The Order of the Court was as follows :

Aggrieved by the land acquisition proceedings initiated by the respondents, the petitioners have filed the above writ petitions on various grounds.

2. In both the writ petitions the total extent involved in the acquisition proceedings is 12 cents. The lands in Survey Nos. 17/13 and 17/16 an extent of 6 cents owned by the petitioner in W.P. No. 3969 of 91 and another 6 cents owned by the petitioner in W.P. No. 3976 of 91 were sought to be acquired by Madras Metropolitan Development Authority for widening Nesapak-kam Road. In both the writ petitions even though the petitioners have raised several contentions, on the basis of various averments in the counter-affidavit filed by the respondents, learned Counsel for the petitioner confined his submisions and raised the following points :-

i) There is no proper enquiry as per Section 5-A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 since Rule 3(b) of Land Acquisition (Tamil Nadu) Rules has not been followed.

ii) The entire acquisition proceedings initiated against both the petitioners are liable to be quashed on the ground of mala fide action of the respondents.

3. On the other hand, learned Senior Coun