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PETITIONER: C.K. NARAYANA CHARY

       Vs.

RESPONDENT: POTHEPALLI ASHANNA & ORS.

DATE OF JUDGMENT30/09/1985

BENCH: BHAGWATI, P.N. (CJ) BENCH: BHAGWATI, P.N. (CJ) PATHAK, R.S. SEN, AMARENDRA NATH (J)

CITATION:  1986 AIR  317            1985 SCR  Supl. (3) 161  1986 SCC  (1)   9        1985 SCALE  (2)783

ACT:      Land Acquisition  Act 1894 sec. 4(1) & Land Acquisition (A.P. Amendment & validation) Act 1983 - Acquisition of Land Issuance of  Notification -  Public notice  of substance  of Notification -  Giving of  within 40  days of publication of Notification in Official Gazette - Necessity of.

HEADNOTE:      A Notification  under sub-s.(1)  of s.  4 of  the  Land Acquisition Act  1894 was  issued on  18th October, 1979 and published in  the Official  Gazette on the same day. On l9th November 1979 the Revenue Divisional Officer directed notice of the  substance of  the Notification  to be  given in  the locality. The compliance report was submitted by the Village Officer on 18th December, 1979.      The Land owners Respondent Nos . 1 and 2 challenged the Notification under  Article 226  on the  ground that  public notice in the locality was not given of the substance of the Notification on  the same  day on which the Notification was published in  the Official  Gazette. The  High Court allowed the petition ant quashed the Notification on 28th June 1983.      However, before  the delivery of the judgment, the Land Acquisition (Andhra  Pradesh Amendment  ant Validation)  Act 1983 hat  b. n  enacted on  23rd June  1983,  which  escaped consideration by  the High  Court.  The  appellant  filed  a Review Petition  and the  Same was  dismissed on  the ground that there  Was a  time gap  of more than forty days between the publication  in the  Official  Gazette  and  the  public notice of the substance of the Notification in the locality.      Dismissing the appeal of the appellant to this Court, ^      HELD: In  case of y Notification issued under sub-s.(1) of 8.4 on or after 12th Sept., 1975, if public notice of the substance of  such notification is not given in the locality within forty  days from  the date  of  publication  of  such Notification in  the  official  Gazette,  such  Notification would be invalid. 162      Civil  Appeal   Nos.  5389-42  of  1983  dated  30.9.85 referred to.      In the  instant case, the Notification under sub-s. (1)

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of 8.4  was  published  in  the  Official  Gazette  on  18th October, 1979  and if public notice of the substance of such Notification was  given in  the locality  on  18th  December 1979, there  would be  clearly a time gap of more than forty days between the publication of the Official Gazette and the giving of public notice of the substance of the Notification in the  locality. m  e  Notification  would,  therefore,  be liable to be struck down as invalid.

JUDGMENT:      CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 2521 of 1984.      From the  Judgment and  Order dated  19.3.1984  of  the Andhra Pradesh High Court in R.W.A.M.P. No. 134 of 1984.      Y. Prabhakara Rao for the Appellant.      G.S. Narayana for the Respondent.      The judgment of the Court was delivered by      BHAGWATI, C.J.  The Notification  under sub-section (1) of section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 was issued by the Government of Andhra Pradesh in the present case on 18th October, 1979 and it was published in the Government Gazette on the  same day.  The Revenue  Divisional Officer  directed public notice  of the  substance of  the Notification  to be given in  the locality  and this  direction  was  admittedly given on  19th November, 1979. The report of compliance with this direction  was submitted by the Village Officer on 18th December, 1979.  before any  further proceedings  could take place pursuant  to the Notification, respondent nos. 1 and 2 who are  owners of  the land  notified for acquisition under the Notification filed a writ petition in the High Court for quashing the  Notification on  the ground that public notice of the substance of the Notification in the locality was not given  on  the  same  day  on  which  the  Notification  was published in  the Official  Gazette. The  High Court allowed the writ petition and quashed the impugned Notification by a Judgment dated 28th June, 1983.      However, in  the  meantime,  before  the  Judgment  was delivered by  the High  Court, the  Land Acquisition (Andhra Pradesh Amendment 163 and Validation)  Act, 1983  had already been enacted on 23rd June, A  1985. But  the attention  of the High Court was not drawn to  it and  the judgment  delivered by the High Court, therefore,  did   not  take   into  account   this  amending legislation.  The   appellant,   for   whose   benefit   the acquisition was  going to  be made, thereupon filed a Review Petition in  the High  Court. The  Review Petition  too  was dismissed by  the High  Court on  the view  that, though the impugned Notification  was published in the Official Gazette on 18th  October, 1979,  public notice  of its substance was given only  on 18th December, 1979 and there was thus a time gap of  more than  forty days between the publication in the Official Gazette  and the  public notice of the substance of the Notification  in the  locality and there was accordingly violation of  the mandate  contained in  sub-section (1)  of section 4 as amended by the Land Acquisition (Andhra Pradesh Amendment  and  Validation)  Act,  1983  with  retrospective effect from  12th September,  1975. The  appellant thereupon preferred the  present appeal  with special  leave  obtained from this Court.      We have  already held  in a  Judgment delivered  by  us today in Civil Appeals Nos. 5839-42 of 1983 that, in case of a Notification  issued under sub-section (1) of section 4 on

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or after  12th September,  1975, if  public  notice  of  the substance of  such Notification is not given in the locality within forty  days from  the date  of  publication  of  such Notification in the Official Gazette such Notification would be invalid.  Here the  Notification under sub-section (1) of section 4  was published  in the  Official Gazette  on  18th October, 1979  and if public notice of the substance of such Notifications was  given in  the locality  on 18th December, 1979, there  would clearly  be a time gap of more than forty days between the publication of the Official Gazette and the giving of public notice of the substance of the Notification in the  locality, and the Notification would be liable to be struck down  as invalid.  But the  appellant contended  that there was  no material  before the High Court to come to the conclusion that  public  notice  of  the  substance  of  the Notification  was   given  on  18th  December,  1979.  What, according to  the appellant, happened on 18th December, 1979 was only  this, namely,  that the  report of compliance with the direction  given by  the Revenue  Divisional Officer for public notice  being given  in the locality was submitted by the Village Officer, but from that, contended the appellant, it did not follow that public notice of the substance of the Notification was given on that day. We do not think there is any substance  in this  contention urged  on behalf  of  the appellant. The appellant in support of the Review Petition 164 did not  place any material before the High Court to show as to A when exactly and on what particular date, public notice of the  substance of  the impugned Notification was given in the locality.  When there  was  no  such  material  produced before it,  the High  Court was  justified in  reaching  the conclusion that  public  notice  of  the  substance  of  the impugned Notification must have been given on 18th December, 1979 and  the Village  Officer must  have immediately made a compliance report  to the  Revenue Divisional  Officer.  The High Court,  in our opinion, could not be said to have erred in holding  that public  notice  of  the  substance  of  the impugned Notification was given on 18th December, 1979.      We therefore  dismiss the  appeal but  there will be no order as to costs throughout. A.P.J.                                     Appeal dismissed. 165