TMI Blog1954 (5) TMI 35X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 18 years, residing or carrying on any trade, business or profession in Pilibhit, and who are not members of any other housing society operating in Pilibhit. A few months later, an amendment was made a further condition was added that only those persons could be members who owned no house or land in Pilibhit. There are about 90 members of this Society, and some of them do own houses in Pilibhit but they had become members before the amendment, and now continue to be members. This society wanted that the land in dispute should be acquired, and on 19-4-1949 a notification was issued by the U. P. Government under Sections 4 and 5 of the Land Acquisition Act. This notification said that the Governor was pleased to notify for general information that the land, mentioned in the schedule, was needed for a public purpose and that any person interested in it might within 30 days make an objection to the acquisition of the land in writing to the Collector under Section 5-A of the said Act, The purpose of acquisition was mentioned as the construction of residential houses for the members of the co-operative Housing Society Ltd. Pilibhit. The greater portion of this land belonged to th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ul to the public. It has been contended that there is a mandatory prohibition contained in Section 40, which prohibits the State Government from giving its consent to an acquisition of land which is not being made for constructing work or which is not likely to prove useful to the public . I shall consider these two points separately. 5. It is argued that the word work has been used in Section 40 of the Act with reference to the construction of large industrial or scientific establishments, and the construction of ordinary houses for purposes of residence do not come within the meaning of the word. In support of this argument the learned counsel has referred me to the meaning of the word work as given in the Chambers Dictionary (20th Century) and the Webster's Dictionary, Vol. 4. No useful purpose will be served by quoting the meaning as given in these dictionaries, because the word work has a very wide meaning. It is really used in two senses of bestowing labour and that upon which labour has been bestowed. When used in plural, the word certainly means some outstanding or important result of the labour that has been bestowed, and large industrial and scientific ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o be within the section and that the injury was caused by a defect in the works connected with the business of the employer. 8. I do not think that these two cases, in any way, help the contention of the learned counsel, and, taking the ordinary popular meaning of the word, a residential house would, in my opinion be included in the word work . 9. The other point requires a more serious consideration. Previously there were two separate Acts, one known as the works of Public Utility Company Act, Act 22 of 1863 and the other Land Acquisition Act, Act 6 of 1867 . Subsequently both these Acts were amalgamated into one and the Land Acquisition Act, Act 10 of 1870 was passed. The present Land Acquisition Act No. 1 of 1894 has replaced this Act of 1870. Great reliance has been placed by the learned counsel for the petitioner on the Works of Public Utility Company Act of 1863, and he has referred me to the preamble and to Sections 1, 2, 15, 34 and 35. The wordings of the preamble and these sections favour the view that under Act 22 of 1863 land could be acquired only for companies which were formed for purposes of carrying on works of public utility. Under that Act, it would be ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ion 4, and Section 4 has to be construed as if for the words for such purpose the words for the purposes of the company were substituted. Section 39 says that the provisions of Sections 6 to 37 (both inclusive) shall not be put in force in order to acquire land for any company, unless the previous consent of the State Government has been obtained and the company shall have executed the agreement hereinafter mentioned. The relevant portion of Section 40 is to the effect that such consent shall not be given unless the State Government be satisfied that such acquisition is needed for the construction of some work, and that such work is likely to prove useful to the public. Section 41 says that if after considering the report, the State Government is ..... satisfied that the purpose of the proposed acquisition is the construction of a work and that such work is likely to prove useful to the public, it shall require the company to enter into an agreement, providing amongst other things for conditions on which the work shall be executed and maintained and the terms on which the public shall be entitled to use the work. 12. The argument of the learned counsel is that the provisi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... be an increase in the total residential accommodation in the town, and rents may also possibly go down. This will benefit not only the members of the Society but also the resident public of the town. It is true, that the bye-laws of the Society as well as the Cooperative Societies Act itself are mainly concerned with the interests of the members of the Society. But if in carrying out those objects a situation is brought out which may also help the other members of the public, the acquisition may, in my opinion be said to be one useful to the public. Section 4 of the bye-laws of the Society shows that the membership is open to all persons of good character and sound mind, who may be residing or carrying on any trade, business or profession in Pilibhit. Anybody in Pilibhit can, therefore, become a member of the Society and have the advantages of being a member. In America Housing Societies constituted for the purpose of clearing slumps have been held to be doing work which is of public use . Slump clearance has been held to be a valid reason for the acquisition of land. The present case cannot be said to be a case of clearance of slumps, but in the conditions prevailing in the to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the writ petition was not maintainable before a notification under Section 6 of the Act was published and that this Court could not direct the State Government to refrain from issuing a notification under that section. The learned counsel referred to a case reported in --'Ezra v. Secy, of State', 30 Cal 36 (D), and also to the decision of the Privy Council when the same case went up in appeal which is reported in -- 'Eza v. Secy, of State 32 Cal 605 (PC) (E)'. Ameer Ali and Stephen JJ. held in this case (at p. 77) that there was no provision anywhere in the Act that the owner of the land should appear before the officer deputed under Section 40, and the only persons that were concerned in the acquisition were the Government and the company for which the acquisition was being made, the Government having been constituted the sole custodian of the public interests and the sole Judge of the fact whether the work was useful to the public. This decision was upheld by the Privy Council. But after the date of these decisions the Legislature introduced Section 5-A in the Act in 1923. This section now gives a right to file objections to the acquisition within 30 days of th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of -- 'Province of Bombay v. Khushaldas', = [1950]1SCR621 , go to help the petitioner. Six out of the seven Judges were of the opinion that if the decision of the Government or of the Officer concerned was of a judicial or quasi-judicial nature, and the decision on the question of 'Public purpose' depended upon the objective determination of some facts, the Courts were certainly in a position to consider whether the decision of the Government or of the Officer was a correct one or not. But the majority were of the opinion that in that case the decision of the Government was merely an administrative one and not judicial or quasi judicial decision, and therefore the Courts could not issue a writ of certiorari quashing that decision. The Hon'ble the Chief Justice actually said in his judgment that the Bombay Ordinance was unlike the Land Acquisition Act and there was no provision in it for issuing a notice, for making enquiries or for the determination of rival contentions. Section 5-A of the Land Acquisition Act, however makes the decision a quasi-judicial one, and therefore open to the review by the Courts. If it is open to review, then the only stage at which ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
