JUDGMENT

T.S. THAKUR, J.

1. These appeals by special leave arise out of a common Judgment and Order dated 9th April, 2001 passed by a Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay whereby the High Court has dismissed Writ Petition No.670 of 1996 and upheld a notification dated 13th November, 1987 issued under Section 126 (2) of the MRTP Act read with Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act and published in the Official Gazette on 3rd December, 1987. The High Court has by the same judgment and order quashed order dated 20th May, 1998 issued under Section 40 of the Land Regulation Act directing withdrawal of the acquisition proceedings, and allowed Writ Petitions No. 3620 and 3874 of 1998. Facts leading to the filing of the writ petitions and the present appeals may be summarised as under:

2. Pune Municipal Corporation which is also the Planning Authority under the MRTP Act published a notification on 13th May, 1976 declaring its intention to revise the development plan for the Pune city and inviting suggestions and objections to the proposed revision. The Draft Revised Development Plan inter alia covered site No.M-145 comprising Survey No.559/2B admeasuring 1 hectare 20 acres (approximately) which was under the orders of Director, Town Planning shown as reserved for the extension of the APMC market yard. The Draft Development Plan published in the Official Gazette on 7th October, 1982 in terms of Section 26 of the MRTP Act clearly reflected the reservation aforementioned.

3. The Revised Development Plan was eventually sanctioned by the State Government in which the parcel of the land aforementioned owned by late Pralhad Lokram Dodeja and his brother late Bansidhar Dodeja, appellants in Civil Appeal No.2854 of 2002 continued to be shown as reserved for APMC with the only change that instead of extension of the APMC market yard the designated purpose shown was 'Bamboo Trade and Flea Market'. The sanctioned Revised Development Plan further declared APMC to be the appropriate authority for acquisition and development of the said parcel of land. What is important is that although the Planning Authority had declared its intention to prepare a Revised Development Plan as early as in May 1976 and invited objections and suggestions from the public and although the Revised Draft Plan was published under Section 26 of the Act in the Official Gazette on 7th October, 1982, no objections were filed to the same by the land owners aforementioned at any point of time. It is in that backdrop that the appellant-Mutha Associates, for the first time, came on the scene on 8th March, 1984 when they acquired what was described as development rights over the disputed parcel of land upon payment of the earnest money of Rs.50,000/- only.

4. Pursuant to the sanction granted by the State Government under Section 31 of the MRTP Act, the Commissioner of Pune Division issued a declaration on 13th November, 1987 under Section 126 (2) of the MRTP Act read with Section 6 of the Land Acquisition declaring that the parcel of land aforementioned was needed for the public purpose of extension of market yard. This notification was published in the Official Gazette on 3rd December, 1987. The Special Land Acquisition Officer appointed for the purpose in due course issued notices to the owners as also to the appellant-Mutha Associates on 15th October, 1988, 31st December, 1988, 11th April, 1989 and 21st April, 1989. No objections were filed either by the owners or by Mutha Associates-their agent/Builder despite the said notices. Instead they moved two applications before the Chief Minister of the State of Maharashtra one on 11th September, 1989 and the other on 13th October, 1989 praying for deletion of the land under acquisition from reservation. The Special Land Acquisition Officer, however, went ahead with the acquisition proceedings and made an award on 9th November, 1989, pursuant whereto the respondent-APMC deposited a sum of Rs.26,29,872/- towards the cost o