The court ruled that the Gorakhpur Improvement Trust was validly established and could operate, thus affirming the legality of the land acquisition proceedings under the concerned laws.

1. These three writ petitions have been referred to this Bench at the instance of a learned Single Judge as he was of the view that certain Single Judge decisions cited before him required reconsideration. In these petitions the petitioners have challenged the acquisition of their land in pursuance of two schemes which were framed under the U. P. Town Improvement Act, 1919 , but were finalised and sanctioned under the U. P. Avas Evam Vikas Parishad Adhiniyam, 1965 .

2. In or about the year 1965, the Gorakhpur Improvement Trust framed two housing accommodation schemes the Rustampur - Tiwaripur Housing Accommodation Scheme and the Surajakund Housing Accommodation Scheme. The notices under S.36 of the Town Improvement Act in respect of the Rustampur - Tiwaripur Housing Accommodation Scheme were published in the U. P. Gazette dated March 13, 1965. The notices relating to the Surajkund Housing Accommodation Scheme were published in the U. P. Gazette dated June 12, 1965. By these notices objections were invited to the schemes. The petitioners filed certain objections. Before these objections could be disposed of by the Improvement Trust, the U. P. Avas Evam Vikas Parishad Adhiniyam, 1965 (U. P. Act No. 1 of 1966) (hereinafter referred to as the Parishad Act) came into force from February 16, 1966. This Act provided for the establishment, incorporation and functioning of a housing and development Board called the U. P. Avas Evam Vikas Parishad (this will hereinafter be referred to as the Board). The Board was established on December 6, 1967 and from that date the Parishad Act was made applicable to the area of the Gorakhpur Improvement Trust. By virtue of the provisions of sub-section (1) of S.97 of the Parishad Act the Gorakhpur Improvement Trust stood dissolved from December 6, 1967. By virtue of sub-section (3) of this section the schemes framed by the Gorakhpur Improvement Trust stood transferred to the Board and the Board was required to proceed further with these schemes in accordance with the corresponding provisions of the Parishad Act. By a resolution dated March 23, 1968 the Board re - designated the Rustampur - Tiwaripur Housing Accommodation Scheme as the Rustampur - Tiwaripur Bhoomi Vikas Yojna No. 5 and the Surajkund Scheme as the Surajkund Bhoomi Vikas Yojna. Thereafter the objections which had been filed by the petitioners to the schemes notified under S.36 of the Town Improvement Act, were considered and decided by the Board. On June 17, 1968, the Board sanctioned the Rustampur - Tiwaripur Bhoomi Vikas Yojna No. 5 under S.31 (1) of the Parishad Act. This sanction was published under S.32(1) of the Parishad Act in the U. P. Gazette dated May 3, 1969. The Surajkund Bhoomi Vikas Yojna which involved an expenditure of more than Rs. 20 lacs was referred by the Board to the State Government for sanction as required by S.31 (1). The State Government sanctioned the scheme on May 30, 1968 and the sanction was published in the U. P. Gazette dated September 14, 1968. S.55 (1) of the Parishad Act provides that any land required by the Board for any of the purposes of the Act may be acquired under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 as amended in its application to U. P. and further modified as specified in the Schedule to the Parishad Act. A notification dated December 31, 1969 under S.17 of the , as modified by the Parishad Act was published in the U. P. Gazette dated January 10, 1970 in respect of the land required for Rustampur - Tiwaripur Bhoomi Vikas Yojna No. 5, directing the Collector of Gorakhpur to take possession of the land needed for the purpose after 15 days even though no award had been made. Thereupon the petitioners whose lands are affected by these two schemes filed these three writ petitions.

3. The acquisition proceedings have been challenged by the petitioners on the following six grounds.
(i) that the Gorakhpur Improvement Trust could not legally function and frame the original schemes as the