Judgement

VAIDIALINGAM, J. : These two appeals, on certificate, are directed against the judgment of the Calcutta High Court, in Appeals from Orders, Nos .397 and 398 of 1958, dated March 5, 1959, in so far as the High Court has held that the notification, issued by the State Government, under S. 4 of the West Bengal Land Development and Planning Act, 1948 (W. B. Act XXI of 1948) (hereinafter referred to as the Act), is valid. The appellant and respondents, in both the appeals, are the same and common questions arise for consideration in both.

2. The Society of Farmers and Rural Industrialists, of which the third respondent is the Secretary, requested the first respondent, the State of West Bengal, to acquire, compulsorily, certain lands for the establishment of an Agricultural Colony for creating better living conditions therein. The first respondent issued a notification, on February 4, 1955, under S. 4 of the Act, stating that an extent of about 28.59 acres of lands, more fully described therein, and situated in the villages of Ghola and Natagarh, is likely to be needed for a public purpose, viz., the establishment of an agricultural colony and the creation of better living condit