The main legal point established in the judgment is the justification for invoking the urgency clause under Section 17 of the Land Acquisition Act for the public purpose of the Metro Rail Project.

1. The petitioner has come forward with this writ petition challenging the publication of the notification under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, hereinafter called as the Act, by which the petitioner's property was sought to be acquired by the respondents for establishment of Metro Rail Project.

i) The petitioner would contend that the property situate in Door No.569, Anna Salai, Teynampet, Chennai - 600 018 is his ancestral property. According to the petitioner, there was a partition suit filed by his elder brother in C.S. No. 225 of 1981 before this Court in which he was impleaded as first defendant and his sisters and other legal heirs were arrayed as defendants 2 to 9 in the said suit. The suit was ultimately decreed on 23.04.1984 by allotting 10/44 share to the petitioner in his mother's property and thereafter a final decree application was filed in which an advocate commissioner was appointed. But till date the final decree has not been passed. Subsequently, by order dated 27.06.2008 passed by this Court, the petitioner was given pre-emptive right to purchase the shares of the plaintiffs, which were sold to third party during the pendency of the suit. While so, as against the preliminary decree passed in the suit, four Original Side appeals have been filed by a third party, who was arrayed as 10th defendant in the suit and another four original side appeals have been filed by the petitioner and all the eight appeals are pending as on date.

ii) According to the petitioner, he is residing in a portion of the property which is sought to be acquired by the respondents. While so, on 18.02.2011, the officials of the respondents have invaded into his property unauthorisedly, attempted to take measurements and also to take over possession of the property, which according to him is unauthorised. There was no notification under Section 4 (1) of the Act issued proposing to acquire the lands. Later on, the petitioner came to know that the Chennai Metro Rail Limited is attempting to acquire the property belonged to him. Even his application dated 17.05.2011 filed under the Right to Information Act to the concerned authorities have not been responded to. Therefore, the petitioner has filed W.P. No. 14592 of 2011 before this Court and this Court by order dated 24.06.2011 issued direction to the respondents therein to consider the petitioner's application on merits. Only thereafter, did the petitioner came to know that a notification under Section 4 (1) of the Act was published by the respondents in one issue of English Daily Deccan Chronicle dated 21.07.2011 in which it was mentioned that the lands, including the lands of the petitioner, are proposed to be acquired by invoking the emergency clause provided under Section 17 of the said Act.

iii) The main grievance of the petitioner is that invocation of Section 17 of the Act is unwarranted and even in case of urgency, the respondents ought to have proceeded further by giving 15 days prior notice under Section 9 of the Act by publishing a notice expressing the intention to take possession of the property and to call for objections from the interested person to appear before the authority concerned. The notification under Section 4 (1) of the Act do not disclose the extent of the proposed area of the land sought to be acquired from the petitioner and there is no need or necessity to invoke the urgency clause in the Act. The objection of the petitioner has not been heard and invocation of such urgency clause deprived the petitioner of his legal pre-emptive right to purchase the property. There is no real urgency and in such event, the enquiry under Section 5-A of the Act ought not to have been dispensed with by the respondents. Mere public purpose does not in any way automatically mean that there is a real urgency warranting invocation of Section 17 of the Act. Contrary to the guidelines of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited notifying that they will invoke the power under Sec