( 1 ) THIS is a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution praying that a writ of certiorari be issued quashing the notifications under Sections. 4, 6 and 9, Land Acquisition Act and that a writ of mandamus be issued directing the opposite parties not to proceed with the acquisition proceedings relating to the property in question.

( 2 ) THE facts briefly are that the applicant is a Mahant of a well-known Math in the city of varanasi called Sri Jagat Guru Vishwaradhya Singhasan or Jangamwudi Math being in existence for several hundred years. The Math owns several properties including the disputed plot which is situated just in front of the main building of the Math across the road. The land is enclosed mostly by houses and on one side by a pucca wall. Within this enclosure on a portion of the land there are temples and samadhis of disciples, who, according to the tenets of the Shaiva sect, come and die in Varanasi and are buried there in the enclosure. The contention of the petitioner is that this land is not a waste or arable land and consequently the State government has no power to take action under Section 17 (4), Land Acquisition Act and to dispense with the provisions of Section 5a of the said Act.

( 3 ) IN the petition originally the State of Uttar Pradesh and the Land Acquisition Officer, varanasi, were impleaded as opposite parties but the Municipal Board, Varanasi, through its administrator, also sought to be added as a party and by an order of this Court the Board has been impleaded as opposite party in these proceedings.

( 4 ) A notification under Section 4, Land Acquisition-Act was issued in December 1955 in the following terms:

"in exercise of the powers conferred by Sub-section (1) of Section 4, Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (1 of 1894) the Governor is pleased to notify for general information that the land mentioned in the Schedule is needed for a public purpose. 2. The Governor being further of the opinion that the provisions of Sub-section (1-A) of Section 17 of the said Act are applicable to the land is pleased under Sub-section (4) of the said section to direct that the provisions of Section 5a of the Act shall not apply. "

Thereafter on 19-1-1956 another notification under Section 6, Land Acquisition Act was issued in the following terms :with reference to this department notification No. 8851 XI A-75 L. A. dated Nov. 30 of 1955 issued under Section 4, Sub-section (1), Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (I of 1894), the Governor is pleased to declare under Section 6 of the Act that he is satisfied that the land mentioned in the schedule is needed for a public purpose and under Section 7 of the Act to direct the Collector of banaras to take order of the occupation of the said land. The case being one of urgency the Governor is further pleased under Sub-section (1) of Section 17 of the Act to direct that the Collector of Banaras though no award under Section 11 has been made may on the expiration of notice mentioned in Sub-section (1) of Section 9 take possession of the land mentioned in the schedule for public purpose. "

Thereafter notices under Section 9 of the Act were issued by the Land Acquisition Officer; the proceedings for the acquisition of the disputed land are going on.

( 5 ) IN the present petition, as I have already stated the prayer is that all these three notifications should he quashed. Counter-affidavits have been filed on behalf of the opposite parties in which it is denied that the land sought to be acquired is not a waste land. It is asserted that there are no samadhis on this land and that the land on which there are two temples which are in a dilapidated condition is exempted from the scheme.

( 6 ) IT is next contended by the opposite parties that as the land is being acquired in connection with the Planned Development Scheme the provisions of Section 17 (1) are attracted and therefore the State Government is justified in directing under Section 17 (4) that the provisions of Section