Judgment

SIKRI, C.J.I. :- This appeal by certificate of fitness granted by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Nagpur Bench, is directed against the judgment of the High Court in Writ Petition No. 504 of 1967 filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution, by Vithal Rao, respondent before us, hereinafter referred to as the petitioner.

2. The petitioner was a tenant of some fields in village Binakhi in Patwari Circle No. 10, Nagpur. He had applied to the Agricultural Lands Tribunal under a local act for fixing the purchase price of the said fields. On May 3, 1962, a notice was issued under S. 39 of the Nagpur Improvement Trust Act, 1936 - hereinafter referred to as the Improvement Act. Section 39 of this Act deals with the preparation, publication and transmission of notice as to improvement schemes and supply of documents to applicants.

3. On November 17, 1961 the Improvement Trust applied for sanction of its scheme by the Government, and on January 9, 1965, the Government sanctioned the scheme under S. 45 of the Improvement Act. On February 28, 1966 proceedings were started before the Land Acquisition Officer and on June 12, 1967 an award was passed by the Land Acquisition Officer fixing the compensation at Rs. 45,910/- for 44.19 acres of land acquired.

4. On June 15, 1967 the petitioner filed the writ petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution. In this petition the validity of the Improvement Act was challenged on various grounds, one of the grounds being that the Improvement Act was in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution inasmuch as it empowered the acquisition of lands at prices lower than those which would have been payable if they had been acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

5. The High Court held that as the acquisition is by the State in all cases where the property is required to be acquited for the purposes of a scheme framed by the Trust and such being the position, it is not permissible without violating the guarantee under Article 14 of the Constitution for the State to acquire any property under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act as amended by the Improvement Trust Act in so far as they relate to the basis of determination and payment of compensation. It must, therefore, be held that the provisions of paragraphs 10 (2) and 10 (3) in so far as they add a new Clause (3) (a) to Section 23 and a proviso to sub-section (2) of Section 23 of the Land Acquisition Act are ultra vires as violating the guarantee of Article 14 of the Constitution.

6. In the result the petition was allowed, the award set aside, and the matter was remanded to the Land Acquisition Officer for determination of compensation according to the law and in the light of the decision by the High Court.

7. As the case was important, the High Court granted a certificate under Article 132 (1) and Art. 131 (1) (c) of the Constitution.

8. Before we deal with the contentions of the learned counsel for the appellant we may briefly examine the relevant provisions of the Improvement Act. This Act came into force on December 25, 1936. It was passed before the Government of India Act, 1935 came into force. The preamble states :

"Whereas it is expedient to make provision for the improvement and expansion of the Town of Nagpur in the manner hereinafter provided........."

Section 3 of the Act creates the Nagpur Improvement Trust as a body corporate. Chapter IV of the Act deals with the Improvement Schemes. Section 26 provides for the matters which may be included in an improvement scheme. One of the matters, is "the acquisition by purchase, exchange, or otherwise of any property necessary for or affected by the execution of the scheme." Section 27 describes various types of improvement schemes. They are (a) a general improvement scheme, (b) a re-building scheme; (c) a re-housing scheme; (d) a street scheme; (e) a deferred street scheme (f) a development scheme (g) a housing accommodation scheme (h) future expansion or improveme