JUDGMENT

FAZAL ALI, J.:— Sometimes while taking a pragmatic and progressive action under a statute in the general public interest, which is doubtless a step in the right direction, the Government succumbs to internal or external pressures by a citizen or group of citizens so as to show special favour to them which destroys the laudable object of the nature of the action. Such a course is adopted to help a few chosen friends at the cost of the people in general and frustrates the very object of the meaningful State action. Furthermore the State action brings it into direct collision with Art. 14 of the Constitution of India.

2. The present case seems to us to be a concrete illustration of the State action taken under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, to be referred to as the Act). What happened here is that while the Government of Bihar acquired a vast tract of land for construction of houses and allotment to the people belonging to the low and middle income groups but chose to exempt certain persons from the statutory action on purely unreasonable and illusory grounds. Fortunately, the chosen class comprised a very small number of persons whose lands consisted of a small pr