TMI Blog1992 (11) TMI 274X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... The following land was excluded from the scope of the notification: (a) Government land and evacues land; (b) the land already notified, either under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act for any Government Scheme; (c) the land already notified either under Section 4 o. under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, for House Building Cooperative Societies mentioned in annexure-lII; (d) the land under graveyards, tombs, shrines and the land attached to religious institutions and Wakf property. The aforesaid land measuring 34070 acres included land measuring about 872 bighas, 9 biswas situated in Chowkri Mubarikabad and measuring about 730 bighas situated in Chowkri Sadhurakhurd, belonging to the Ramjas Foundation. The present appeal relates to the land situated in Chowkri Sadhurakhurd. The Ramjas Foundation on December 11, 1959 filed objections under Section 5A of the Act for the entire land situated in Mubarikabad as well as Sadhurakhurd. The Lt. Governor of Delhi subsequently issued notifications under Section 6 of the Act on 15.4.1968, 27.4.1968, 15.5.1968, 19.8.1968, 14.1.1969 and 18.1.1969. The Lt. Governor also issued notices under Sections 9 and 10 of the Act ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the above contention is placed on Farid Ahmed Abdul Samad Anr. v. Municipal Corporation of the City of Ahmedabad Anr., [19771 1 SCR 71. It was also contended on behalf of the appellants that the notification issued under Section 4 of the Act itself excludes the land of wakf property. It has thus been contended that so far as the land in question is concerned the same being also a wakf property as such ought to have been exempted under the notification itself. It was submitted that Ramjas Foundation is an educational charitable society which is running several schools and post graduate college in Delhi and several educational institutions are being run on the alleged acquired land itself. As an alternative argument it was submitted that in case this Hon ble Court takes the view that wakf property mentioned in the alleged notification does not include the educational and charitable institutions run by Hindus or non-Muslims then such notification is void for violation of Art. 14 of the Constitution. As regards the objection of the violation of the mandatory provisions of Section 5A of the Act in. not affording an opportunity of personal hearing while deciding such objecti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s Court and ought we know if such ground had not been taken this Court would have entertained this appeal or not. The appellants have taken the advantage of obtaining the stay order also from this Court which is continuing for the last 14 years as the Special Leave Petition was filed in 1978 itself. It may be further noted that a common objection petition under Section 5A of the Act in respect of both the lands situated in Mubarikabad as well as in Sadhurakhurd was filed on 11.12.1959 through Sh. Ratan lal Gupta, Advocate. The said objections were heard in the presence of Shri Ratan Lal Gupta, Advocate and disposed of by one common order Annexure X and we cannot believe an ipse dixit explanation made orally during the course of arguments on behalf of the appellants that they had no knowledge of any personal hearing being given to Shri Ratan Lal Gupta, Advocate. It is also important to note that no such objection was taken in respect of land in Mubarikabad. Another ground on which the present appeal has been contested is the ground of delay, laches and acquiescence in filing the writ petition challenging the acquisition proceedings. As already mentioned above a common notifi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eir writ petitions only in 1970 when the notices under Section 9 were issued to them. This Court then observed as under: There was apparently no reason why the writ petitions should have waited till 1972 to come to this Court for challenging the validity of the notification issued in 1959 on the ground that the particulars of the public purpose were not specified. A valid notification under Section 4 is sine qua non for initiation of proceedings for acquisition of property. To have sat on the fence and allowed the Government to complete the acquisition proceedings on the basis that the notification under Section 4 and the declaration under Section 6 were valid and then to attack the notification on grounds which were available to them at the time when tile notification was published would be putting a premium on dilatory tactics. The writ petitions are liable to be dismissed on the ground of laches and delay on the part of the petitioners . The delay and laches in the case before us are even worse than those in the above cited Aflatoon s case. The appellants had initially filed a writ petition No. 213/73 challenging the notification dated 13.11.1959 under Section 4 of the Ac ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... No. 106 of 1978. Awadh Behari, J. had dismissed the suit No. 451 of 1971 by order dated 21.3.1977 in regard to the lands in Mubarikabad and he was also one of the Judges of the Division Bench who passed the impugned order dated January 31, 1978 dismissing the writ petition in limine as he was fully aware of the entire background of this litigation. The appellants are themselves responsible for creating confusion in initiating separate proceedings at different period of time in respect of the lands situated in Mubarikabad and Sadhurakhurd though challenge to the acquisition proceedings was on common grounds. Learned counsel for the appellants was unable to satisfy in respect of such conduct of hide and seek on the part of the appellants. In case, as sought to be explained by Mr. Tarkunde, Learned Senior Counsel for the appellants, the appellants were depending on the result of the civil suit filed in respect of the lands situated in Mubarikabad there was no justification for filing the writ petition No. 213 of 1973 in respect of the land situated in Sadhurakhurd as the suit was not decided in 1973 but was in fact dismissed on 21.3.1977. We find no justification for filing the writ p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd to discriminate such properties of Hindus or non-Muslims also meant for charitable purposes. So far as the notifications under Section 6 of the Act are concerned the same were attacked on the ground that no opportunity of personal hearing was given to hear the objections filed under Section 5A of the Act. Thus it is abundantly clear that the challenge was in respect of notifications under Sections 4 and 6 of the Act alone and though in the prayer clause relief had been sought to quash the notification under Sections 9 and 10 of the Act also which were issued in 1972 but no ground whatsoever has been pleaded in the writ petition nor raised before us as to how the notifications under Sections 9 and 10 had any concern for explaining the delay in respect of the challenge to notifications under Sections 4 and 6 of the Act. It is worthwhile to note that according to the appellants own showing the notices under Sections 9 and 10 issued to the appellants in 1972 were in respect of the land being Khasra No. 1040/353 which related to 12 bighas and 8 biswas only. The challenge on the other hand in the writ petition is in respect of notifications under Sections 4 and 6 covering the entire l ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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