Judgment

M. Jagannadha Rao, J.-Leave granted.

2. The appeals all arise out of the common judgment of the Allahabad High Court dated 24.4.1997. By that judgment, the writ petitions filed by the appellants questioning the validity of land acquisition pro­ceedings were all dismissed.

3. The following are the facts common to all the matters. On 25.9.1991, the District Magistrate, Agra sent proposals to the U.P. Government for acquisition of 10.175 hectares of land in village Bainpur, U.P. for construction of a market yard for fruits and vegeta­bles. Various plots of land were included in the notification. The Section 4(1) notification was issued under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (hereinunder called the Act) on 5.10.1993 for acquisition of 7.334 hectares. The notification stated that the provisions of Section 5-A were being dispensed with in view of the urgency of the matter and this was being done in exercise of powers under Section 17(4) of the Act. The notification insofar as it related to urgency, and dispensing with Section 5-A inquiry read as follows:

“Being of the opinion that the provisions of sub-section (1) of Sec­tion 17 of the said Act are applicable to the said land inasmuch