Advocates:
Y. RAJA GOPALA RAOT. V. GEORGE

http://JUDIS.NIC.IN

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Page 1 of 15

CASE NO.:

Appeal (civil) 5097-5099 of 2004

PETITIONER:

A.V. PAPAYYA SASTRY & ORS

RESPONDENT:

GOVERNMENT OF A.P. & ORS

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 07/03/2007

BENCH:

C.K. THAKKER & LOKESHWAR SINGH PANTA

JUDGMENT:

J U D G M E N T

C.K. THAKKER, J.

All these appeals have been preferred by the

appellants against common judgment and order passed

in WAMP No. 1879 of 2001 in W.A. No. 109 of 1997,

WAMP No. 1880 of 2001 in W.A. No. 292 of 1998 and

Contempt Case No. 1008 of 2001. By the said order, the

High Court recalled common judgment and order passed

on April 27, 2000 in Writ Appeal Nos. 109 of 1997 and

292 of 1998. A direction was also issued to the

authorities under the Urban Land (Ceiling and

Regulation) Act, 1976 (hereinafter referred to as ’the

Ceiling Act’) to complete proceedings within the

stipulated period.

The case has a long and checkered history starting

from early seventies of the last century. Appellants

herein are the owners of land bearing Survey Nos. 3/1,

3/2 and 4 admeasuring 18 acres, 39 cents of Village

Kancharapalem, District Visakhapatnam. It was their

case that Visakhapatnam Port Trust (’Port Trust’ for

short) wanted to acquire land for public purpose,

namely, for construction of quarters for its employees.

The Chairman of the Port Trust, therefore, sent a

requisition letter to the District Collector,

Visakhapatnam for acquiring land admeasuring 45

acres, 33 cents of Survey Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of

Kancharapalem Village. Advance possession of the land

of the appellants, bearing Survey Nos. 3/1, 3/2 and 4

admeasuring 18 acres, 39 cents was taken over by the

Estate Manager of the Port Trust on August 29, 1972 by

private negotiations. The State Authorities, thereafter,

were requested by the Port Trust Authorities to take

appropriate proceedings for acquisition of land under the

Land Acquisition Act, 1894. According to the appellants,

in the statement recorded on August 29, 1972, Akella

Suryanarayana Rao stated that he had handed onver

possession of the land to the Estate Manager of the Port

Trust. Mr. Akella also stated that there was a dispute

regarding land with tenant Koyya Gurumurthy Reddy

under Andhra Pradesh Lands Tenancy Act. It was also

the case of the appellants that the Port Trust deposited

with the Government the amount of compensation

payable to the owners of the land. The land acquisition

proposals were approved by the Port Trust as also by the

Government of India.

It was further case of the appellants that a

preliminary notification under sub-section (1) of Section

http://JUDIS.NIC.IN

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Page 2 of 15

4 of the Land Acquisition Act was for the first time

issued on August 10, 1973 but nothing further was done

in the matter. The Ceiling Act came into force in the

State of Andhra Pradesh on February 17, 1976. It, inter

alia, covered the Visakhapatnam Urban Agglomeration.

The appellants filed their declarations taking the stand

that possession of land had already been handed over to

Port Trust Authorities even before the Act came into

force and the provisions of the Ceiling Act, therefore,

would not apply to such land. In the light of the above

factual position and the case of the appellants, the

Special Officer and Competent Authority, Urban Land

Ceiling, Visakhapatnam vide his order dated May 25,

1981 in C.C. No. 6143 of 1976 declared that the land-

owners of Survey Nos. 3/1, 3/2 and 4 were ’non-surplus

land holders’. Then the Government again issued

notification under sub-section (1) of Section 4 of the Act

on August 29, 1981. Urgency clause under Section 17(4)

was not invoked since the possession of land was already

with the Port Trust Authorities. A declaration under

Section 6 was issued on October 12, 1982. No award,

however, was passed.

According to the appellants, the Chief Engineer of

Port Trust in reply to a query by the Land Ac