Judgment

SINHA, C.J.I. : This petition under Art. 32 of the Constitution impugns the constitutionality of the land acquisition proceedings with particular reference to the notification under S. 4 of the Land Acquisition Act (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") in respect of an area of land within the district of Thana in the State of Bombay, now known as the State of Maharashtra.

2. In order to appreciate the controversy raised in this case, it is necessary to state the following facts. By a notification dated April 3, 1959, the first respondent, the State of Bombay (now Maharashtra) under S. 4 of the Land Acquisition Act of 1894, stated that the lands specified in the schedule attached to the said notification were likely to be needed for the purposes of the third respondent, Messrs. Mukund Iron & Steel Works Ltd., a Company registered under the Indian Companies Act, 1913, and having its registered office at Kurla, Bombay No. 37, in the State of Maharashtra, for its factory buildings, etc. The notification further stated that under Cl. (c) of S. 3 of the Act, the Government was pleased to appoint the Special Land Acquisition Officer, the second respondent, to perform the functions