ORDER

Notification under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, the Act ) was published on June 19, 1982 acquiring lands in Survey No. 27/C.1/A/1 admeasuring 1 hectare, 19 acres and 8 tees for construction of houses for weaker sections of the society. Notification under Section 5A was issued. The enquiry was conducted and on satisfaction that it was needed for public purpose, declaration under Section 6 was published on January 7, 1983. After the Land Acquisition Officer issued notice under Sections 9 and 10 of the Act, the respondent No. 3 filed writ petition in the High Court questioning the validity of the notification and the declaration. The contention raised and accepted by the High Court was that since Section 3A of the Bombay (Amendment) Act, 1945 (22 of 1945) empowers the officer authorised by the Commissioner to satisfy himself whether the land is needed for a public purpose and since the authorised officer had not satisfied in that behalf, the Government s power, after the enquiry under Section 5-A, was denuded. The Government, therefore, was not right in its conclusion that the land was needed for a public purpose. We find that the view taken by the