The Assam Land (Requisition and Acquisition) Act, 1948, was constitutionally valid and did not violate Art. 31(2) of the Constitution.

Judgment

SUBBA RAO, J. : The petitioner owns a tea estate called the Urrunabund Tea Estate in village Udarbund in the District of Cachar in the State of Assam. The extent of the Tea Estate is about 2682 acres. Out of the said area 553.73 acres are under tea cultivation and the rest, according to the petitioner, is utilised for the purpose of tea industry and for purposes connected with the said industry. The respondents do not admit this fact and state in the counter-affidavit that the remaining area is lying fallow and unutilised. On December 4, 1959, the Deputy Commissioner of Cachar at Silchar, respondent No. 2, issued a notification requisitioning all area of183 bighas of land of the said Tea Estate, and by another notification dated December 5, 1959, he requisitioned another extent of 149 bighas 19 cottahs and 11 chattacks of land of the said Tea Estate. The petitioner filed two petitions in this Court under Art. 32 of the Constitution praying for the issue of writs of mandamus directing the respondents to forbear from giving effect to the said orders.

2. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner raised before us two contentions namely, (i) tea industry is a matter for exclusive legislation by the parliament under Entry 52, List I of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, and, therefore, the Assam Land (Requisition and Acquisition) Act of 1948, (hereinafter called the Act), in so far as it provides for the requisition and acquisition of a tea estate or lands appertaining to it is ultra vires the State Legislature; and (ii) the said Act is also constitutionally void as it offends Art. 31 (2) of the Constitution, inasmuch as it does not either provide for payment of compensation for the property requisitioned or specify the principles on which and the manner in which compensation is to be determined.

3. To appreciate the first contention, it is necessary to state some facts. The Land (Requisition and Acquisition) Act. 1948, was passed by the Assam Legislature and it received the assent of the Governor on November 14, 1948. It is a pre-Constitution Act, presumably made under Entry 9, List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Government of India Act, 1935, which related to "compulsory acquisition of land". Entry 34, List I of the Seventh Schedule to the said Act was "development of industries, where development under Federal control is declared by Federal law to be expedient in the public interest .

4. It is not stated that there was any Federal law declaring that the development of tea industry was expedient in the public interest. Therefore, at the time when the Act was passed by the Assam Legislature, even on the assumption that the entry relating to development of industries would cover legislation to prevent acquisition and requisition of land forming part of a tea estate, there was no Federal law declaring that development of tea industry was expedient in the public interest, with the result the Act was constitutionally valid at the time it was made. If so, the said law, by reason of Art. 372 of the Constitution, would continue to be in force after the commencement of the constitution until altered, repealed or amended by a competent Legislature or other competent authority. The Tea Act of 1953 was a central Act which received the assent of the President on May 28, 1953. It was passed by the Parliament in exercise of the power to make laws with respect to matters enumerated in Entry 52, List I of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. Entry 52 reads, "industries, the Control of which by the Union is declared by Parliament by law to be expedient in the public interest . Section 2 of the Tea Act in specific terms declares that it was expedient in the public interest that the Union should take under its control the tea industry. The question, therefore, is not whether at the time the Act was passed by the Legislature of the Province it had constitutional competence to make it-there cannot be any doubt about its compet