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2010 Supreme(SC) 853
2010 (7) Supreme 585
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
G.S. Singhvi and Asok Kumar Ganguly, JJ.
Ramjas Foundation and another — Appellants
versus
Union of India and others — Respondents
Civil Appeal No.6662 of 2004
Decided on : 9-11-2010
Z
Headnote:Land Acquisition Act, 1894 –Section 5A-Acquisition of 34070 acres land including 872 bighas and 17 biswas land of appellant No.1 situated at Chowkri Mubarikabad and 730 bighas land situated at Sadhora Khurd for planned development of Delhi-Appeal against judgment of High Court whereby first appeal preferred by appellants against judgment of Single Judge, who declined to nullify the acquisition of their land was dismissed-Plea of appellant that in view of clause (d) of notification dated 13.11.1959, land of appellant was liable to be excluded from acquisition because it was a Wakf property-Evidence on record that in the function organized in Ramjas School, dedicator made an announcement that he had created a Wakf and donated all his moveable and immoveable properties to the Society for charitable purposes but no evidence was produced before Single Judge to prove this- Rather, evidence produced before Single Judge showed that even after the so called dedication of land for charitable purposes, same continued in the name of Rai Sahib Kedar Nath till 1936 when he executed the release deed in favour of the Trust of which he himself was the founder trustee apart from being the Manager of the school and President of Society- The hawan ceremony performed by Rai Sahib Kedar Nath which was preceded by Samarpan and Sankalp also showed that he did not intend to create a Wakf- This is the reason why the objects of Ramjas College Society formed in 1917 did not make a mention of the Wakf allegedly created by Rai Sahib Kedar Nath- In the deed of settlement executed by the British Government, the institution was described as a public educational charity and not as a Wakf- Therefore, the concurrent finding recorded by Single Judge and the Division Bench that what was created by Rai Sahib Kedar Nath was a public charitable trust and not a Wakf and the property acquired vide notification dated 13.11.1959 was not a Wakf property not called for interference-Appeal dismissed. (Paras 20, 21)
Facts of the Case :
34070 acres of land including 872 bighas and 17 biswas land of appellant No.1 situated at Chowkri Mubarikabad and 730 bighas land situated at Sadhora Khurd were acquired for planned development of Delhi.
2. Present Appeal has been filed against judgment of High Court whereby first appeal preferred by appellants against judgment of Single Judge, who declined to nullify the acquisition of their land was dismissed.Plea of appellant that in view of clause (d) of notification dated 13.11.1959, land of appellant was liable to be excluded from acquisition because it was a Wakf property.
Findings of the Court :
Evidence on record showed that in the function organized in Ramjas School, dedicator made an announcement that he had created a Wakf and donated all his moveable and immoveable properties to the Society for charitable purposes but no evidence was produced before Single Judge to prove this. Rather, evidence produced before Single Judge showed that even after the so called dedication of land for charitable purposes, same continued in the name of Rai Sahib Kedar Nath till 1936 when he executed the release deed in favour of the Trust of which he himself was the founder trustee apart from being the Manager of the school and President of Society.The hawan ceremony performed by Rai Sahib Kedar Nath which was preceded by Samarpan and Sankalp also showed that he did not intend to create a Wakf. This is the reason why the objects of Ramjas College Society formed in 1917 did not make a mention of the Wakf allegedly created by Rai Sahib Kedar Nath. In the deed of settlement executed by the British Government, the institution was described as a public educational charity and not as a Wakf. Therefore, the concurrent finding recorded by Single Judge and the Division Bench that what was created by Rai Sahib Kedar Nath was a public charitable trust and not a Wakf and the property acquired vide notification dated 13.11.1959 was not a Wakf property not called for interference.Appeal dismissed.
Result : Appeal dismissed.
JUDGMENT
G.S. Singhvi, J. —
1. This appeal is directed against judgment dated 18.5.2001 of the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court whereby the first appeal preferred by the appellants against the judgment of the learned Single Judge, who declined to nullify the acquisition of their land was dismissed.
2. Rai Sahib Kedar Nath, who retired as District Judge from the Punjab Judicial Service started three schools in Kucha Ghasi Ram, Chandni Chowk, Bazar Sita Ram and Daryaganj, Delhi between 1912 and 1916 in the memory of his father, Lala Ramjas Mal. He purchased land measuring about 1800 bighas in villages Chowkri Mubarikabad and Sadhora Khurd, which now form part of NCR Delhi from his own resources and by collecting money in the form of donations from other philanthropists. In a public function held on 25.12.1916 in Ramjas School, Kucha Ghasi Ram, Chandani Chowk, Rai Sahib Kedar Nath is said to have made an announcement that he had created a Wakf and dedicated and donated all his movable and immovable properties including the land in villages Chowki Mubarikabad and Sadhora Khurd to the said school for charitable purposes, namely, advancement and promotion of education to the public and poor students. In 1917, he formed Ramjas College Society and got the same registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 as a charitable institution. The objects of the Society were as under:
“i) To provide school and university education for boys and girls.
ii) To maintain schools, colleges, boarding houses and training institutes for training of teachers.
iii) To provide means for imparting technical and industrial education in connection with the institutions under the control of foundation.
iv) To provide means for imparting a sound moral and catholic religious education free from superstitious and controversial matters and based on the Vedas and ancient shastras.
v) To encourage and take part in Scientific Research of various kinds as well as in the study translation and publication of the Sanskrit literature and philosophy of ancient India.
vi) To amalgamate with the foundation any other societies having objects similar to those or any of these of the Foundation.
vii) To give loans to the institutions aided, run managed by or under the control of the Foundation and for the benefits of the students studying in the said institutions, aid, grants, donations, subscribe to Government and/or semi- Government relief funds, award scholarships, fellowships, stipends of any kind as also to take/accept donations, gifts and charities etc.”
3. After some time, Rai Sahib Kedar Nath formed a managing committee of which he was the President. On 25.6.1936, he transferred the entire land to the Society by executing a release deed. In 1967, the name of the Society was changed from Ramjas College Society to Ramjas Foundation and the same was registered as such.
4. By notification dated 13.11.1959 issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, ‘the Act’), the Chief Commissioner of Delhi proposed acquisition of 34070 acres land including 872 bighas and 17 biswas land of appellant No.1 situated at Chowkri Mubarikabad and 730 bighas land situated at Sadhora Khurd for planned development of Delhi excluding the following categories of land:
(a) Government land and evacuee land;
(b) the land already notified under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act for any Government Scheme;
(c) the land already notified either under Section 4 or 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, for House Building Cooperative Societies mentioned in Annexure III;
(d) the land under graveyards, tombs, shrines and the land attached to religious institutions and Wakf property.
5. The objections filed on behalf of appellant No.1 under Section 5-A of the Act through Shri Ratan Lal Gupta, Advocate were rejected by the competent authority. Thereafter, three different notifications were issued under Section 6 of the Act.
6. The acquisition of land vide notification dated 13.11.1959 was c
