TMI Blog1996 (11) TMI 457X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ere are others who claim to have interest in the said land, viz., Vijayanand Singh and Gayatri Darshan Cooperative Housing Society. The BEST entered into a settlement with the said two persons whereunder and extent of 906 sq.mtrs. was given on a perpetual lease to BEST free of any charge, i.e., Re.1/- per annum. The lease deed executed by the said two persons in favour of the Bombay Municipal Corporation [representing BEST] is dated August 21, 1986. The remaining portion was to be utilised by the said persons for their won purposed including construction of a multi-storeyed complex for the employees of Bombay Municipal Corporation. Under the said settlement, the said two persons also agreed to construct a bus station, in the portion leased out to BEST, at their own cost and hand it over to the BEST free of cost. This settlement was brought to the notice of the Land Acquisition Officer by the Additional Collector through his letter dated September 5, 1986. On September 18, 1986, the Land Acquisition Officer passed his award wherein he referred to the aforesaid settlement brought to his notice and, on that basis , did not deal with or make any award of compensation with respect to C. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... h a view to deprive the appellant of his title and interest on C.T.S.No. 218, the promoters got the user of the said plot changed from residential and fish market . The said change of user in the development plan was approved by BEST and the Corporation contrary to law. As stated above, the High Court rejected the plea of malafides. The High Court also observed that one Misquitta claimed to be the owner of C.T.S.No. 211 and that he had also appeared in the land acquisition proceedings whereas the appellant entered the picture much later. It is not even clear, the High Court observed, whether the appellant had any interest in the said plot on the date of issuance of notification under Section 4. Sri Parag Tripathi, learned counsel for the appellant, urged the following contentions: (a) that once a notification under Section 4(1) of the Act was issued with respect to C.T.S.No. 218 as well as C.T.S.No. 211, the Land Acquisition Officer was bound to pass an award with respect to both the pieces of land. He had no jurisdiction or authority not to pass the award in respect of C.T.S.No. 218 on the ground of an alleged settlement reported to him by the person for whose benefit it ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... aith and in the interests of the BEST which is evident from the fact that the BEST got an extent of 906 sq.mtrs. free of cost on perpetual lease. In addition to that, it has also got a bus station to be constructed by the said two persons free of any cost to the BEST. It is true, the learned Solicitor General said that the proper course would have been to have a notification issued under Section 48 of the Act deleting C.T.S.No. 218 from acquisition by that was not done because of the constriction of time. The award had to be passed on or before September 23, 1986 and waiting for a notification under Section 48 would have meant dropping the acquisition proceedings altogether in as much as no award could have been passed after September 23, 1986 by virtue of the provisions contained in Section 11 of the Act. It was for this reason that the award had to be and was passed on September 18, 1986. The learned solicitor General further submitted that in the context of the above facts, the circumstance that the award passed by the Land Acquisition Officer does not pertain to C.T.S.No. 218 cannot constitute a ground for quashing the acquisition with respect to C.T.S.No. 211 so long as the pu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in the absence of any material to the contrary, we must assume that the said settlement was arrived at keeping in view the best interests of BEST. Even the 906 sq.mtrs. of land obtained on perpetual lease under the settlement is meant for being used for the purpose stated in the notification under Section 4. There is also no material to show that the purpose stated in the said notification is not true or real. The fact that instead of 1759 sq.mtrs., BEST got only 906 sq.mtrs. under the settlement does not establish the absence of the need. It may well be a case of adjusting to the realities of the situation. In such a situation, it is difficult to say that the acquisition of C.T.S.No.211 is either unnecessary or that it is neither be consistent with law nor with public interest. It should also be remembered in this context that the appellant is not disputing the purpose of acquisition. His only contention is that since the award has deleted C.T.S.No. 218, the land C.T.S.No. 211 should also be deleted - an argument which we have rejected. Indeed, he had not challenged the acquisition from 1979 to 1986. only after the award was passed, did he choose to challenge the acquisition ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rnisation. These things very often call for acquisition of land and that too without any delay. It is, however, natural that in most of these cases, the persons affected challenge the acquisition proceedings in courts. These challenge the acquisition proceedings in courts. These challenges are generally in shape of writ petitions filed on High Courts. Invariably, stay of acquisition is asked for and in some cases, orders by way of stay or injunction are also made. Whatever may have been the practices in the past, a time has come where the courts should keep the larger public interest in mind while exercising their power or grant in stay/injunction. The power under Article 226 is discretionary. It will be exercised only in furtherance of interests of justice and not merely on the making out of a legal point. And in the matter of land acquisition for public purposes, the interests of justice and the public purposes, the interests of justice and the public interest coalesce. They are very often one and the same. Even in civil suit, granting of injunction or other similar orders, more particularly of an interlocutory nature, is equally discretionary. The courts have to weigh the public ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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