Requirement of taking prior approval of Govt. initiating land acquisition proceeding is a must.

The petitioners in these writ petitions are the husband and wife respectively. In these writ petitions, the petitioners have challenged the land acquisition proceedings including Section 4(1) Notification dated 14.06.1995, issued under G.O.Ms.No.508, Housing and Urban Development Department dated 17.05.1995 and Section 6 Declaration published on 01.07.1996, relating to the properties of the petitioners in Survey Nos.517/2 and 501/2 at No.19, Vellakinar Village, Coimbatore District, Coimbatore (North) measuring 5.69 acres and 3.51 acres respectively.

2. The property comprised in Survey No.517/2 measuring 2.88 acres with right of pathway in 2.8 meters wide south to north common cart track measuring 14 cents and another property in Survey No.501/2 measuring 3.51 acres with right of pathway in 2.8 meters wide south to north common cart track measuring 14 cents belonged to the petitioner in W.P.No.9241 of 1998, which he had purchased under two sale deeds. Likewise, the property comprised in Survey No.501/2 measuring 3.51 acres with right of pathway in 2.8 meters wide south to north common cart track measuring 14 cents is owned by the petitioner in W.P.No.9259 of 1998, having purchased by her under a Registered Sale Deed.

3. According to the petitioners after their purchase, which was in 1993, the details of transfer has been effected in the village accounts. The said property was purchased for the purpose of putting up an industry and the petitioner in W.P.No.9341 of 1998 has purchased machinery through Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation, Hosur, worth about Rs.8.3 lakhs for manufacturing agricultural pesticide containers.

4. The petitioners have received notice dated 03.06.1998, received by them on 08.06.1998, under Sections 9(3) and 10 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 issued by the second respondent. Only on receipt of the said notice, the petitioners came to know for the first time about the land acquisition proceedings. In the said notice, the second respondent has called upon the petitioners to appear for an enquiry on 22.06.1998, for the purpose of passing the Award. Later, the petitioner came to know that 4(1) Notification has been published on 14.06.1995, in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette in G.O.Ms.No.508, Housing and Urban Development Department, dated 17.05.1995 and Section 6 Declaration has been published on 01.07.1996.

5. The petitioners have filed the above writ petitions challenging Section 4(1) Notification and Section 6 Declaration on various grounds including that 4(1) Notification was not published in the locality publication as contemplated under the Act and therefore, the Notification as well as Section 6 Declaration are liable to be quashed; that no opportunity was given to the petitioners to participate in Section 5(A) enquiry. That apart, the gap between Section 4(1) Notification and Section 6 Declaration is more than one year and therefore, it is liable to be set aside; that the second respondent is aware of the fact that the petitioners are the owners, since the revenue records have been transferred in the name of the petitioners; that the award should be passed within two years from the date of Section 6 declaration and in this case, Section 6 declaration was published on 01.07.1996 and Award notice itself was given on 03.06.1998 and in as much as the Award has not been passed till date even beyond two years and that some of the lands in the same area similar to that of the petitioners has been excluded from the acquisition and therefore taking away the properties of the petitioners violate Article 14 of the Constitution of India. It is the further case of the petitioners that prior approval of the Government has not been obtained for the purpose of Housing Board acquisition as required under Section 3(f)(vi) of the Central Act 1 of 1894.

6. The Tamil Nadu Housing Board, the third respondent in the writ petitions, who is the requisitioning authority, in the counter affidavit has