JUDGMENT

K.G. Balakrishnan, J.-The appellants in these two appeals are land-owners whose land was acquired for the purpose of starting an "Industrial Focal Point" by the State of Punjab. Notification under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 was published on 7-5-1991. Appellants in Civil Appeal No. 66 of 1998 filed objections on 13-6-1991. Section 6 declaration was made on 18-3-1992 and the award was passed on 15-3-1994. The appellants filed writ petitions before the High Court of Punjab & Haryana, challenging the acquisition proceedings. The Division Bench of the High Court dismissed the writ petitions and aggrieved by the same, the present appeals are filed.

2. Though the appellants had raised several grounds in the writ petitions, those grounds were not urged before us. The appellants urged only two grounds, namely : there was no Section 5A inquiry and the appellants were not given personal hearing regarding the objections filed by them; and secondly, the lands owned by them were liable to be exempted as the acquired lands were agricultural lands.

3. In Civil Appeal No. 66 of 1998, the counsel for the appellants contended that though Section 5A inquiry was mandatory, n