Judgement

MATHEW, J.:- The appellant filed a writ petition before the High Court of Delhi for quashing a notification dated November 7, 1968, issued under S.6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (hereinafter called the `Act ). A learned Single Judge of the Court quashed the notification mainly on the ground that the Land Acquisition Collector gave no opportunity to the appellant of being heard in respect of the objections filed under S.5A of the Act. The respondent (Lt. Governor of Delhi) filed a letters patent appeal before a Division Bench. The division Bench allowed the appeal. This appeals by certificate, has been filed against that judgment.

2. The Delhi Administration issued a notification under Section 4 of the Act on November 13, 1959 stating that land measuring about 34070 acres was needed for a public purpose. The notification specifically excluded from its purview "land under graveyards, tombs, shrines and the land attached to religious institutions and wakf property". The appellant, a society registered under the Societies Registration Act 21 of 1960 filed an objection under S.5A of the Act in respect of 324 bighas of land in village Karkar Duma. The objection was that the land in question belonged to a religious trust viz. Mandir Sita Ramji, and was exempted from the purview of the notification. The Collector submitted his report on the objection to the Delhi Administration on August 18, 1962 and thereafter on November 7, 1968, the Delhi Administration issued the declaration under S.6 of the Act including the land in respect of which Mandir Sita Ramji had filed objection under S.5A of the Act.

3. The objection filed by the appellant before the Land Acquisition collector was not traceable in the office of the Land Acquisition collector. But on the date fixed for hearing viz. July 27, 1962, a copy of the objection was found in the records on which there was the following endorsement:

63 V. Karkar Duma

"Please report if this property is that of Shri Mandir Sita Ramji, a charitable institution and is exempt from the notification."

The Land Acquisition Collector, without any further hearing, and without any consciousness of his having called for a report, submitted his report dated August 18, 1962 and in that report he stated that an objection was received from Shri Mandir Sita Ramji. There is no mention in that report that he received any report in pursuance to his order on the copy of the objection petition or that any personal or other kind of enquiry was made in respect of the land in question subsequent to July 27, 1962. In that report, the Collector, after noting the lands and houses in respect of which Shri Mandir Sita Ramji had filed objections, made the following report:

"Decision may kindly be taken after the inspection of the site".

Thereafter, it is common ground, that the Delhi Administration did not give hearing to the appellant before publishing the declaration. It was on the basis of these circumstances that the learned Single Judge and the Division Bench came to the conclusion that the appellant was given no opportunity of being heard under Section 5-A of the Act.

4. When the appeal came up for hearing before the Division Bench, the Division Bench felt that an opportunity of being heard should have been given to the appellant and so the Bench directed the Delhi Administration to give the appellant an opportunity of being heard on the objections and its report. The appellant was heard and the Lt. Governor, by his order dated April 27, 1972, rejected the objection. Thereafter, the appeal was again taken up for hearing and the Division Bench came to the conclusion that it was not necessary that the Land Acquisition Collector should have heard the appellant under Section 5A and that there was no substance in the contention of the appellant that the land in question was attached to a religious institution and, therefore allowed the appeal and dismissed the writ petition.

5. The learned Single Judge allowed the writ pet