The issuance of notices under Section 4 of the Bihar Government Premises (Rent, Recovery and Eviction) Act, 1956, is ultra vires and misconceived if the lands in question are not government premises as defined in the Act and the title in the lands has not vested in the government due to the absence of possession being taken under Section 16 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

N.Untwalia and S.Wasiuddin JJ.

1. The petitioners have obtained a rule from the Court against the State of Bihar and two of its Officers to show cause why the notices issued under Section 4 of the Bihar Government Premises (Rent, Recovery and Eviction) Act, 1956 (Bihar Act 20 of 1956) (hereinafter called the Act) be not quashed and why the respondents be not restrained from interfering with the title and possession of the petitioner in respect of plot Nos. 4236 and 4248 situated in the town of Saharsa, Cause has been shown by learned Standing Counsel No. 2 on behalf of the respondents. A Counter affidavit has also been filed.

2. The petitioners case is that they have built two storeyed pucca buildings in plot Nos. 4236 and 4248 which are their tenancy lands. The impugned notices issued under Section 4 of the Act were received by them on 5-7-1968 informing them that they had occupied the Government premises in an authorised manner. They were, therefore, directed to vacate the Government premises and on their failure further actions were threatened. The petitioners filed their show cause on 23-7-1968 denying that they were in any unauthorised occupation of Government premises. They asserted that the lands over which their buildings stood were their lands and no part of it from which they were sought to be evicted was a part of the Government premises as defined in the Act.

3. The gist of the statement in the counter-affidavit filed on behalf of the respondents is that certain portions of the two plots were acquired under the land Acquisition Act, 1894 (Central Act No. 1 of 1894), awards were made, compensations were paid to the awardees and the petitioners had no right to make any construction over any piece of land which was acquired by the Government under the Central Act 1 of 1894. It is not necessary to give the details of the land acquisition proceedings as mentioned in the counter-affidavit. Suffice it to say, that the claim on behalf of the State is that certain portions of the disputed lands were acquired from the rightful owners before .they were purchased by the petitioners from them, and certain portions were acquired from the petitioners themselves. No where, however, it is specifically stated in the Counter-affidavit that possession of the lands acquired had been taken under Section 16 of the Central Act of 1894. The land acquisition proceedings are said to have been completed in one of the paragraphs of the counter-affidavit as it appears in the sense of making the award by the Collector and payment of compensation by him.

4. Mr. Radha Raman appearing in support of the rule has urged three points:

(1) That Section 4 of the Act is constitutionally invalid as, it is violative of Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution, inasmuch as, it prescribes a procedure for taking possession of the Government premises over the above the procedure prescribed under the Central Act 1 of 1894; and the general law of taking possession by institution of a suit without indicating any guide line as to under what particular circumstances one procedure has to be followed and not the other, and also because there is no adequate machinery provided in the Act for deciding disputed questions of title if they are raised as has been raised by the petitioners.

(2) That no notice under the Act could be issued on the special facts and the circumstances of this case; and

(3) That the notices issued are not in accordance with law.

5. We do not propose to decide either the first or the third question in this case, as in our opinion, the application has got to be allowed on the ground of the second submission made on behalf of the petitioners.

6. Under Section 2(c) of the Act-

Government premises means any premises belonging to or taken on lease or requisitioned by, the State Government.

Clause (d) says " premises means any land or building or part of a building and includes the garden, grounds" etc. as mentioned in Sub-Clauses (i) to (iii) of