The main legal point established in the judgment is the importance of providing a clear and specific description of the land in acquisition notifications, as well as the right of landowners to file objections under the National Highways Act.

Ramesh Ranganathan, J.

This appeal is preferred against the order passed by the learned Single Judge in Writ Petition (M/S) No.1829 of 2013 dated 07.12.2017.

2. The appellants’ herein filed Writ Petition (M/S) No.1829 of 2013 seeking a writ of certiorari to quash the notification issued by the first respondent on 04.07.2012 which was published in the daily newspaper on 15.08.2012; and the order dated 03.05.2013 passed by the third respondent rejecting the objections filed by the petitioners along with 32 others by a common order; a writ of mandamus directing the respondents not to give effect to the notification dated 07.07.2012, published on 15.08.2012 in the daily newspaper, till the objections of the petitioners are decided; a writ of mandamus directing and commanding the third respondent to decide the objections afresh, as also the applications filed by the petitioners under the National Highways Act, by a reasoned and speaking order; and a writ of certiorari to quash the declaration under Section 3(D)(1) published on 03.07.2013.

3. The appellants-writ petitioners had contended before the learned Single Judge that the notification dated 04.07.2012 was vague and did not carry the required particulars. The notification, published in the Government of India Gazette dated 04.07.2012, relates to acquisition of several extents of land. We are concerned in this case with the land situated at Village Haripur, Tularam in Haldwani. The appellants-writ petitioners’ land is situated in Survey No.569 of the said village and, in terms of the notification, an extent of 0.5500 hectares of land, in Survey No.569, was sought to be acquired. The impugned notification gives the survey numbers and the extent of land proposed to be acquired in each survey number, as also the type and nature of the land which is shown as private/government, agricultural or non-agricultural respectively.

4. The appellants-writ petitioners had, in their additional objections filed to the Section 3(A) notification dated 13.03.2013, contended that the notification, in question, referred only to a lump sum area of 0.5500 hectares of Village Haripur, Tularam of Survey No.569; no boundaries thereof had been given with any specification; Survey No.569 is a very big plot admeasuring 2.464 hectares; as proper details of boundaries of the land, and the measuring distance from the road upto the land to be acquired, had been given in the notification to enable the land under acquisition to be identified, the subject proceedings were illegal and wrong; even the authority itself was not aware as to which part of the land, in Survey No.569, was being proposed for acquisition; and, hence, the proceedings were vague and illegal.

5. In the order dated 03.05.2013, passed pursuant thereto, all that is stated by the Special Land Acquisition Officer/Competent Authority is that a report was sought from the Acquisition Division on 05.03.2013 and 15.03.2013; the authorities had submitted their comments/reports vide letter dated 12.03.2013 and 22.03.2013 respectively; in the said reports, they had stated that in the aforesaid area, due to technical aspects, one side widening (eccentric widening) was proposed; accordingly, the land was proposed for acquisition; the appellants-writ petitioners had contended that, in the notification issued under Section 3(A), the boundaries of the land had not been mentioned nor were details of the land in survey No.569 furnished; it was apparent that, for the purpose of widening four lane/two lane of National Highway No.87, land was required; as far as the boundaries of Survey No.569 were concerned, the same would be determined by demarcating/fixing the poles by the National Highways Authority; and, accordingly, the aforesaid comments/objections were liable to be rejected.

6. Section 3(A) of the National Highways Act, 1956 (hereinafter referred to as the “1956 Act”) relates to the power to acquire land. Under sub-section (1) thereof, where the Central