JUDGMENT

K. RAMASWAMY, J. - Leave granted.

CA No. 12122 of 1995 @ SLP (C) No. 4896 of 1993

2. This appeal by special leave arises from the judgment and order dated 5-2-1993 by the Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court in Writ Petition No. 15377 of 1983. The appellants are owners of the lands in Plot No. 16 of an extent of 5 bighas, 6 biswas and 14 biswas respectively in Village Bairam Nagar, Pargana Nahtaur, Tahsil Dhampur, District Bijnore. These lands along with other lands were notified by publication in the State Gazette under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, "the Act") on 23-7-1983 and the declaration under Section 6 was also published simultaneously dispensing with the inquiry under Section 5-A. The appellants challenged the validity of the notification under Section 4(1) and the exercise of the power given under Section 17(1) read with Section 17(4) dispensing with the inquiry under Section 5-A. Three contentions were raised and negatived by the Division Bench. The first contention was that since the lands are not waste or arable lands, notification under Section 17(4) in invalid. Secondly, it was contended that dispensing with the inquiry under Section 5-A is not justifiable as there is no urgency to take possession even though the land was acquired for providing houses to Scheduled Castes (for short, Dalits). Thirdly, it was contended that on account of the acquisition, the appellants will be deprived of their lands which is the only source of their livelihood violating Article 21 of the Constitution. Thus this appeal by special leave. Shri R. K. Jain, their learned Senior Counsel reiterated with added vehemence highlighting that there was pre and post-notification delay of more than three years. The proposal was put up in 1979 and the notification was approved in February but published on 30-4-1983 which would show that the urgency is not such which does not brook the delay of 30 days in conducting inquiry under Section 5-A. Right to conduct an inquiry under Section 5-A is a valuable right and minimal safeguard to the owner and it would not be abrogated by exercising power of invoking urgency clause under Section 17(4) of the Act. He contended that in all the acquisitions for housing purpose conducting inquiry under Section 5-A should be the rule and dispensing with such inquiry should be exceptional and only in rare cases like those covered by Section 17(2). In support thereof he placed strong reliance on the holding of this Court in Narayan Govind Gavate v. State of Maharashtra [(1977) 1 SCC 133 : 1977 SCC (Cri) 49 : (1977) 1 SCR 763]. Acquisition of the land deprives the owner of his source of livelihood enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution which cannot be deprived by denuding the owner of the means of livelihood, viz., the land by resorting to compulsory acquisition.

3. It is found as a fact that the houses put up by the appellants do not form part of the agricultural lands. Section 17(1-A) as amended by the U.P. State Legislature provides power to take possession under sub-section (1) which may also be exercised in the case lands other than waste or arable lands, where the land is acquired for or in connection with sanitary improvements of any kind or planned development. It would, therefore, clear that the State Government is statutorily empowered to exercise the power under Section 17(4). When the Government forms an opinion that it is necessary to require immediate possession of the land for building houses for the Dalits, it forms the opinion of urgency to take immediate possession for the said purpose. Accordingly it is entitled to direct dispensing with the inquiry under Section 5-A and publish the declaration under Section 6 after the date of the publication of Section 4(1) notification. Thereafter, under sub-section (1) of Section 17 the Land Acquisition Officer, after service of notice under Section 9 and expiry of 15 days therefrom, becomes entitled to take poss