IMPORTANT POINT
Vesting of land on acquisition.

ORDER

1. Leave granted.

2. By notification dated 15.12.2006 issued under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, 'the Act'), the Government of Haryana proposed the acquisition of land measuring 231.04 acres (48.23 acres of village Bahayapur, 139.25 acres of village Para and 43.56 acres of village Bohar, Tehsil and District Rohtak) for the development of Residential Sector 36, Rohtak under the Haryana Urban Development Authority Act, 1977 by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA). After considering the report of the Land Acquisition Collector, who is supposed to have heard the objections filed by the landowners and other interested persons under Section 5A(1), the State Government issued declaration dated 14.12.2007 under Section 6 of the Act. The award was passed by the Land Acquisition Collector on 9.12.2009.

3. The appellant, who owned 14 kanals 8 marlas land situated in the revenue estate of Mouza Para, challenged the acquisition of her land in Writ Petition No. 2494/2010. She pleaded that in the garb of acquiring land for a public purpose, the State Government misused its power under Sections 4 and 6 of the Act for the benefit of respondent No.6 M/s. Ujjawal Coloniser Pvt. Ltd. of Delhi, who was constructing residential colony known as 'Sun City'; that her land should have been exempted/released in terms of the policy framed by the State Government because she had constructed a house prior to the issuance of notification under Section 4(1) of the Act; that she has been discriminated inasmuch as land belonging to M/s. Sharad Farm and Holdings Pvt. Ltd. had been released vide letter dated 4.9.2008, but her land was not released and that the acquisition proceedings are vitiated due to non-application of mind by the functionaries of the State Government and violation of the rules of natural justice.

4. In the counter affidavit filed by respondent Nos. 1 and 3, an objection was raised to the maintainability of the writ petition on the ground that the same was filed after passing of the award. On merits, respondent Nos.1 and 3 did not dispute that the appellant's land was surrounded by the land of respondent No.6, who was developing residential colony but pleaded that the acquisition was for a public purpose i.e. development of Sector 36, Rohtak. The plea of discrimination raised by the appellant was contested by respondent Nos. 1 and 3 by asserting that the appellant had not filed objections under Section 5A(1).

5. The High Court did not decide the appellant's challenge to the acquisition of her land and dismissed the writ petition solely on the ground that it was filed after passing of the award. For arriving at this conclusion, the High Court relied upon the judgments of this Court in Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay v. Industrial Development and Investment Company (P) Limited (1996) 11 SCC 501, Municipal Council, Ahmednagar, v. Shah Hyder Beig (2002) 2 SCC 48, C.Padma v. Deputy Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu (1997) 2 SCC 627, Star Wire (India) Ltd. v. State of Haryana (1996) 11 SCC 698 and M/s. Swaika Properties Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Rajasthan JT 2008 (2) SC 280.

6. We have heard learned counsel for the parties and scanned the record. We shall first consider the question whether the High Court was right in non-suiting the appellant without examining the merits of her challenge to the acquisition proceedings. For this purpose, it will be apposite to note that in the counter affidavit filed on behalf of respondent Nos.1 and 3 before the High Court it was nowhere pleaded that possession of the appellant’s land and house was taken by the particular official / officer on a particular date and was handed over to the Estate Officer, HUDA, Rohtak. Not only this, no document was produced evidencing dispossession of the appellant. This is the reason why the High Court did not record a finding that possession of the appellant's land had been taken after passing of the award.

7. In the cou