LexSRINIVASA COOP. HOUSE BUILDING SOCIETY LTD. versus MADAM GURUMURTHY SASTRY AND ORS.
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A B SRINIVASA COOP. HOUSE BUILDING SOCnlTY LTD. v. MADAM GURUMURTHY SASTRY AND ORS. MAY 3, 1994 [K.RAMASWAMY AND N. VENKATACHALA, JJ.] Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (prior to 1984 Amendment}-Ss.J(e) and (f), Chs. II and VII-Public purpose and private purposr-Acquisition of land for registered housing society for constrnction of houses for its member:r- C Government making token contribution towards compensation, and procedure under Ch.II followe<f-Whether acquisition for public purposr-Whether pro- cedure under Ch.VII should have been followed-Held, a company (coopera- tive society) may compulsorily acquired land only in strict compliance with Ch. VII which applies to companies, and not Ch.II which deals with acquisi- D tion for public purposr-Such acquisition can be effected only where the land is required for purpose mentioned in S.41>-Govemment cannot waive provisions of Ch. VIl-A.P. Cooperative Societies Act-Constitution of India, Articles 14, 31A Proviso and Article 31 (prior to Constitution (44th Amend- ment) Act, 1978) E Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (prior to 1984 Amendment)--Or.. VJ/- Land Acquisition (A.P. Amendment} Act-Held, private cooperative housing society not company entitled to invoke provisions of Ch. VII. Land Acquisition Act. 1894 : F Public Purposr-Judicial Review of-Held, generally executive would be best judge of what constitutes public purposr-Yet it is not beyond judicial scrntiny-rlcquisition for anything that is not public purpose cannot be done compulsorily. G Public Purpos~eaning of-Held, acquisition for public purpose must be for welfare of the people and not to benefit a private individual or group of individuals joined collectively. Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (prior to 1984 Amendment}-Ss.5A, 6,40, 41, 44A, 44B--Colourable exercise of power-What is-Held, act done by H State under the colour or authority of law must be for a public purpose 848 f i SRINIVASBUILDINGSOCIETYLTD. v. MADAMGURUMURTY 849 envisaged in the Act--Govemnzent appealing not to have co1!sidered reporl A under S.5A, and contlibuted from public exchequer in the teeth of Ch. VII, held, declaration of acquisition under S.6 is colourable exercise of power. The appellant is a society registered under the A.P. Cooperative Societies Act, to develop land and allot plots thereof to its members for construction of houses. On February 8, 1979, a notification under S.4(1) of tl1e Land Acquisition Act, 1894 was published in the gazette, acquiring 71 acres 56 cents. An enquiry report under S.5 A was submitted to the goverument. The appellant entered into· an agreement with the govern· ment in December 1981 to be treated as a company. But in February, 1982 the goverument contributed Rs. 100 for each acquisition and published S.6 declarations of completion of acquisition of 54 acres 66 cents and 16 acres 19 cents. B c In the litigation that ensued, a single judge dismissed one writ petition and allowed other writ petitions in December, 1985 on the ground that the procedure in Ch. VII, which applies to acquisitions of land by D companies, had not been followed. On appeal, the Division Bench quashed the S.4 (1) and S,6 notifications on three grounds : that the respondents are small fa;·mers; that the members of the appellant society could afford to construct houses by themselves, and that acquiring the lands of poor small farmers for the benefit of the rich is arbitrary, and the contribution E of Rs, 200 was colourable exercise of power to avoid the mandatory requirement in Ch.VII of the Act, Before this Court, the questions were wt.ether the acquisition was for a public purpose as envisaged in the Land Acquisition Act, 1894; whether the procedure for acquisition should have been under Ch.VII and not Ch.II; and whether the acquisition was a colourable exercise of power. The appeal was confined to 40 acres of land since other owners had not challenged the acquisition. Dismissing the appeal, this Court HELD : 1. Acquisition for anything which is not a public purpose cannot be done compulsorily. On a reading of the provisions of Chapters II and VII of the Act, the acquisition for a private cooperative house building society to construct houses for its members must be a private F G purpose. (854-B-C] H A B 850 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1994] 3 S.C.R. 2.1. Public purpose is not capable of precise definition. Each easer. has to be considered in the light of the purpose for
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