S. 4 (1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 does not prescribe any mandatory sequence for the publication of the notification and the giving of public notice.

( 1 ) ALL the petitioners are tenure-holders and their different Khasara numbers are situate in village Brindaban Bangar, district Mathura. By a common notification issued under S. 4 (1) of the Land Acquisition Act (briefly, the Act) on 30-6-1990 and published in the official gazette on 18-8-1990 acquisition proceedings to acquire their Khasra numbers as specified in the said notification for a public purpose, namely, for planned housing development in Brindaban town, district Mathura through the Mathura Brindaban Development Authority, Mathura were initiated. Since their Khasra numbers are sought to be acquired under a common notification, all these petitions are being disposed of by a common judgment.

( 2 ) WHEREAS the facts of the cases of Ram Kumar Bhatia and others and Usha Devi and others and the rival submissions of the parties made therein are similar, the facts of the case of Smt. Kiran Devi are somewhat different.

( 3 ) THEREFORE, first we deal with the cases of Ram Kumar Bhatia and others and Usha Devi and others. The tenure holders in these two petitions seek quashing of the notifications, issued under Ss. 4 (1) and 6 (1) tenure holders have raised several pleas in the petitions, learned counsel for these tenure-holders made following submissions only for quashing the aforesaid notifications :1. that publication of the notification under S. 4 (1) of the Act in the newspapers having preceded the gazette notification, rendered the notification to be invalid; 2. that the acquisition proceedings are vitiated, as no opportunity of personal-hearing as envisaged by S. 5-A of the Act, was given to the tenure-holders; 3. that notification under S. 6 (1) of the Act was issued without application of mind and, therefore, that is invalid; and 4. lastly, Sri Goswami, learned counsel for the petitioners urged that they were discriminated against others and, therefore, the acquisition proceedings are violative of Art. 14 of the Constitution.

( 4 ) WE take up these submission seriatim.

( 5 ) THE first question for consideration is whether the notification under S. 4 (1) initiating acquisition proceedings will be rendered invalid if publication thereof in the newspapers precedes the publication in the official gazette. It is not in dispute that notification (Annexure No. 2 to the petition) under S. 4 (1) was issued on 30-6-1990 and that was published in the gazette on 18-8-1990. So far as the publication in the newspapers is concerned, it is averred by the petitioners that it was published only in one newspaper on 2-7-1990. It the counter-affidavit it is stated that whereas the notification under S. 4 (1) was published in daily Amar Ujala on 2-7-1990, the same was published in the other newspaper daily Jagat Time on 1-7-1990. However, it remains undisputed that the publication in the newspaper preceded the publication in the gazette. Without stressing much on the question whether notification under S. 4 (1) was published in two or one newspaper, Sri Goswami urged that notification under S. 4 (1) became invalid, inasmuch as that was published in the newspaper prior to gazette notification. He submits that S. 4 (1) enjoins upon the respondents to publish the notification in the gazette first and publication of the notification in the newspapers and of the public notice of the substance of such notification should be made in the same sequence as stated in Sub-Sec. (1) of S. 4 of the Act. S. 4 (1) says that whenever the Government takes a decision that land in any locality is needed or is likely to be needed for any public purpose, a notification to that effect shall be published in the official gazette and in two daily newspapers circulating in that locality of which at least one shall be in the regional language and the Collector shall cause public notice of the substance of such notification to be given at convenient places in the said locality (the last of the dates of such publication and giving of such public notice