JUDGMENT :

N.KIRUBAKARAN, J.

(PRAYER : Writ Appeal filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent against the Order made in W.P.No.12832 of 1998 dated 05.08.2009.)

The lightening speed in which the officials have acted in getting approval under Section 11 (1) of the Land Acquisition Act and passing the award on the very same day definitely needs to be appreciated.

2. Here is a peculiar case in which this Court could not find bureaucratic Red-tapism. The Tahsildar wrote to the District Revenue Officer on 01.07.1998 seeking prior approval under Section 11(1) of the Land Acquisition Act for acquiring the properties which are the subject matter of this appeal and the said District Revenue Officer responded very quickly and granted approval on the very same day i.e., on 01.07.1998. The approval is rapidly transmitted to the Land Acquisition Officer viz., Tahsildar on 01.07.1998 and further, the award was passed on 01.07.1998 itself like a shot. For the aforesaid actions, normally in a Government office it would take months together and sometimes years together also. However, very curiously and interestingly, in this case approval is stated to have been obtained and award had been passed on the same date.

3. Furthermore shocking and surprising fact is that the award amount was deposited by the Housing Board one year prior to the passing of the award viz., 13.05.1997. It is not known as to how the Housing Board authorities assumed and presumed the quantification of the amount in May 1997 itself as per award which was passed only on 01.07.1998. These are all the facts which definitely make the entire exercise, allegedly undertaken by the authorities, a very suspicious one.

4. This Court has got every reason to believe that the alleged approval is shrouded with mystery and not undertaken properly and proceedings were said to have been made in such a way to appear to this Court that approval under Section 11 (1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 had been obtained especially, when the learned Single Judge quashed the proceedings on the ground that approval under Section 11 (1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 had not been obtained.

5. It is curious to note that neither the Land Acquisition authorities nor the requisitioning body viz., the board herein took pains to produce those files or approval before the learned Single Judge. The very fact that these files had not been produced before the learned Single Judge would fortify the fact that no such proceedings were available at the time of arguments before the learned Single Judge. Nothing prevented the appellant as well as the Government who were all parties before the learned Single Judge to produce those proceedings before the learned Single Judge. It is also not known as to how the requisitioning body alone has filed the present appeal, when the land acquisition authority, which has to prosecute the case, especially the Government, is in deep slumber like Rip van winkle, even as on date without filing any appeal.

6. The 3rd respondent, State of Tamil Nadu started the acquisition proceedings by issuance of notification under Section 4 (1) on 14.06.1995 to acquire the vast extent of land viz., 369.13 acres for execution of a scheme called “Thudiyalur & Vellakinar Neighbourhood Scheme” for housing board purposes. The lands are comprised in various survey numbers viz., S.F.No.482, 483, 504, 506, 513, 514, extent 7.23.5 Hect (or) 17.87 Acres and S.F.No.484, 502, 503 - Extent 3.45.5 Hec. (or) 8.53 Acres. The scheme was proposed to be implemented in ten phases. It is stated that in five phases, the lands were acquired and scheme was already implemented. The balance viz., the block phases 6 to 10 alone remain to be executed because of the various proceedings either pending or disposed of by this Court.

7. In this case, the properties are subject matter of the proceedings before the Special Tahsildar, Land Acquisition, Housing Scheme Unit - I, Coimbatore. Aggrieved over the land acquisition proceedings,