LexS. PALANI VELAYUTHAM & ORS. versus DISTRICT COLLECTOR, TIRUNVELVELI, TAMIL NADU & ORS.
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[2009] 12 S.C.R. 1215 S. PALANI VELAYUTHAM & ORS. v. DISTRICT COLLECTOR, TIRUNVELVELI, TAMIL NADU & ORS. (Civil Appeal No. 5743 of 2009) AUGUST 7, 2009 [R.V. RAVEENDRAN AND P. SATHASIVAM, JJ.] A B Land Acquisition Act, 1894: Acquisition proceedings - Requirement of issuing notice - Duty of Collector - Held: C Collector is required to issue, in addition to the public notice to all persons interested, individual notices to persons known or believed to be interested in the acquired land - Persons known to be interested are those whose names are recorded in revenue records and they are entitled to notice - Collector D is not under obligation to hold enquiry to find out whether there are any other persons interested in land or whether there are any vested remaindermen in addition to those whose names were entered in the records - Who is to be 'believed to have interest' is subjective administrative decision. E Fraud on Court: When a writ petition is filed seeking to enforce or protect the interests or rights of writ petitioners, purely based on legal contentions, it cannot be termed that filing of writ petitions was playing of fraud by writ petitioners against the Government/Court. F Criminal law: Criminal Proceedings cannot be set into motion against a litigant, as a matter of course - Court's order directing prosecution of litigants in a casual manner without any investigation or enquiry either by itself or by any G independent investigation agency, is deprecated - Supreme Court on several occasions deprecated certain authoritarian practices which result in hardship and prejudice to litigants and even non-parties - Power to order prosecution to be used 1215 H 1216 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 12 S.C.R. A sparingly and in exceptional circumstances, either to maintain the majesty of law or to ensure that clearly established offences relating to fraud/forgery with reference to court proceedings do not go unprosecuted or unpunished - On facts, direction of High Court that appellants and respondents B 3 to 18 be prosecuted under the relevant provisions of law was wholly unwarranted. Words and Phrases: 'Person interested' and 'persons known or believed to be interested' - Meaning of and C distinction between - Land Acquisition Act, 1894. Respondents 3 to 6 were the life estate holders whose names were entered in the revenue records. Appellants and respondents 7 to 18 were their children and were the vested remaindermen in regard to the D acquired lands. Notices were served in the acquisition proceedings on respondents 3 to 6. Respondents 3 to 6 informed the Collector that they were only life estate holders and that the vested remaindermen should be served with notice. But no notice was issued. The E Collector passed an award. The appellants filed a writ petition challenging the acquisition.· The Single Judge of High Court allowed the same holding that the acquisition without issue of notice to appellants and respondents 7 to 18 was illegal. F The respondents 1 and 2, authorities filed writ appeal. The Division Bench of High Court held that the Collector was not obliged to serve the notice of acquisition on anyone other than the persons whose names were entered in the revenue records as owners, G and that as the vested remaindermen had not got their names entered as holders in the revenue records, they were not entitled to any separate notice. The Divisi<?n Bench issued direction to respondents 1 and 2 to initiate criminal action against the appellants and respondents H .. S. PALANI VELAYUTHAM v. DISTRICT COLLECTOR, 1217 TIRUNVELVELI, TAMIL NADU 7 to 18 for playing fraud on the Government and the A Court, for making wrongful gains by filing the writ petition which was not maintainable. Hence the appeal. Partly allowing the appeal, the Court B HELD: 1.1. The Collector is required to issue, in addition to the public notice to all persons interested, individual notices to persons known or believed to be interested in the acquired land. There is a significant difference between 'persons known or believed to be interested' and 'persons interested'. A 'person interested' C no doubt would include all persons claiming an interest in the compensation on account of the acquisition of land, including the vested remaindermen. On the other hand, 'a person known to be interested' refers to persons whose names are recorded in the revenue records,
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