Varadaraja Gounder v. State Of Tamilnadu

(The Chief Justice)

1. But for the long delay of nearly three years on the part of the appellants, we should have had no hesitation in quashing the land acquisition proceedings. The proceedings to acquire land to provide housesites for Harijans were admittedly taken as early as 1960. But the notification under S. 4(1) of the Act was made only on 7th August 1966. At that point of time, suddenly the department thought that that there was a grave urgency and on that view dispensed with the application of S. 5-A of the Lind Acquisition Act and invoked S. 17. This was wholly an unjustified procedure. This Court has repeatedly pointed out that unless acquisition could not brook a delay of approximately two months or even three months in applying S. 5-A before the declaration under S. 6, there was no power to invoke the urgency provisions. There was evidently no urgency of that kind in this case and the department was not justified in invoking S. 17. We should have, therefore, quashed the notification.

2. But, unfortunately, there have been events which stand in the way of issuing a writ. It is not in every case that this court is bound to grant a writ. The party concerned that approach this court for that remedy with, all expedition, at any rate, before the other aids has done something which would be unfair to ask him to retrace. The S. 9 notice was issued as early as September 1966 and in august 1967, it would appear that one of the appellants before us Applied in W.P 2504 of 1966, which was eventually dismissed, but there no challenge was made to the dispensation with the S. 5-A procedure. No doubt, subsequently, the appellants had been moving the Government on some ground or other. But then, we find from the record that the Government had taken possession of the lands in question on 22nd January 1968, and 9th May 1968. No doubt, the appellants, on filing petitions under Art. 226 of the Constitution, had obtained injunctions. Apparently, under cover of those injunctions, they had been cultivating the lands. But that does not mean that in the absence of a contradiction of the allegation in the counter-affidavit we can say that no possession was taken on the dates abovementioned by the Government. The award also had been passed earlier. That being the case, it was too late for the appellants to have applied to this court. That was the view of Palaniswamy, J. with whom we agree.

3. The appeals ate dismissed. No costs.

V.C.S