LexGIRDHARILAL AMRATHLAL SHODAN AND ORS. versus STATE OF GUJARAT AND OTHERS
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' ., A GIRDHARILAL AMRATLAL SHODAN AND OTHERS v. STATE OF GUJARAT AND OTHERS January 28, 1966 B [A. K. SARKAR, J. R. MUDHOLKAR AND R. S. BACHAWAT, JJ.] c D E F G H Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (I of 1894)-N_otification under •: 6 invalid and ineffective-Po-.ver of Governnzent to issue fresh not1ficatlon. Where a notification under s. 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 is invalid, the Government may treat it as ineffective and issue in its place a fresh notification under s. 6. Nothing in s. 48 of the Act pre- cludes the Government from doing so. The cancellation of the earlier notification is only a recognition of the invalidity of that notification. [439 B-C] CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 1070 of 1965. Appeal from the judgment and order dated April 2, 1965 of the Gujarat High Court in Special Civil Application No. 584 of 1961. Nire11 De, Additional Solicitor-General and J. B. Dadachanji for the appellants. R. Ganapathy Iyer and B. R. G. K. Achar, for respondent Nos. I and 2. Arun H. Mehta, M. N. Shroff and I. N. Shroff, for res- pondent No. 3. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Bachawat, J, : On August, 3, 1960, the Government.of Gujarat issued a notification under s. 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) stating that the land measuring about 7151 sq. yards in Final Plot No. 460 of the Town Planning Scheme No. III of Elisbridge in Ahmedabad taluka city, village Changispur, was likely to be needed for a public purpose, viz., for construction of houses for Shri Krishnakunj Government Servants Co-operative Housing Society, Ltd., Ahmedabad. The land is the subject-matter of a trust of which appellant No. 1 is the trustee and appellants Nos. 2 to 6 are the beneficiaries. An enquiry under s. 5-A of the Act was duly held, and a report under 5. 5A(2) was made to the Government. On July 18, 1961, the State Government issued a notification under s. 6 of the Act stating that the land was needed to be acquired for the aforesaid public purpose at the expense of Shri Krishnakunj Government Servants Co-operative Housing Society Ltd. On September 22, · 1961, the appellants filed a writ application in the High Court of Gujarat 437 4 38 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1966] 3 S.C.R. praying for an order quashing the notification under s. 6 dated July 18, 1961. During the pendency of this application, the Government issued a notification dated April 28, 1964 cancelling the afore- said notification dated July 18, 1961. On August 14, 1964, the Gov~rnment issued a fresh notification under s. 6 stating that the land was needed to be acquired at the public expense for a public purpose, viz., for the housing scheme undertaken by Shri Krishna- kunj Government Servants Co-operative Housing Society, Ltd., Ahmedabad with the sanction of the Government. The appel- lants were thereupon allowed to amend the writ petition, and by the amended writ petition, they prayed for an order quashing the notification under s. 6 dated August 14, 1964 as also the notification under s. 4 dated August 3, 1960. On April 2, 1965, the High Court dismissed the application. The appellants now appeal to this Court on a certificate granted by the High Court. Counsel for the appellants submitted that the power of the State Government to cancel a notification under s. 6 of the Act implied by s. 21 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 is subject to the condition that the Government should withdraw from the acquisi- tion as provided for in s. 48 of the Act, by cancelling the notifica- tion under s. 6 dated July 18, 1961, the Government must be taken to have withdrawn from the acquisition and cancelled the notifica- tion under s. 4 dated August 3, 1960 also and consequently the Go- vernment could not issue the notification under s. 6 dated August 14, 1964 without issuing a fresh notification under s. 4 and making a fresh enquiry under s. SA. Counsel for the respondents disputed the correctness of this submission. It is to be noticed that the notification under s. 6 dated July 18, 1961 stated that the land was required for a public purpose at the expense of Shri Krishnakunj Government Servants Co- operative Housing Society Ltd. The Government had no power to issue this notification. Having regard to the proviso to s. 6 of the Act, a declaration for acquisition of the land for a public purpose could only be made if the compensation to be awarded for
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