The publication of the preliminary notification in the official Gazette and the public notice of the substance of such notification in the locality must be done simultaneously or within a reasonable time.

JUDGMENT :

A.V. KRISHNA RAO, J.:— This batch of writ petitions have been posted before us for hearing as the writ petitions raise for determination substantially the same questions. Therefore all the counsel appearing for the various petitioners have not advanced separate arguments before us. Only some counsel had argued the several aspects and the other counsel had adopted the arguments address by them. Our suggestion that such common questions of law as arise in the various writ petitions be argued was accepted. Accordingly depending upon the answers given by us to the various questions raised and argued, we will dispose of the writ petitions on the facts of each case later. Sri D. Venkata Reddy appearing for the Government had replied to the various points raised by different counsel for the petitioner.

2. What gave rise to these writ petitions was the issuance of several notifications under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act and the dispensing with Section 5-A enquiry as a result of urgency. The acquisitions under the various notifications were all for the purpose of providing sites to the poor, viz. Harijans by acquiring the lands compulsorily by virtue of the power vested in the Government under the Land Acquisition Act or by the Collectors under Andhra Pradesh Land Acquisition Amendment Act XXII of 1976. The various contentions raised revolve round Section 4, Section 5-A, Section 6 and Section 17 of the Land Acquisition Act and also Section 3-A of the Andhra Pradesh Act XXII of 1976 which amended the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

3. The contentions advanced by the counsel on behalf of the various petitioners may be summarised thus:—

4. Under Section 4(1) of the Act, the publication of the preliminary notification for the acquisition of any land in a locality should not only be published in the official Gazette, but the public notice of the substance of such notification should be given in the said locality simultaneously. It is only upon such publication that it shall be lawful for any officer authorised by the Government in that behalf to do the things provided for under sub-section (2) of Section 4. In other words, the contention is that the Gazette publication under section 4(1) and the publication of the substance of the notification in the locality where the lands to be acquired are situated must be done at one and the same time. Section 4(1) of the Act is mandatory and non-compliance with the requirements of section 4(1) as to simultaneous publication vitiates the entire proceedings that follow and they must, all be quashed.

5. Section 5-A of the Act provides for the hearing of objections. Any person who is interested in any land which is notified under Section 4(1) may prefer objections in writing to the Collector within thirty days after the Issuing of the notification to the acquistion of the notified land. The Collector shall give an opportunity to the objector of being heard and after making such enquiry as he may think fit, shall make his recommendations on the objections along with the relevant record to the Government for a decision. The decision of the Government on the objections shall be final. But in certain cases of urgency provided for under sub-section (4) of section 17, in the case of any land to which the urgency provisions in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) are applicable, the Government may direct that the provisions of Section 5-A shall not apply, and if it so directs, a declaration may be made under sub-section (2) of that land at any time after the publication of the notification under Section 4, sub-section (1). The contention, therefore, is that it is open to the Government to dispense with the hearing of objections under Section 5-A and once such a decision is come to, straightaway a declaration under section 6 of the Act can be made after the publication of the notification under Section 4(1) Section 6 of the Act provides for a declaration by the Government of the land intended for