JUDGMENT :

1. Leave granted. These appeals have been filed for setting aside judgment dated 24.11.2011 of the Division Bench of the Patna High Court whereby the Letters Patent Appeals filed by the Appellants were dismissed and the order passed by the learned Single Judge negating challenge to the acquisition of their land was upheld.

2. The Superintendent of Police, Bagaha sent requisition dated 14.3.2000 to District Magistrate, West Champaran, Bettiah for making available suitable land for construction of police lines. For the next four years, different officers of the State Government exchanged correspondence for the acquisition of land of different measurements. On 24.2.2004, Superintendent of Police, Bagaha sent a requisition to District Magistrate, West Champaran for the acquisition of 45.05 acres of land of villages Pokharbinda and Domwalia on urgent basis. He also suggested that inquiry under Section 5A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, 'the Act') may be dispensed with by invoking Section 17. After about three years, the State Government issued notification dated 9.2.2007 under Section 4 read with Section 17(4) of the Act for the acquisition of land and also declared that Section 5A shall not be applicable. The declaration made under Section 6 was published on The Land Acquisition Officer passed award dated 1.4.2009.

3. On receipt of the notice issued under Section 12(2) of the Act, the Appellants filed C.W.J.C. Nos. 8653 of 2009 and 4817 of 2010 before the Patna High Court and prayed for quashing the acquisition of their land. One of the several grounds taken by the Appellants was that there was no urgency which could justify invoking of the provisions of Section 17 of the Act and, in any case, there was no valid ground to dispense with the application of Section 5A of the Act. The Appellants also pleaded that the acquisition proceedings will be deemed to have lapsed because the award was not passed within two years of the making of declaration under Section 6 of the Act.

4. The learned Single Judge rejected the Appellants' plea that there was no valid ground for invoking Section 17 of the Act by recording the following observations:

The draft of the notification clearly provided that it was an appropriate case in which Government should dispense with the inquiry under Section 5A with reference to the provisions contained in Sub-section-(4) of Section-17 of the Act, which was approved by the State Government (Hon'ble Minister) on 2.2.2007 on the basis of which notification dated 9.2.2007 under Section-4 and declaration dated 13.2.2007 under Section-6 was issued. It is thus evident that the Government having considered the urgency to raise the police line while approving the proposal and draft notification/declaration under order dated 2.2.2007 specifically directed to dispense with the inquiry under Section-5A of the Act and the submission to the contrary that there is no Government order under Sub-section-(4) of Section-17 of the Act to dispense with the inquiry under Section-5A of the Act is misconceived and rejected. The Collector having considered the importance and urgency of the project for which the land acquisition was being made, and having published the notification/declaration in two newspapers and the district gazette as also having taken steps for local publication under letter dated 25.4.2007 requested the Commissioner, Tirhut Division to request the Director, Land Acquisition, Bihar to obtain government order for taking immediate possession of the lands in question. Such request was forwarded by the Commissioner to the Director, who placed the request before the Hon'ble Minister on 3.7.2007 and the State Government (Hon'ble Minister) under order dated 4.7.2007, which is at page-10 of the file approved the proposal to take immediate possession of the lands in question under Sub-section-(1) of Section-17 of the Act. In compliance whereof order contained in letter No. 1605 dated 11.7.2007, kept at pa