. Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus
          commanding the respondents to pay the damages for
          financial loss, mental agony and pain to the petitioners in
          view of section 48(2) of the Act.
E
          v. Issue any other writ, order or direction which this Hon'ble
          Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and
          circumstances of the case.

          vi. Award cost of the writ petition to the petitioners."
F
        4. It appears that vide Notification dated 27 .1.1990 under
 . Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, "the
   Act"), the State of U.P. proposed to acquire 246.931 acres of
   land situated at Village Abdullapur, Pargana, Tehsil and District
G Meerut. Since the land was alleged to have been urgently
   required by the State, the provision of Section 17(1) of the Act
   was invoked. The aforesaid land was sought to be acquired
   for the purpose of construction of a residential/commercial
   building under planned Development Scheme by the Meerut
H Development Authority (for short, "the MDA"). Since Section
MAHADEO (D) THROUGH LRS & ORS. v. STATE OF 543
        U. P. & ORS. [M.Y. EQBAL, J.]
17(1) of the Act was invoked, inquiry under Section 5A of the         A
Act was dispensed with. Thereafter, declaration under Section
6 read with Section 17(1 )&(4) of the Act was made on
18.3.1990 which was published in a daily newspaper.
Consequently, notice under Section 9 of the Act was issued and
pursuant to that appellants are said to have filed their              B
objections. On 17.3.1992, respondent No. 3 - the Special Land
Acquisition Officer, Meerut passed an award. After the said
award, the appellants applied before the Land Acquisition
Officer on 24.4.1992 for making a reference under Section 18
of the said Act and accordingly respondent No. 3 referred the         c
matter to the District Judge vide order dated 22.9.1997.

     5. The appellants' case is that by resolution dated
17.9.1997, respondent No. 4 - the MDA decided to withdraw
the acquisition of the land except the land measuring 42.018
acres for which compensation was paid. The MDA is said to             D
have decided to de-requisition the land measuring 204.912
acres. It appears that in 2001-2002 meetings were h.eld and
correspondences exchanged between the authorities, the
District Magistrate, Meerut and the State Government and
ultimately the State Government decided not to accede to the          E
decision of the MDA for de-requisition of the land. The
appellants, therefore, on these facts, filed the aforementioned
writ petitions seeking the reliefs quoted hereinbefore.

    6. We have heard Mr. Vijay Hansaria, learned senior               F
counsel appearing for the appellants and the learned Additional
Advocate General appearing for the respondent-State.

      7. Learned counsel appearing for the respondent-State at
the very outset submitted that although the appellants sought
several reliefs in the writ petitions before the High Court but the   G
relief was confined to only a direction upon respondent No. 4
to press the resolution dated 17.9.1997. The High Court,
therefore, by the impugned orders disposed of the writ petitions
with a direction to the Development Authority to press its
resolution if the Authority is not in need of the said land. The      H
    544      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                   [2013) 2 S.C.R.


A   impugned orders passed by the High Court dated 2.12.2009
    is reproduced hereinbelow:

                 "In this petition, the original owners are ...... They
          have not pressed other reliefs, except the relief seeking a
          writ of mandamus to command the Meerut Development
B
          Authority, Respondent No. 4 to press the resolution dated
          14.05.02, which has been rejected by the Government. A
          perusal of the rejection order reveals that rejection is not
          based for other reasons, except that the land proposed to
          be released under Section 48,of the Land Acquisition Act,
c         has been thrust upon the development authority to sell it
          out so that its financial position is improved, This is no
          reason. The acquisition under the Land Acquisition Act is
          made for the public purpose if needed. No doubt the town
          plan development of the council is a public purpose done
D         by the development authority but the development authority
          when itself says that is not needed, then the condition of
          acquisition is not fulfilled as contained in the Land
          Ac<luisition Act. Therefore reason of rejection is not
          germane to the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act. The
E         Development Authority is directed to press its resolution
          if the authority is not in need of the said land.

          The petition is accordingly disposed of."

         8. Dissatisfied with the orders passed by the High Court,
F   the appellants have moved these appeals by special leave.

       9. Learned senior counsel appearing for the appellants
  assailed the orders passed by the High Court, firstly on the
  ground that there is apparent error in the orders of the High
G Court inasmuch as the appellants never confined their reliefs
  only to the extent of directing the MDA to press its resolution if
  the Authority is not in the need of the said land. Learned counsel
  submitted that the MDA in clear terms already expressed its
  opinion in the resolution dated 17.9.1997 that the land is not
H required by the Authority for any development purpose. Thus,
 MAHADEO (D) THROUGH LRS & ORS. v. STATE OF 545
         U. P. & ORS. [M.Y. EQBAL, J.]
the High Court fell in error in placing onus again on the MDA         A
to press for resolution. According to the learned counsel, the
refusal of the State Government in rejecting the proposal of the
Authority is illegal and liable to be set aside.

    10. Some of the important facts which are not in dispute          8
can be summarized as under:

     (i) Notification under Section 4 and Declaration under
     Section 6 were issued for the acquisition of 246.931 acres
     of the land for the purpose of construction of residential/
     commercial building under the planned Development                C
     Scheme in the District of Meerut by the MDA;

     (ii) Inquiry under Section SA of the Act was dispensed with
     since provision of Section 17(1)&(4) was invoked;

     (iii) In response to the notice under Section 9(1) of the Act,   D
     the appellant-land owners filed their objections and finally
     the award under Section 11 of the Act was passed on
     17.3.1992 by the Special Land Acquisition Officer; and

     (iv) As requested by the appellants and other land owners,       E
     reference under Section 18 of the Act was made on
     22.9.1997.

     11. The respondent-MDA has filed a detailed counter
affidavit stating inter alia that the land was acquired for Ganga     F
Nagar Housing Extension Scheme because of the need for
housing accommodation and to prevent unplanned growth of
construction. Notices were issued under Section 9(1) inviting
objections and after completing all the procedure award was
passed on 17.03.1992.
                                                                      G
     12. After the said award, a sum of Rs. 5.32 crores out of
the total amount of Rs.5.51 crores was deposited. The
appellants filed reference application for enhancement of
compensation in 2002. It was further stated that possession of
the land so acquired was taken by the State Government and            H
    546     SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [2013) 2 S.C.R.


A   delivered to MDA in 2002. The MDA further stated that out of
    246 acres of land, approximately 125 acres of land has already
    been allotted for residential and institutional use as per the
    Master Plan.

       13. It is stated that the MDA has already spent Rs. 21
8
  crores for development since 2002 which includes construction
  of overhead tanks, roads, sewage treatment plant etc. It is
  stated that the earlier request of MDA was withdrawn by
  passing fresh resolution on 15.03.2002 in order to develop the
  entire acquired land as Ganga Nagar Colony. The MDA further
C stated that rest of the acquired land is also being developed
  making a huge investment on roads, sewage and other civic
  amenities.

       14. Lastly, it has been brought on record that some of the
D appellants were not the original owners of the land at the time
  when notifications under Section 4, 6 and 9 of the Act were
  issued. it has further been brought to our notice that some of
  the appellants are the purchasers of the land from the land
  owners after the notification was issued under Section 4 of the
E Act.

       15. On these facts, the sole question, therefore, that falls
  for consideration is as to whether merely because of internal
  correspondences between the MDA and the State that by the
  resolution dated 17. 9.1997 the MDA took a decision to
F withdraw the acquisition and to get approval from the State
  Government, a writ of mandamus can be issued directing the
  State or the MDA to denotify or de-requisition the land which
  was acquired after following the due process of law and an
  award to that effect has been passed by the Special Land
G Acquisition Officer.

      16. There is no dispute with regard to the settled
  proposition of law that once the land is acquired and mandatory
  requirements are complied with including possession having
H been taken the land vests in the State Government free from
MAHADEO (D) THROUGH LRS & ORS. v. STATE OF 54 7
        U. P. & ORS. [M.Y. EQBAL, J.]
all encumbrances. Even if some unutilised land remains, it            A
cannot be re-conveyed or re-assigned to the erstwhile owner
by invoking the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act. This
Court in the case of Govt. of A.P. and Anr. vs. V. Syed Akbar
AIR 2005 SC 492 held that:-
                                                                      8
    "It is neither debated nor disputed as regards the valid
    acquisition of the land in question under the provisions of
    the Land Acquisition Act and the possession of the land
    had been taken. By virtue of Section 16 of the Land
    Acquisition Act, the acquired land has vested absolutely          C
    in the Government free from all encumbrances. Under
    Section 48 of the Land Acquisition Act, Government could
    withdraw from the acquisition of any land of which
    possession has not been taken. In the instant case, even
    under Section 48, the Government could not withdraw from
    acquisition or to reconvey the said land to the respondent        D
    as the possession of the land had already been taken. The
    position of law is well settled. In State of Kera/a and Ors.
    v. M. Bhaskaran Pillai & Anr. (1997) 5 SCC 432 para 4
    of the said judgment reads: (SCC p. 433)
                                                                      E
            "4. In view of the admitted position that the land in
    question was acquired under the Land Acquisition Act,
    1894 by operation of Section 16 of the Land Acquisition
    Act, it stood vested in the State free from all encumbrances.
    The question emerges whether the Government can assign            F
    the land to the erstwhile owners? It is settled law that if the
    land is acquired for a public purpose, after the public
    purpose was achieved, the rest of the land could be used
    for any other public purpose. In case there is no other
    public purpose for which the land is needed, then instead         G
    of disposal by way of sale to the erstwhile owner, the land
    should be put to public auction and the amount fetched in
    the public auction can be better utilised for the public
    purpose envisaged in the Directive Principles of the
    Constitution. In the present case, what we find is that the       H
    548      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [2013] 2 S.C.R.

A         executive order is not in consonance with the provision of
          the Act and is, therefore, invalid. Under these
          circumstances, the Division Bench is well justified in
          declaring the executive order as invalid. Whatever
          assignment is made, should be for a public purpose.
B         Otherwise, the land of the Government should be sold only
          through the public auctions so that the public also gets
          benefited by getting a higher value."

         17. In the case of Satendra Prasad Jain & Ors. vs. State
    of U.P. and Ors., AIR 1993 SC 2517, a 3-Judge Bench of this
C Court after considering various provisions including Section 17
  of the Act observed as under:

         "14. Ordinarily, the Government can take possession of the
         land proposed to be acquired only after an award of
D        compensation in respect thereof has been made under
         Section 11. Upon the taking of possession the land vests
         in the Government, that is to say, the owner of the land
         loses to the Government the title to it. This is what Section
       . 16 states. The provisions of Section 11-A are intended to
E        benefit the land owner and ensure that the award is made
         within a period of two years from the date of the Section
         6 declaration. In the ordinary case, therefore, when
         Government fails to make an award within two years of the
         declaration under Section 6, the land has still not vested
F        in the Government and its title remains with the owner, the
         acquisition proceedings are still pending and, by virtue of
         the provisions of Section 11-A, lapse. When Section 17(1)
         is applied by reason of urgency, Government takes
         possession of the land prior to the making of the award
         under Section 11 and thereupon the owner is divested of
G
         the title to the land which is vested in the Government.
         Section 17(1) states so in unmistakable terms. Clearly,
         Section 11-A can have no application to cases of
         acquisitions under Section 17 because the lands have I
         already vested in the Government and there is no provision
H
MAHADEO (D) THROUGH LRS & ORS. v. STATE OF 549
        U. P. & ORS. [M.Y. EQBAL, J.]
       in the said Act by which land statutorily vested in the    A
       Government can revert to the owner."

     18. Indisputably, land in question was acquired by the
State Government for the purpose of expansion of city i.e.
construction of residential/commercial building under planned
                                                                  8
development scheme by the Meerut Development Authority and
that major portion of the land has already been utilized by the
Authority. Merely because some land was left at the relevant
time, that does not give any right to the Authority to send
proposal to the Government for release of the land in favour of   C
the land owners. The impugned orders passed by the High
Court directing the Authority to press the Resolution are
absolutely unwarranted in law.

    19. For the reasons aforesaid, there is no merit in these
appeals which are accordingly dismissed.                          D

R.P.                                      Appeals dismissed.