Supreme Court of India
SAVITRI DEVIversusSTATE OF UTTAR PRADESH & ORS.
- Citation
- 2015 INSC 409
- Decided
- 14 May 2015
- Disposal
- Disposed off
- Bench
- H L DATTU
Holding
The Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s discretionary relief, finding the urgency invocation unlawful but allowing the enhanced compensation and 10% land allotment as an equitable solution, and dismissed the appeals.
Summary
The Supreme Court examined challenges to land acquisitions in Noida and Greater Noida made under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, where the State invoked Section 17’s urgency provisions to dispense with the Section 5A objection right. The High Court had held the urgency invocation illegal but, because substantial development and third‑party rights had arisen, it enhanced compensation by 64.7% and ordered allotment of 10% developed abadi land to the land‑owners, while quashing acquisitions in three villages where no work was done. On appeal, the Court upheld the High Court’s equitable relief, noting that the land‑owners were not aggrieved by the acquisition itself but by its later residential use, and that the High Court’s discretionary balancing of equities was proper. The Court dismissed the appeals and contempt petitions, emphasizing that the directions were fact‑specific and not precedent‑setting.
Issues considered
- The legality of invoking Section 17(1) and 17(4) of the Land Acquisition Act to dispense with the Section 5A objection procedure.
- Whether delay and laches bar writ petitions challenging land acquisition after possession and compensation have been taken.
- Whether acquisition for industrial development that is later used for residential purposes satisfies the public‑purpose requirement.
- Whether the High Court could lawfully enhance compensation beyond the statutory scheme and increase the entitlement to developed abadi land from 5‑6% to 10%.
- Whether third‑party rights and ongoing development affect the remedy available to original land‑owners.
- Whether the High Court’s discretionary equitable relief is reviewable under Article 136.
Legislation cited
- Land Acquisition Act, 1894s. 11A, s. 17(1), s. 17(4), s. 18, s. 4, s. 48(1), s. 5A, s. 6
- National Capital Regional Planning Board Act, 1985
- U.P. Industrial Area Development Act, 1976
Subjects
land acquisitionurgency clauseSection 5ASection 17compensationdelaylachespublic purposethird‑party rightsequitable reliefArticle 136
Judgment
[2015] 7 S.C.R. 512
A SAVITRI DEVI
v.
STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH & ORS.
(Civil Appeal No. 4506of2015 etc.)
B
May 14, 2015.
[H.L. DATTU, CJI, A.K. SIKRI AND ARUN MISHRA, JJ.]
c Land Acquisition Act, 1894- s. 5A and 17(1) and (4) -
Land acquisition by Notification dated 12.03.2008-lnvoking
urgency provisions dispensing with the right of objection uls.
5A - Challenged by the /and-owners - Some Land-owners
a/so challenged the Notifications of the years 1979or1980
D - High Court dismissed the cases challenging the
Notifications of 197911980 as barred by limitation- However
other cases were not dismissed on the ground of delay and
/aches- On merit High Court held that invocation of urgency
clause was unwarranted- But in view of the fact that substantial
E development work had been carried out, third party interest
was created, compensation was also paid, etc., High Court
in order to balance the equities, instead of quashing the
notification, enhanced the provisional compensation to
64. 7% and directed allotment of developed abadi Land to
F the extent of 10% of the acquired land- However, notification
in respect of three villages was quashed where no
development work had been carried out-Appeal of the Land-
holders - Held: In the facts of the case, the cases may not
have been maintainable on the ground of delay and /aches
G - But the High Court had gone an extra.mile in finding the
solutions and balancing the equities in a manner 'tlhich was
favourable to the /and-owners by adequately compensating
them - The directions of High Court are given in unique and
H 512
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH 513
peculiar circumstances and hence would not form precedent A
- Interference u/Art. 136 not warranted in the present cases.
~ -
Disposing of the appeals and the contempt petitions,
the Court. ,)
B
HELD: 1. The appellants were not aggrieved by the
acquisition per se in the manner it was done by the
respondents. As per their own case, they became
aggrieved only when they found that land was not
utilised for the purpose for which it was acquired namely c
industrial development, but a large portion thereof was
sought to be given away to the builders for development
of the land as residential. The High Court, acc~pted such
a plea of the land owners on the ground of'l~ches and
delay. [Para 35) [558-C-E] ·~ D
Nand Kishore Gupta and Ors. v. State of UP. and Ors.
2010 (11 ) SCR 356 = (2010) 10 SCC 282 - referred to.
2. After the land was acquired, which was of very
large quantity and in big chunks, further steps were taken E
by passing the award, taking possession and paying
compensation. In many cases, actual possession was
taken and in rest of the cases, paper possession was
taken where because of the land under Abadi, actual F
possession could not be taken on spot immediately.
Where possession was taken, these land owners/
appellants even received compensation. All these
petitions have been filed only thereafter which may not
be maintainable stricto sensu. Looking into the matter G
from the aforesaid prospective, the plea that giving away
of the land by allotment to the private developers for
construction of residential units gave them ·the fresh
cause of action, gets dented to a great extent. [Paras 37,
38] [560-A-F] H
514 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 7 S.C.R.
A Aflatoon and Ors. v. Lt. Governor of Delhi and Ors. 1974
=
AIR 2077 1975 (1) SCR 802 - followed .
Murari and Ors. v. Union of India and Ors. 1996 ( 8 )
=
Suppl. SCR 313 1997 ( 1 ) SCC 15; Ravi Khullar and Anr.
=
B v. Union of India and Ors. 2007 (4) SCR 598 2007 (5) SCC
231; Anand Singh and Anr. v. State of U.P. and Ors. 201 O(9 )
=
SCR 133 2010 (11) SCC 242- relied on.
3. Though the High Court has not dismissed the writ
c petitions filed by the appellants on the ground of delay
and laches accepting the plea of the appellants that they
felt aggrieved on coming to know that the land was
sought to be given to the private persons for
development. In this way, discretion is exercised by the
D High Court in entertaining the writ petitions on merits.
Since such a discretion is exercised, this Court would
not interfere with that discretion, more so, when a very
fair stand is taken by the NOi DA Authority. It was equally
possible to dismiss these writ petitions as the same were
E filed belatedly after passing of the award and when in
most of the cases, possession was taken and
compensation paid. Thus, the High Court has gone an
extra mile in finding the solution to the problem and
balancing the equities in a manner which is favourable
F to the land owners. [Para 38] [560-F-G; 561-A-C]
4. Many residents of Patwari village had entered into
agreement with the authorities agreeing to accept
enhanced compensation at the rate of 64. 7%. This
G additional compensation was, however, agreed to be
paid by the authorities only in respect of land owners of
Patwari village. The High Court has bound the authorities
with the said agreement by applying the same to all the
_ land owners thereby benefiting them with 64. 7%
H additional compensation. There could have been
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH 515
argument that the authorities cannot be fastened with A
this additional compensation, more particularly, when
machinery for determination for just and fair
compensation is provided under the Land Acquisition
Act and the land owners had, in fact, invoked the said
machinery by seeking reference under Section 18 B
thereof. Likewise, the scheme for allotment of land to the
land owners provides for 5% and 6% developed land in
NOIDA and Greater NOIDA respectively. As against that,
the High Court has enhanced the said entitlement to 10%. -
It could be an arguable case as to whether High Court C
could grant additional land contrary to the policy.
Notwithstanding the same, the NOIDA Authority have
now accepted this part of the High Court judgment after
the dismissal of the appeals filed by the NOi Of' Authority.
0
[Para 39] [561-0-H; 562-A]
5. On the one hand, invocation of urgency
provisions u/s 17 of the Act and dispensing with the right
to file objection under Section 5A of the Act, is found to
be illegal by the High Court. On the other hand, because E
of delay in challenging these acquisitions by the land
owners, developments have taken place in these villages
and in most of the cases, third party rights have been
created. Faced with this situation, the High Court came F
out with the solution which is equitable to both sides.
Thus, the High Court considered the ground realities of
the matter and arrived at a more practical and workable
solution by adequately compensating the land owners
in the form of compensation as well as allotment of G
developed Abadi land at a higher rate i.e. 10% of the land
acquired of each of the land owners against the eligibility
and to the policy to- the extent of 5% and 6% of NOIOA
and Greater NOIOA land respectively. [Para 40] [562-H;
563-A-D] H
516 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015]7 S.C.R.
A Bondu Ramaswamy and Others v. Bangalore
Development Arthority 2010 (6) SCR 29 = 2010 (7) SCC 129
- referred to.
6. The allegation of some of the appellants that their
abadi land was acquired, is specifically denied. There is
8
specific averment made by the NOIDA Authority at so
many places that village abadi land was not acquired.
Abadi area is what was found in the survey conducted
prior to Section 4 Notification and not what is alleged or
c that which is far away from the dense village abadi. It
has been the consistent stand of the NOIDA Authority
that prior to the issuance of Section 4 Notification under
the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, survey was conducted
and the abadi found in that survey was not acquired.
D There has been a long gap between acquisition of the
land and filing of the writ petitions in the High Court by
the appellants challenging the acquisition. If they have
undertaken some construction during this period they
cannot be allowed to take advantage thereof. Therefore,
E the plea of the appellants based on parity with three
villages in respect of which the High Court has given
relief by quashing the acquisition cannot be accepted.
[Para 41] [563-E-F, H; 564-A-C]
F 7. The present cases are not such, where this Court
should interfere under Article 136 of the Constitution.
However, it is clarified that directions of the High Court
are given in the unique and peculiar/specific background
of the cases and, therefore, it would not form precedent
G for future cases. [Para 43] [564-G-H; 565-A]
H.M. T. Housing Building Co-operative Society v. Syed
=
Khader & Ors. 1995 (2) SCR 200 1995 (2) SCC 677; H. M. T.
House Building Cooperative Society v. M.
Venkataswamappa and others 1995 (3) SCC 128; Bangalore
H City Cooperative Housing Society Limited v. State of
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH 517
Karnataka and others 2012 (3) SCR 295 = 2012 (3) SCC A
727; S. Partap Singh v. State of Punjab 1964-SCR 73; S.P.
Chengalvaraya Naidu v. Jagannath and others 1993 (3)
Suppl.' SCR 422 = 1994 (1) SCC 1 ;r Vyalikaval
Housebuilding Coop. Society v. II. Chandrapp,a and others
2007 (2) SCR 277 = 2007 (9) SCC 304; Royal Orchid Hotels B
Limited and Anr. v. G. Jayarama Reddy and Ors. 2011 (11)
SCR 701=2011 (10) SCC 608 - referred to.
Case Law Reference
c
1995 (2) SCR 200 referred to para 27
1995 (3) sec 128 referred to. para 27
2012 (3) SCR 295 referred to para 27
.. . ,,,.
D
1964 SCR 73 referred to para 28
1993 (3) Suppl. SCR 422 referred to para 29
2007 (2) SCR 277 referred to para 29
E
2011 (11) SCR 701 referred to para 30
2010 (11) SCR 356 referred to para 36
1975 (1) SCR 802 followed para 37
F
1996 (8) Suppl. SCR 313 relied on para 37
2007 (4) SCR 598 relied on' ..,, para 37
2010 (9) SCR 133 relied on Para 37
G
2010 (6) SCR 29 referred to para 39
'
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No.
4506 of 2015 etc.
H
518 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015) 7 S.C.R.
A From the Judgment and Order dated 21.10.2011 in
CMWP No. 62649 of 2008 of the High Court of Judicature at
Allahabad.
with
B
C.A. No. 4830, 4508-12, 4513-17, 4518-24, 4819, 4525-
26, 4527, 4529-30, 4531, 4532, 4533, 4534, 4535, 4536,
4537,4538,4539,4540,4541,4543,4544,4545,4546,4547,
4548,4549,4550,4551,4552,4553,4554,4555,4556,4557,
c 4558, 4559, 4560, 4561, 4563, 4564-67, 4568-73, 4575-76,
4577, 4578, 4579-80, 4581-89, 4591, 4592, 4593, 4594,
4595,4596,4597-98,4599,4600,4601,4602,4603,4604,
4605-07, 4608, 4609, 4610, 4611, 4612, 4613-15, 4616,
4617,4618,4619,4620,4621,4622,4623,4624,4625-30,
D 4631,4632,4633,4634,4635,4636,4637,4638,4639,4640,
4641, 4642-4643, 4644, 4645, 4646-4647, 4648-4650, 4651,
4652, 4653-4660, 4661-4666, 4667, 4668, 4669, 4670, 4671,
4672,4673,4674,4675,4677,4678,4679,4680,4681,4682,
4683,4690-4691,4692,4693,4694,4695,4696-4697,4698,
E 4699, 4700, 4701-702, 4703-4704, 4705-4706, 4707-4709,
4710-4711,4712,4713,4714-4715,4716,4717,4718,4719,
4720, 4721, 4722, 4723, 4724, 4726, 4727, 4728, 4729,
4730-4731, 4732-4733, 4734, 4735-4736, 4737, 4738, 4739,
4740-4741,4742-45,4746,4747,4748,4749,4750,4751-
F 53,4754,4755,4756,4757,4758,4759-60,4761-63,4764-
65, 4766-4768, 4769-4770, 4771, 4772-74, 4775, 4776,
4777,4778,4779,4780,4781,4782,4783,4784,4785,4786,
4787,4788,4789,4790,4791,4792,4793,4794-95,4796,
4797,4798-99,4800,4801,4802,4803,4804,4805,4806,
G 4807,4808,4809,4810-18,4837,4807,4809,4808,4809
of 2015
C.A. Nos. 2197,2195,2198,2199, 2225, 2226,2704,
2705, 3022 of 2013
H
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTIAR PRADESH 519
C.A. Nos. 4902, 4928 of 2014 A
Comtempt Petition (c) Nos. 237-238 of 2013 in SLP (c)
Nos. 1082-1083 of2012.
Comtempt Petition (c) Nos. 444 of 2013 in SLP (c) No. B
5566of2012. ·
Comtempt Petition (c) No. 21 of 2015 in SLP (c) No.
27023of2012.
L.N. Rao, PN. Misra, Nagendra Rai, Pramod Kr. Jain, lndu C
Malhotra, Dr. Rajeev Dhavan, Kailash Vasdev, Mahabir Singh,
Pallav Shishodia, J.C. Gupta, Vijay Hansaria, S.C.
Maheshwari, Nidhesh Gupta, S. R. Singh, Rakesh Khanna,
Amrendra Saran, Ajay Kumar Misra, J.M. Sharma, Rakesh
Dwivedi, Jitendra Mohan Sharma, Rakesh Kr. Khanna, D
Pramod Swarup, Reena Singh, AAG, Ravindra Kumar,
Kedarnath Tripathi, Shashank Samru, Aakash Kumar, Prerna
Singh, Chandra Prakash, Sunder Khatri, Shital Khatri, Rajesh
Goyal, GauravYadav, Kuldip Singh, Chinmoy Khaladkar, B.K.
Pal, Manu Shanker Mishra, Nishant Kumar, Nitin Jain, Manish E
Kumar, A.A. Chaudhary, Alex Joseph, Amit Gupta,Sarwa ·
Mitter, for Mitter & Mitter Co., GautamAwasthi, Bhopal Singh,
Ayush Choudhary, Deep Shikha Bharati, Anish Kumar Gupta,
Prashant R. Dahat, Pu nit Yadav, R.K. Adsure, K.B. Rohatgi, F
Mahesh Kasana, Aparna Rohatgi Jain, Preeti Singh,
Gagandeep Sharma,Abhishek Jain, RK. Gupta, S.K. Gupta,
M.K. Singh, B.P. Gupta, ShekharKumar, RahulVerma, Susmita
Lal,AdarshAgarwal, Wajeeh Shah, Sanjay K. Tyagi, Prabhat
K. Rai, Himanshu Tyagi, Asha Gopalan Nair, Dr. Rajeev G
Sharma, Pankaj Dubey, Raghuvir Sharma, Vipin Kumar
Sharma, Dharmendra Sharma, Karmendra Pratap Singh,
Rovin Babu, Rishu Mishra, Vikas Mahajan, Vined Sharma, B.Y.
Kulkarni, Vishal Mahajan, Anuradha Mutatkar, A.N. Singh,
Anisha Jain, V.P. Singh, Dr. Vipin Gupta, Prem Prakash, Anshul H
520 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 7 S.C.R.
A Naf~yan, Ankur Prakash, Priyanka Singh, Piyush Singh, Aditya
Parolia, RD. Upadhyay, GiridharG Upadhyay,Asha Upadhyay,
Sanjay Sharma, Yogesh Tiwari, Sanjay K. Agrawal, Dinesh K.
Garg, Abhihek Garg, Dhananjay Garg, Deepak Mishra, B.S.
Billowria, Kumar Mihir, Vishal Gupta, Rakesh Kumar, Prabhat
B Kaushik, ManeeshArora, Gaurav Jain, Arjun Bhandari, Bimlesh
Kumar Singh, Rajeev Kumar Gupta, K.S. Rana, Dharm Singh,
Manoj Gorkela, Nagesh Gajghate, Priya Sharma, Rameshwar
Prasad Goyal, Manoj Kumar, Gopal Prasad, Dr. Surat Singh,
Brajesh Kumar Singh, Sudhansu Palo, Dr. Anil Kr. Tandale,
C Jetendra Singh, Gaurav Kumar, S.K. Sabharwal, Vikal Mudgal,
Ashok Kumar Sharma, D.N. Goburdhun, Prabal Bagchi, Lal
Singh Thakur, Tabrez Ahmed, Bhopal Singh, Syed Mehdi
Imam, Balraj Dewan, Zaki Khan, Mohd. Farhan Khan, Sandeep
D Sethi, Shirin Zaidim, Yashpal Dhingra, Sandhya Goswami,
M.P.S. Tomar, Jabar Singh, Nikhar Berry, Sanjay Krishna,
Ranvir Singh, Ravi Nanda, Pukhrambam Ramesh Kumar, Priya
Sahadeo, Mayank Pandey, Ravindra Kumar, D.K. Sharma,
Surya Nath Pandey, Ajay Kr. Singh, Rajesh Gupta, Harpreet
E Singh, Sumit R. Sharma, PuneetTaneja,Arun K. Sinha, Rakesh
Singh, Md. ShahidAnwar,Arvind Kumar, C.S. Chauhan, K. V.
Bharathi Upadhaya, Yogesh Tiwari, Sanjay K. Agrawal,
Gyanendra Singh, Nagendra Singh, Vishwa Pal Singh,Ankur
Prakash,Aditya Parolia, Piyush Singh, Dr. Shiva Sharma, D.K.
F Sharma, Manoj Gorkela, Shashi Kiran, Abhiuday Chandra, Jai
Singh, Rana S. Biswas, Sunil Kr. Sharma, Sharmila Upadhyay,
Deepak Goel, Sunando Raha, Ankit Goel, Devender Kumar
Go~I. N.P. Singh, S.K. Singh, Praveen Kumar Singh, Bal
Krishan Sharma, Md. Ziaudding Ahmad, Rajiv Shankar
G Dvivedi, Mohit Baksh.i, Dheeraj Nair, Himanshu Sharma,
Anuvrat Sharma, Sum it Bansal, Ateev Mathur, Jagriti Ahuja,
Gagan Gupta, Atul Bandhu, Rakesh K. Sharma, Tulika
Mukherjee, Anuradha D. Misra, Kumar Anurag Singh, For
Anuradha &Associates, Jatinder Kumar Bhatia,Ajai Kumar
H Bhatia, Sagar Bansal, Fateh Singh Chauhan, Arun Sharma,
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH 521
Amiet Andlay, Tatini Basu, Mukul Kumar, Tulika Prai<ash, A
Sheeba Khan, Arvind Kumar Shukla, Amit Shukla, SWeta Rani,
Pradeep Verma, Himanshu, Praveen Swarup,' Sushma
Verma, Suvesh Kumar, Prashant Chaudhary, Pawanshree
Agrawal, S.K. Sinha, Tanmay Nagar,Ashok KumarYadav,Anil
Sharma, K.S. Rana, Ajit Sharma, Shikha Beri, Nitin Singh, B
Sameer Singh, Akshat Sharma, Pulkit Manuja, Sanchit Garga,
For Col. P.S. Sharma, Tripurari Ray, B.S. Billowria, Vishnu
Sharma, R. Chandrachud, Rajnish Singh, Sansriti Pathak,
Utkarsh Kulvi, S. Udaya Kumar Sagar, Bina Madhavan, Bipin
Kumar, Suresh Chandra Sharma, For Lawyers Knit & Co., C
Farhan Khan, H.P. Sahu, Kamlesh Mishra, Shivkant Mishra,
V.K. Sidharthan, Ajai K. Bhatia, Sagar Bansal, J.K. Bhatia,
Amit Pawan, Abhishek Amritanshu, Shailendra Kumar,
Suryodaya Prakash Tiwari, Sudhakar Prasad Tiwari, Shashi D
Kiran, Meenakshi, Jyoti Sharma, Harshivir Pratap Sharma,
Naresh Kumar, Nitin Singh, Sanchit Garg, Akshat Sharma,
Pulkit, Ajit Sharma, Shikha Beari, Bhopal Singh Rawal,
Sandeep Singh Rawal, GautamAwasthi, S. Chauhan, K. S.
Rana, Anirudh Tanwar, Y. D. Nagar, Lalit Kumar, Gyanendra E
Singh, Vishwa Pal Singh, S.K. Sabharwal, Satpal Singh,
Dushyant Bhati, Vishwajit Singh, Abhindra ~.faheshwari, Veera
Kaul Singh, Pankaj Singh, Gau~av Singh, Atul Kumar, S.K.
Verma, Sudhir Kulshrestha, Sushma Singh, Sarvesh Bisaria,
P.C. Sharma, S. Usha Reddy, Anuvrat Sharma, Alka Sinha, F
Braham Singh, P.K. Bajaj, N.S. Vidhudi, R.D. Upadhyay, S.B.
Tripathi, AnkurYadav, Avnish Singh, Arvind Kumar Shukla, Alok
Shukla, Amit Shukla, NihalAhmad, Nayanak Shekhar Mishra,
. Mayank Singh Chauhan, Arvind Kumar Shukla, Rushi Khan,
Tripurari Ray, Anil Kaushik, Rajinder Singh, Vishnu Sharma, G
Charu Ambwani, Prashant Kumar, For A.P. & J. Chambers,
Anurag Tomar, Rameshwar Prasad Goyal, Sagar Bansal, J.K.
Bhatia, Shiv Kumar Suri, Shikhil Suri, Akriti Gupta, Satendra
Kumar, Ankur Yadav, Avnish Singh, Rajesh Srivastava, Yash
Pal Dhingra, Sonal Jain, Rajiv M. Brahma, Dr. Satish Chandra, H
522 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 7 S.C.R.
A Abhiuday Chandra, A.D.N. Rao, Annam Venkatesh, Sudipto
Sircar, Vaishali R., Neelam Jain, K.K.L. Gautam, Devavrat
Anand, Krishan Kumar R.S., Pardeep Gupta, Parinav Gupta,
Mansi Ajamani, M.A. Chinnasamy, V. Senthil Kumar, Nanita
Sharma, Vivek Sharma, Ajay Narain Mathur, Niranjana Singh,
B Ram Bhaj, Arti Singh, Namita Choudhary, Rabin Majumder,
Mahua Kalra, Mohd. lrshad Hanif, Pahlad Singh Sharma, Ajay
Kumar Singh, Vis ha I Gupta, Sanjay Kumar Tyagi, B. K. Satija,
Avinash Kr. Lakhanpal, Naresh Kumar, Brij Bhusan, Rishi
Malhotra, Ghan Shyam Vasisht, Jyoti Mendiratta, Sudarshan
C Rajan, Ajit Sharma, S. Usha Reddy, E.C. Agrawala,
Subramonium Prasad, Mridula Ray Bharadwaj, P.N. Gupta,
Sumit Attri, Abhishek Sharma, Rekha Pandey, Shiv Sagar
Tiwari, Dinesh Kr. Tiwary, Chandan Kumar, Santosh Kumar
Tripathi, Hitesh Kumar Sharma, Prakhar Sharma, Dipankar
0
Das, Vijaya Lakshmi, Devesh Singh, Anu Gupta, Pramod
Dayal, Rakesh Dahiya, lrshadAhmad, SamirAli Khan, Sunil
Kumar Jain, Ashok K. Mahajan, Subhash Chandra Jain,
Rajesh Goyal, Amit Sharma, S.M. Jadhav & Company, Dinesh
E Kumar Garg, Ravindra Kumar, Sarla Chandra, Daya Krishan
Sharma, Bimlesh Kumar Singh, Nitin Kumar Thakur, Aditi
Gupta, Aftab Ali Khan, Devesh Kumar, Ritesh Agrawal,
Ashwani Bhardwaj, Venkateswara RaoAnumolu, Liz Mathew,
Shrish Kumar Misra, C.S.N. Mohan Rao,AnkolekarGurudatta,
F Shomila Bakshi, Binu Tamta, Vikas Mahajan, Vinod Sharma,
Bhaskar Y. Kulkarnim, Dheeraj Nair, Sanjay Kumar Visen,
Saravesh Singh Baghel, Gunnam Venkateswara Rao, 8.
Sunita Rao, Brahm S. Nagar,Ashok Mathur, Surya Kant, for
the appearing parties.
G
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
A.K. SIKRI, J. 1. These matters were heard in detail for
few days and hearing was concluded on 05.02.2015.
H Thereupon, we communicated the result in the open Court by
pronouncing that appeals were dismissed and the reasons
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH 523
[AK. SIKRI, J.]
shall follow. These are, thus, our reasons for dismissing the A
appeals.
Leave is granted in all the special leave petitions.
PROLOGUE:
B
(2) The subject matter of most of these appeals are the
Notifications dated 12-03-2008 issued by the State of U.P.
under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act ("Act" for short)
read with Section 17 of the Act as well as declaration issued
under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act (hereinafter referred C
to as the 'Act') vide Notification dated 30.06.2008. Land
situate in various villages of Naida and Greater Naida in Tehsil
Dadri, District Gautam Budh Nagarwas acquired. Some other
Notifications under same provisions of the Act rn respect of D
lands of these villages was also acqufred by earlier
Notifications. The purpose stated in the notifications was
'Planned Industrial Development'. Urgency provisions under
Section 17(1) and 17(4). of the Act were invoked thereby
dispensing vvith the right 9f objection otherwise given to the E
land holds rs under Section SA of the Act. The total land which
was acquired by these notification was S89.188 hectares.
Some writ petitions were initially filed in the High Court of
Allahabad challenging the said Notifications, with primary
contention that invocation of emergency provision and taking F
away valuable right of the land holders under Section SA of the
Act was illegal, ma/a fide, arbitrary and colourable exercise of
power. Some of the writ petitions came up before the Division
Bench of the said High Court. One was Writ Petition (C) 4S777
of 2008 in the case of Harish Chand and Others v. State of G
U.P. and Others wherein the High Court upholding the very
same Notifications, on arriving at the conclusion that invocation
of Section 17 of the Act was justified, dismissed that writ
petition. It so happened that another Division Bench of the
same High Court decided Writ Petition (C) No. 17068 of 2009; H
524 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 7 S.C.R.
A titled Karan Singh v. State of U.P. and others. The Division
Bench rendered its judgment dated 19-07-2011 in the said
case accepting the aforesaid contention of the writ petitioners
and holding that invocation of provisions of Section 17 of the
Act was notjustified.Accordingly, the Division Bench quashed
B these Notifications.
(3) As a sequel, spate of writ petitions came to be filed
challenging the lands acquired not only by the notification dated
12-03-2008 but even by earlier notifications as well. When
C these petitions came up before another Division Bench it
noticed the aforesaid two conflicting views expressed by two
different Division Benches. This led the said Division Bench
to refer the matter to the larger Bench and orders dated 26-
07-2011 were passed in this behalf. This is how the matters
D were placed before the Full Bench and by that time as many
as 471 writ petitions had accumulated. All these writ petitions
were taken up analogously by the Full Bench and disposed of
vide judgment dated 21.10.2011 with leading case known as
Gajraj vs. State of U.P. (W.P. (C) 37443 of201 !). The Full Bench
E of the High Court has accepted the plea of the land holders
that invocation of emergency clause contained in Section 17
of the Act was impermissible and unwarranted. At the same
time, the High Court also noticed that in respect of land of many
F villages, possession had already been taken and substantial
development work carried out. Even compensation was paid
in such cases, the High Court, instead of quashing the
Notifications in respect of those villages, chose to adopt the
middle path in an endeavour to balance the equities of both
G sides. Thus, it enhanced the provisional compensation and
also directed allotment of developed Abadi land to the extent
10% of their acquired land subject to maximum of 2500 sq.
mtrs. However, in respect of three villages, when it found that
no development work had been carried out at all by the
H Authorities during the intervening period, the High Court chose
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTIAR PRADESH 525
[AK. SIKRI, J.]
to quash the Notifications including consequential actions and A
directed restoration of the land to the respective land owners.
(4) It may also be noticed at this stage that when there
was flurry of writ petitions in the High Court challenging the
invocation of Section 17 and the Division Bench of the High B
Court in Harkaran Singh (supra) had held invocation of urgency
powers to be bad in law, some land owners whose land was
acquired much earlier by invoking clause (some of the
Notifications of such land date back to 1979 or early 1980s as
' ~·
well) took adventurous step to file the writ petitions in the year C
2011 challenging those Notifications. All these writ petitions,
however, have been dismissed by tJle impugned judgment of
the High Court on the ground that they are filed with inordinate
delay and laches.
D
(5) From the aforesaid, it is clear that three sets of
directions are issued by the High Court, namely, (I} dismissing
writ petitions filed with unexplained delays and laches; (ii)
quashing the Notification in respect of three villages where no
development work had taken place; and (iii) in respect of other E
villages, instead of quashing the action of acquisition of land
in spite of accepting the plea that Section 17 was wrongly
invoked, it has enhanced the compensation as well as extent
of entitlement for allotment of developed Abadi plot. ·
F
(6) The State GovernmenVU.P. Development Board as well
as many land owners have challenged the said Full Bench
decision of the High Court. Insofar as special leave petitioners/
appeals of the Government and Authority are concerned, they
have already been dismissed. In these batches of matters, G
thus, we are concerned with the appeals of the land owners.
(7) Most of these appeals are filed against the Full Bench.
However, some of the appeals arise. against the earlier Division
Bench judgment dated 25-11-2008 whereby the High Court H
526 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 7 S.C.R.
A had upheld the same Notifications and rejected the challenge
to the acquisition of land. Some appeals are filed by the NOIDA
authority where the Division Bench had quashed the
notification.
B (8)After narrating these preliminaries of the matters, we
advert to the facts and events of the cases. For the sake of
convenience, we will refer to the facts appearing in the writ
petition of Gajraj as that was the lead case before the High
Court as well.
c
FACTUAL MATRIX
(9) This writ petition was filed by 27 writ petitioners claiming
themselves to be Bhumidaars with transferable right and
owners of different plots of land situate in Village Patwari,
0
Pargana, Tehsil - Dadri, District Gautam Budh Nagar. The
Notification dated 12-03-2008 was issued by the State
Government under Section 4(1) read with Section 17 of the
Land Acquisition Act, 1894 notifying that the land mentioned
E in the schedule is needed for the public purpose namely, for
the "planned industrial development" in Gautam Buddha Nagar.
Inquiry under Section 5A having been dispensed with vide
Notification dated 12-03-2008, State Government proceeded
to issue declaration under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition
F Act dated 30-06-2008.
(10) The petitioners had pleaded in the writ petition that
dispensation of the inquiry under Section 5A can only be an
exception where the urgency cannot brook the delay. The
G respondents, without application of mind, dispensed with the
inquiry. The acquisition proceedings were deprecated as void,
unconstitutional, tainted with malafide, abuse of authority/power
and non application of mind. It was pleaded that the procedure
under Section 5A is mandatory which embodies a just and _
H wholesome principle that a person whose property is being
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH 527
[A.K. SIKRI, J.]
acquired or intended to be acquired should have occasion to A
persuade the authorities that his property be not touched for
acquisition. !twas also argued that land use of village Patwari
was changed in the Master Plan 2021 after the issuance of
notifications under sections 4 and 6, which is colourable
exercise of powers and entire exercise is arbitrary, illegal and B
infringes rights of the petitioners guaranteed under Articles 14,
19 and 300A of the Constitution of India. These petitioners
also stated in the writ petition that though there was some delay
in filing the writ petition if counted from the date of notification
but the writ petition was filed only when it came to their C
knowledge that the land use of village Patwari was changed in
the Master Plan 2021 after the notifications under Sections 4
and 6 and land was sought to be allotted to the private builders,
thereby giving go by to the objective for which the land was D
acquired. The petitioners further claimed that the part of the
property of the petitioners is situate in village Abadi. It was
pleaded that the authority had executed a lease deed dated
31-03-2010 in favour of respondent no. 4 M/s. Supertech Ltd,
a company engaged in the construction, allotting 2,40,00 E
square meters land for constructing multi-storied complexes.
It was also stated that although land was acquired for industrial
development but the same had now been allotted to the
builders by the Authority which clearly indicates that neither
there was any appropriate plan and scheme for industrial F
development nor there was any urgency in the matter and the
whole proceeding amounted to colourable exercise of power.
(11) The State Government as well as Authority contested
the matter by putting its justification to the invocation of Section G
17 of the Act. It was pleaded that land was acquired for the
purpose of industrial development. It was also stated that the
Authority had been constituted vide Notification dated 28-01-
1998 issued under the U.P. lndustrialArea DevelopmentAct,
1976 (hereafter referred to as the '1976 Act') and the land H
528 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 7 S.C.R.
A was to be developed in accordance with the aims and
objectives contained in the said Act included development of
the land forresidential and other purposes as well and was
not confined to industrial development alone. Objection was
raised to the maintainability of the writ petitions by contending
B that except few petitioners, all other had received
compensation on various dates and, therefore, they were
estopped from challenging the acquisition, once the
possession of the land was taken, award was passed and
compensation received. The Authorities also stated that land
C owner of about 83% of the land area had already been paid
the compensation. In terms of numbers, out of 1605 persons,
1403 persons had accepted the compensation. Development
works had been carried out in the area in question which had
already been demarcated into various sectors. The nature of
0
development carried out was stated in detail in the affidavit.
Invocation of urgency clause was also sought to be justified.
(12) M/s. Supertech Limited, to whom certain area was
allotted for development of the housing colony was also
E impleaded as the respondent. On its impleadment, this
respondent also filed its counter affidavit stating the
circumstances under which it was allotted the land for
development of residential units. It also contended that the
F substantial work had already been undertaken by the said
Company. So much so, out of 6000 residential units which were
proposed to be constructed, 4471 units had already been
booked by the members of public and paid part considerations.
It was pleaded that in this manner third party interest had also
G been created. It would be relevant to point out here that apart
from M/s. Supertech Limited, there were at least 10 more such
developers who had been allotted the various chunks of
acquired land for similar housing projects etc.
JUDGMENT OF THE HIGH COURT
H
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTIAR PRADESH 529
[A.K. SIKRI, J.]
(13) After noticing the aforesaid facts and the contentions A
and having regard to the plethora of writ petitions which were
filed pertaining to different villages, the High Court·deemed it
appropriate to categorize these writ petitions in different
groups, village wise. 65 village wise categories were,
accordingly, carved out. Out of these group 1-41 pertained to B
different villages of Greater NOIDA whereas villages in group
42-65 fell in NOIDA. Village Patwari was taken up as group 1.
The High Court, thereafter, discussed the factual position in
respect of each group which need not be mentioned, as
unnecessary for our purposes. However, wherever this C
exercise is deemed proper, we would be referring to such
factual details at the relevant steps.
(14) Keeping in view the various s.ubmissions made by
the writ petitioners in their petitions, the High Cour:t framed as D
many as 17 issues or1he points of consideration which had
fallen for its discussion and decision. It would be apposite to
take note of those issues at this juncture:
"(i) Object and Purpose of the 1976 Act: Whether the E
development of industries is the dominant purpose and
object of U.P. lndustrialArea Developmer:itAct, 1976.
(ii) Whether Acquisition Compulsory: Whether for carrying
out the development of industrial area under 1976 Act, it F
is compulsory and necessary to acquire the land by the
Authority?
(iii) Delay and Laches : Whether the delay and laches in
the facts of the present case can bar the invocation or G
Constitutional remedy under Article 226 of the
Constitution of India.
(iv) National Capital Regional Planning Board Act, 1985,
its Consequences: Whether the Authority can carry out H
530 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015) 7 S.C.R.
A development, utilise the land acquired as per its Master
Plan 2021 without its approval/clearance by National
Capital Regional Planning Board, and what is effect on
its function of land acquisition after enforcement of 1985
Act?
B
(v) Invocation of Sections 17(1) and 17(4): Whether
invocation of Sections 17(1) and 17(4) of the Land
Acquisition Act and dispensation of inquiry under section
5A was in accordance with law in the cases which are
c under consideration?
(vi) Pre-notification and Post-notification delay: Whether
delay caused before issuance of notification under
Section 4 and delay caused subsequent to notification
D under Section 4 can be relied for determining as to
whether urgency was such t,b.at invocation of Section
17(1) and 17(4) was necessary?
(vii) Colourable Exercise of Power: Whether acquisition
E of land are vitiated due to mala fide and colourable
exercise of powers?
(viii) Taking of possession: Whether the possession of
the land acquired was taken under Section 17(1) of the
Land Acquisition Act in accordance with law?
F
(ix) Vesting: Whether after taking possession under
Section 17(A) of the Act the challenge to the notifications
under Section 4 read with 17(1) and 17(4) and Section
6 cannot be entertained due to the reason that land which
G has already been vested in the State cannot be divested?
(x) Section 11A; Whether acquisition under challenge has
lapOsed under Section 11A of the Act due to non-
declaration of the award within two years from the date
H of publication of the declaration made under section 6?
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTIAR PRADESH 531
[A.K. SIKRI, J.]
(xi) Section 17(3A): Whether non payment of 8~% of the A
compensation as required by Section 17(3A) ofthe Land
Acquisition Act is fatal to the acquisition o pr~~~edings?
(xii) Waiver: Whether the petitioners who have accepted
compensation by agreement have waived their right to B
challenge the acquisition proceedings?
(xiii) Acquiescence: Whether the petitioners due to having
accepted the compensation by agreement have
acquiesced to the proceedings of land acquisition and c
they are estopped from challenging the acquisition
proceedings at this stage?
(xiv) Third Party Rights, Development and Construction:
Whether due to creation of third party rights, development D
carried out by the Authority and developments and
coOnstructions made by the allottees on the acquired land
subsequent to the acquisition, the petitioners are not
entitled for the relief of quashing the notifications under
I•
Section 4 read with Section 17(1) and 17(4) and Section E
6oftheAct?
(xv) Effect of Upholding of some of the notifications in
some writ petitions earlier decided: What are the
consequences and effect of earlier Division Bench F
judgment upholding several notifications which are
subject matter of challenge in some of these writ
petitions? ..,.,
(xvi) Conflicts in views of Division Benches: Which of the
Division Bench decisions i.e. Harkaran Singh's case G
holding that invocation of Section 17(1) and 17(4) was
invalid or earlier Division Bench judgment in Harish
Chand's case holding that invocation of Section 17(1)
and 17(4) was in accordance with law, has to be H
approved?
532 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 7 S.C.R.
A (xvii) Relief: To what relief, if any, the petitioners are
entitled in these writ petition?"
(15) We are purposely eschewing the detailed discussion
by the High Court on all the aforesaid issues. Suffice it to state
B here that after noticing the object and purpose of 1976 Act
and discussing its provisions contained in this Act with
reference to case law explaining the legal position of such
statutory authorities entrusted with the task of development
works, the High Court concluded that the stand of the Authority
C that unless the land is acquired by it. It cannot carry out any
development works until the 1976 Act was misconceived and
incorrect. The High Court remarked that the Authority was
labouring under the aforesaid misconception and, therefore,
concentrated only on acquisition of the land without taking care
D of other modes and means of industrial development and
excessive acquisition of fertile agriculture land was due to the
above mindset of the Authority. Insofar as issues pertaining to
compulsive acquisition and invocation of Section 17(1) and
17(4) are concerned, the High Court has arrived at a finding
E that such invocation of emergency/urgency clauses, thereby
depriving the land owners of their most invaluable right to file
objections under Section 5A of the Act, was illegal and
unwarranted. As this issue is decided in favour of the land
F owners and against this finding appeals preferred by the State
as well as the Authority have already been dismissed, it is not
necessary to explain the raison d'etre behind these findings.
We would be proceeding on the basis that invocation of
Section 17(1) and Section 17(4) was wrong. Similarly, the
G findings of:the High Court that exercise of power by the State
was colourable and arbitrary need not be restated in detail,
the same reason.
(16)As far as the issue no. 4 pertaining the NCR planning
H Board Act is concerned, the High Court has held that land could
not be acquired without the permission of the Board. Opinion
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTIAR PRADESH 533
[A.K. SIKRI, J.]
of the High Court on this aspect was questioned by the State A
of U. P. as well as Authority in its appeals. However, it was found
that as. a matter of fact, insofar as these cases are concerned
consent of the Board had been obtained. Havfifg regard to
this position, while dismissing the appeals of the State/
Authority, we have left the said question of law open, namely, B
whether permission of the deemed under the Act of 1985 is a
pre-condition before acquisition of the land. Therefore, that
aspect also needs no elaboratio;i at our end in these appeals.
(17) It becomes clear from the above that the High Court C
arrived at a conclusion that since invocation of Section 17(1)
and 17(4) was uncalled for and unwarranted, the acquisition
of the land of the appellants herein was illegal. Notwithstanding,
the same, the High Court did not grant the relief of setting aside
the entire acquisition and restoring the land to the appellants. D
After the aforesaid findings, the High Court observed that
insofar as grant of particular relief to the land owners in land
acquisition proceedings is concerned, it depends on several
important factors. Thus, the issue of 'reliefs1 has been
discussed specifically and independently under the aforesaid E
caption. Here, the High Court has observed that the creation
of third party rights, development undertaken over the land in
dispute as well as the steps taken by the land owners after
declaration made under Section 6 of the Act would be the F
relevant consideration in determining the kind of-relief that is
to be granted to the land owners. Discussing the aforesaid
aspects in the contexts of these proceedings, thetiigh Court
pointed out that in majority of cases third.party rights had been
created after issue of declaration under Sectioo :6 and after G
taking possession of the land, substantial developments
including constructions had been undertaken. Thus, in those
cases where substantial development had taken place and/or
third party rights had been created, the High Court deemed it
H
534 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015) 7 S.C.R.
A proper not to interfere with the acquisition. At the same time in
order to balance the equities, it felt that grant of higher
compensation and better share in the developed land to these
land owners would meet the ends of justice. The exact relief
8 given in this behalf shall be stated at the appropriate stage. ·
(18) The High Court also found that in three villages no
such third party rights had been created and no developments
had taken place. So far as these villages are concerned, the
C High Court deemed it apposite to release the land in favour of
the land owners of those villages.
(19) The High Court also found that many writ petitions
were filed challenging the acquisitions in respect of which
D notifications were issued much earlier, were totally stale and
suffered from !aches and delays. In the opinion of the High
Court, all those writ petitions which pertained to notifications
issued prior to the year 2000 and the writ petitions were filed
in the year 2011, these writ petitions deserved to be dismissed
E on the ground of inordinate delay and !aches.
(20) In nutshell, relief was categorised in three
compartments. In the first instance, those writ petitions which
F were filed belatedly were dismissed. In the second category,
three villages, namely, Devala (Group 40), village Yusufpur
Chak Sahberi (Group 38) and VillageAsdullapur (Group 42)
the acquisition was set aside. Land acquisition in respect of
remaining 61 villages is concerned, the acquisition vyas
G allowed to remain but the additional compensation was
increased to 64.7% with further entitlement for allotment of
development abadi plot to the extent of 10% of the acquired
land of those land owners subject to maximum of 2500 sq.
mtrs.
H
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH 535
[A.K. SIKRI, J.]
(21) We now reproduce the exact nature of direction given A
by the High Court, which reads as follows:
"In view of the foregoing conclusions we order as follows:
1. The Writ Petition No. 45933 of 2011, Writ Petition No.
8
47545 of 2011 relating to village Nithari, Writ Petition
No. 47522 of 2011 relating to village Sadarpur, Writ
Petition No. 45196of2011, Writ Petition No. 45208 of
2011, Writ Petition No. 45211 of2011, Writ Petition No.
45213 of 2011, Writ Petition No. 45216 of 2011, Writ c
Petition No. 45223 of 2011, Writ Petition No. 45224 of
2011, Writ Petition No. 45226 of 2011, Writ Petition No.
45229 of 2011, Writ Petition No. 45230 of 2011, Writ
Petition No. 45235 of 2011, Writ Petition No. 45238 of
2011, Writ Petition No. 45283 of 2011 relating to village D
Khoda, Writ Petition No. 46764 of 2011, Writ Petition
No. 46785 of 2011 relating to village Sultanpur, Writ
Petition No. 46407 of 2011 relating to village Chaura
Sadatpur and Writ Petition No. 46470 of 2011 relating
to village Alaverdipur which have been filed with. E ·
inordinate delay and laches are dismissed.
2(i). The writ petitions of Group 40 (Village Devla~ being
Writ Petition No. 31126 of2011, Writ Petition No. 59131
of 2009, Writ Petition No. 22800 of 2010, Writ Petition F
No. 37118 of 2011, Writ Petition No. 42812 of2009, Writ
Petition No. 50417 of 2009, Writ Petition No. 54424 of
2009, Writ Petition No. 54652 of2009, Writ Petition No.
55650 of 2009, Writ Petition No. 57032 of 2009, Writ
Petition No. 58318 of 2009, Writ Petition No. 22798 of G
2010, Writ Petition No. 37784 of 2010, Writ Petition No.
37787 of 2010, Writ Petition No. 31124 of 2011, Writ
Petition No. 31125 of 2011, Writ Petition No. 32234 of
2011, Writ Petition No. 32987 of2011, Writ Petition No.
35648 of 2011, Writ Petition No. 38059 of 2011, Writ H
536 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 7 S.C.R.
"A Petition No. 41339 of 2011, Writ Petition No. 47427 of
2011 and Writ Petition No. 47412 of 2011 are allowed
and the notifications dated 26.5.2009 and 22.6.2009 and
all consequential actions are quashed. The petitioners
shall be entitled for restoration of their land subject to
B deposit of compensation which they had received under
agreement/award before the authority/Collector.
2(ii) Writ petition No. 17725 of 2010 Omveer and others
Vs. State of U.P. (Group 38) relating to village Yusufpur
c Chak Sahberi is allowed. Notifications dated 10.4.2006
and 6.9.2007 and all consequential actions are quashed.
The petitioners shall be entitled for restoration of their
land subject to return of compensation received by them
under agreement/award to the Collector.
D
2(iii) Writ Petition No. 47486 of2011 (Rajee and others
Vs. State of U.P. and others) of Group-42 relating to
village Asdullapur is allowed. The notification dated
27 .1.2010 and 4.2.2010 as well as all subsequent
E proceedings are quashed. The petitioners shall be
entitled to restoration of their land.
3. All other writ petitions except as mentioned above at
(1) and (2) are disposed of with following directions:
F
(a) The petitioners shall be entitled for payment of
additional compensation to the extent of same ratio (i.e.
64. 70%) as paid for village Patwari in addition to ·the
compensation received by them under 1997 Rules/
G award which payment shall be ensured by the Authority
at an early date. It may be open for Authority to take a
. decision as to what proportion of additional
compensation be asked to be paid by allottees. Those
petitioners who have not yet been paid compensation
H may be paid the compensation as well as additional
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH 537
[AK. SIKRI, J.]
compensation as ordered above. The payment of A
additional compensation shall be without any prejudice
to rights of land owners under section 18 of the Act, if
any.
(b) All the petitioners shall be entitled for allotment of B
developed Abadi plot to the extent of 10% of their
acquired land subject to maximum of 2500 square
meters. We however, leave it open to the Authority in
cases where allotment of abadi plot to the extent of 6%
or 8% have already been made either to make allotment C
of the balance of the area or may compensate the land
owners by payment of the amount equivalent to balance
area as per average rate of allotment made of developed
residential plots.
D
4. The Authority may also take a decision as to whether
benefit of additional compensation and allotment of abadi
plot to the extent of 10% be also given to;
(a) those land holders whose earlier writ petition E
challenging the notifications have been dismi~sed
upholding the notifications; and
(b) those land holders who have not come to the Court,
relating to the notifications which are subject matter of F
challenge in writ petitions mentioned at direction No.3.
5. The Greater NOIDA and its allotees are directed not
to carry on development and not to implement the Master
Plan 2021 till the observations and directions of the
National Capital Regional Planning Board are G
incorporated in Master Plan 2021 to the satisfaction of
the National Capital Regional Planning Board. We make
it clear that this direction shall not be applicable in those
cases where the development is being carried on in H
accordance with the earlier Master Plan of·Greater
538 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015) 7 S.C.R.
A NOIDA duly approved by the National Capital Regional
Planning Board.
6. We direct the Chief Secretary of the State to appoint
officers not below the level of Principal Secretary (except
B the officers of Industrial Development Department who
have dealt with the relevant files) to conduct a thorough
inquiry regarding the acts of Greater Naida (a) in
proceeding to implement Master Plan 2021 without
approval of N.C.R.P. Board, (b) decisions taken to
C change the land use, (c) allotment made to the builders
and (d) indiscriminate proposals for acquisition of land,
and thereafter the State Government shall taken
appropriate action in the matter."
D (22) We may point out at this stage that in respect of all
these three categories, the High Court has provided its
justification for granting relief in the aforesaid nature. We shall
be referring to the same while discussing the cases of
appellants belonging to one or the other category.
E
· (23) In nutshell, it may be pointed out that 65 villages which
were the subject matter of bunch of writ petitions before the
Full Bench of the High Court were grouped in 65 groups, village-
wise and facts of acquisition, possession, if any, payment of
F compensation, developments, the nature of utilisation of those
lands, and/or creation of third party rights were taken note of.
Out of these 65 villages, 41 villages fall in Greater NOi DA and
24 in NOIDA. The High Court discussed the issue of !aches
and delays under Issue No. 3, as mentioned above, after
G referring to various judgments of this Court and culling out the
principles contained therein on that basis. The High Court
accepted the plea of inordinate delay insofar as acquisition of
land in respect of village Nithari, Village Chauyra Sadedpur,
Village Khoda, Village Sultanpur are concerned. These writ
H petitions are dismissed on the ground of delay. In respect of
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTIAR PRADESH 539
[AK. SIKRI, J.]
other villages, the Court repelled the contention of delay raised A
by the department, accepting the explanation given by land
owners of those villages that they did not oppose the acquisition
earlier at the time of issuance of notificatibn as the land was
taken for industrial development. However, it is only when these
land owners had come to know that instead of developing the B
land for the purpose for which it was acquired, the acquiring
authority had transferred the land to the private persons and
builders, that these land owners felt aggrieved and cheated
and, therefore, there was sufficient explanation for coming to
the Court at a time when these land owners discovered that C
the acquired land had been transferred to private persons. The
Court, therefore, held that such writ petitions were to be
entertained on merits, ignoring the delay.
(24) Some of the appeals are filed by the land owners in D
respect of aforesaid villages where their petitions are
dismissed on the ground of delay and !aches. We are of the
opinion that their writ petitions were rightly rejected by the High
Court applying the principle of delays and !aches. We are, thus,
dismissing these appeals, upholding the order of the High E
Court..
The Arguments: Appellants
(25) Though many counsel appeared on behalf of F
appellants and argued the appeals, Mr. Amarendra Sharan;
Mr. Rajiv Shankar Dwivedi, Mr. Jitendra Mohan Sharma, Mr.
Mahabir Singh, Mr. Rakesh Dwivedi, Mr. Vijay Hansaria, Mr.
S.C. Maheshwari, Senior Advocates and Dr. Suraj Singh,
Advocate were the main architects who built the edifice of the G
appellants' appeals. Among themselves, they covered almost
all the aspects which arise in these appeals. Other counsel
either adopted those submissions or some of them pointed
out some distinctive and peculiar facts of their cases. It is not
necessary to reproduce the submission of each of the H
540 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015) 7 S.C.R.
A aforesaid senior counsel separately as we think that better
course of action would be to spell out these submissions in
consolidated form to avoid any repetition. The arguments
which were advanced by these counsel, in support of their
appeals, are recapitulated hereunder:
B
(I) In the first instance, the illegalities committed in issuing
the notifications for acquisition of land were pointed out
which were even accepted by the High Court in the
impugned judgment, in the following manner:
c
(a} No permission of NCR Board was taken before issuing
the notifications.
(b) There was violation of Section 5-A of the Act which goes
to the root of the matter, coupled with the finding that it
D
amounted to colourable exercise of power.
(c) There was violation of mandatory provision contained
in Section 11-A of the Act as well.
E (d) Though, Section 17 (1) and Section 17 (4) of the Act
were invoked, 80% of the compensation, which is
mandatory requirement, was not paid to the appellants.
(e} After acquiring the land purportedly for the purpose of
F industrial development, it was sold to private developers/
I.
real estate agencies for residential purposes, that too
at a much higher rate.
As per the appellants, it would amply demonstrate that
G the Government acted more like a property dealer with intention
to make money at the cost of the land owners/agriculturists.
(II) It was further argued that even when status quo orders
were passed in many writ petitions, the Government had
violated those orders and in this manner, third party rights
H
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH 541
[A.K. SIKRI, J.]
were created, thereby committing contempt of court. A
When the third party interest were created in the
aforesaid manner, the High Court should not have
influenced itself by the said consideration in denying
the relief to the appellants after holding that acquisition
was illegal. B
(Ill) It was also argued that in a case like this, doctrine of
severance should have been applied by excluding only
those portions of land in respect of which third party
rights were created or development had taken place C
inasmuch as large chunk of land in these villages have
still not been utilised for any purpose as ~hese are thickly
inhabited. By applying the doctrine of severance, Abadi
land should have been included for the purpose of giving
relief, when the acquisition was admittedly bound to be D
illegal. It was only, in this manner, equities could be
balanced.
(IV) It was sought to be argued that in respect of three
villages where acquisition is set aside on the ground E
that no development has taken place and third party
rights are not created, this very principle should have
been applied in respect of lands of those appellants in
other villages where no third party rights were created
or there was Abadi or where no possession was taken F
by the authorities and no compensation taken by the
land owners and the land owners who belong to lower
str~ta of society.
In nutshell, the submission is that such cases are exactly G
at par with the cases of 3 villages falling in para 2 of the
direction, where the land acquisition has been quashed
even when the compensation was taken and same·
treatment be accorded to at least those appellants who
1
fall in this category. ' H
542 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 7 S.C.R.
A (V) It was also argued that after holding the acquisition
illegal, the Court had three alternatives namely:
(a) payment of 67.4% compensation plus restoring 10%
of the developed land to the land owners, which is
s followed by the High Court.
(b) directing restoration of possession in all these cases
with liberty to the Government to negotiate with the land
owners.
c (c) permitting fresh acquisition.
SubmissiOfl was that first alternative was not the best
alternative adopted by the High Court and in the interest
of justice, the second or third alternative should have
D been resorted to, more so, when it was found to be case
of malice in law which can clearly be inferred from the
findings arrived at by the High Court, on the ~asis of
material established on record.
E (26) In support of these submissions, learned counsel for
the appellants referred to the following judgments:
(i) Anand Singh & Anr. v. State of Uttar Pradesh &
Ors. 1
F
"50. Use of the power by the government under Section
17 for 'planned development of the city' or 'the
development of residential area' or for 'housing' must
not be as a rule but by way of an exception. Such
G exceptional situation may be for the public purpose viz.,
rehabilitation of natural calamity affected persons;
rehabilitation of persons uprooted due to commissioning
of dam or housing for lower strata of the society urgently;
H 1
c2010) 11 sec 242
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH 543
[AK. SIKRI, J.]
rehabilitation of persons affected by time bound projects, A
etc. The list is only illustrative and not exhaustive. In any
case, sans real urgency and need for immediate
possession of the land for carrying out the stated purpose,
~eavy onus lies on the government to justify exercise of
s~p~~ B
xxx xxx xxx
55. In the facts and circumstances of the present case,
therefore, the Government has completely failed to justify c
the dispensation of an enquiry under Section 5A by
invoking Section 17(4). For this reason, the impugned
notifications to the extent they state that Section 5A shall
not apply suffer from legal infirmity. The question, then,
arises whether at this distance of time, the acquisition D
proceedings must be declared invalid and illegal.
56. In the written submissions of the GOA, it is stated
that subsequent to the declaration made under Section
6 of the Act in the month of December, 2004, award has E
been made and out of the 400 land owners more than
370 have already received compensation. It is also stated
that out of the total cost of Rs. 8,85,14,000/- for
development of the acquired land, an amount of Rs.
5,28,00,000/- has already been spent by the GOA and F
more than 60% of work has been completed. It, thus,
seems that barring the appellants and few others all other
tenure holders/land owners have accepted the 'takings'
of their land. It is too late in the day to undo what has
already been done. We are of the opinion, therefore, that G
in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, the
appellants are not entitled to any relief although
dispensation of enquiry under Section 5A was not
justified.
H
544 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 7 S.C.R.
A 57. On behalf of the appellants, it was vehemently argued
that the government may be directed to release their land
from proposed acquisition. It was submitted by the
appellants that houses/structures and buildings (including
educatiC?nal building) are existing on the subject land and
B as per.the policy framed by the State Government, the
land deserves to be exempted from acquisition. The
submission of the appellants has been countered by the
respondents and in the written submissions filed by the
GDA, it is stated that the houses/structures and buildings
c which are claimed to exist, have been raised by the
appellants subsequent to the notification under Section
4(1) of the Act and, therefore, they are not entitled to
release of their land from acquisition.
D 58. In our view, since the existence of houses/structures
and buildings as on November 22, 2003/February 20,
2004 over the appellants' land has been seriously
disputed, it may not be appropriate to issue any direction
to the State Government, as prayed for by the appellants,
E for release of their land from acquisition. However, as
the possession has not been taken, the interest of justice
would be subserved if the appellants are given liberty to
make representation to the State authorities under
Section 48(1) of the Act for release of their land. We,
F
accordingly, grant liberty to the appellants to make
appropriate representation to the State Government and
observe that if such representation is made by the
appellants within two months from today, the State
G Government shall consider such representation in
accordance with law and in conformity with the State
policy for release of land under Section 48(1) without any
discrimination within three months from receipt of such
representation."
H
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH 545
[AK. SIKRI, J.]
(27) In support of the arguments that the equities were to A
be balanced on the facts of the case which according to
the appellant were in their favour, following judgments
were referred:
(ii) H.M. T. Housing Building Co-operative Society v. B
Syed Khader & Ors. 2
"22. In the present case there has been contravention of
Section 3(f)(vi) of the Act inasmuch as there was no prior
approval of the State Government as required by the said c
section before steps for acquisition of the lands were
taken. The report of Shri G.K.V. Rao points out as to how
the appellant-Society admitted large number of persons
as members who cannot be held to be genuine
members, the sole object being to transfer the lands D
acquired for "public purpose", to outsiders as part of
commercial venture, undertaken by the office- bearer of
the appellant-Society. We are in agreement with the
finding of the High Court that the statutory notifications
issued under Sections4(1) and 6(1) of the Act have been E
issued due to the role played by Mis S.R. Constructions,
Respondent 11. On the materials on record, the High
Court was justified in coming to the conclusion that the
proceedings for acquisition of the lands had not been
initiated because the State Government was satisfied F
about the existence of the public purpo~e but at the
instance of agent who had collected more than a crore
of rupees for getting the lands acquired by the State
Government. ·
G
23. The appeals are accordingly dismissed. But in the
circumstances of the case there shall be no orC:lers as to
costs.
2
(1995) 2 sec 677
H
546 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 7 S.C.R.
A 24. We direct that as a result of quashing of the land
acquisition proceedings including the notifications as
aforesaid, the possession of the lands shall be restored
to the respective landowners irrespective of the fact
whether they had challenged the acquisition of their lands
B or not. On restoration of the possession to the
landowners they shall refund the amounts received by
them as compensation or otherwise in respect of their
lands. The appellant, the respondents and the State
Government including all authorities/persons concerned
c shall implement the aforesaid directions at an early date."
(iii) H.M. T. House Building Cooperative Societyv. M.
Venkataswamappa and others3
D (iv) Bangalore City Cooperative Housing Society
Limited v. State of Karnataka and others4
"87. The three Judge Bench also approved the view taken
by the High Court that the acquisition of land was vitiated
E because the decision of the State Government was
influenced by the Estate Agent with whom the Appellant
had entered into an agreement. Paras 21 and 22 of the
judgment, which contain discussion on this issue are
extracted hereunder: (1st H.M.T. House Building Coop.
F Society v. Syed Khader and others, (1995) 2 SCC 677
"21. Mr. G. Ramaswamy, learned Senior Counsel
appearing on behalf of the appellant, submitted that
merely because the appellant Society had entered into
G an agreement with Respondent 11, M/s S.R.
Constructions, in which the latter for the consideration
paid to it had assured that the lands in question shall be
acquired by the State Government, no adverse inference
• (1995).3 sec 12a
H • c2012) 3 sec 121
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH 547
[AK. SIKRI, J.]
should be drawn because that may amount to a tall claim A
made on behalf of M/s S.R. Constructions in the
agreement. He pointed out that the notifications under
Sections 4( 1) and 6( 1) have been issued beyond the time
stipulated in the agreement and as such, it should be
held that the State Government has exercised its statutory B
power for acquisition of the lands in normal course, only
after taking all facts and circumstances into
consideration. There is no dispute that in terms of
agreement dated 1-2-1985 payments have been made
by the appellant Society to M/s S.R. Constructions. This C
circumstance alone goes a long way to support ihe
contention of the writ Petitioners that their lands have not
been acquired in the normal course or for any public
purpose. In spite of the repeated query, the learned D
counsel appearing for the appellant Society could not
point out or produce any order of the State Government
under Section 3(f)(vi) of the Act granting prior approval
and prescribing conditions and restrictions in respect of,
the use of the lands which were to be acquired for a public E
purpose. There is no restriction or bar on the part of the
appellant Society on carving out the size of the plots or
the manner of allotment or in respect of construction over
the same. That is why the framers of the Act have required
the appropriate Government to grant prior approval of F
any housing scheme presented by any cooperative
society before the lands are acquired treating such
requirement and acquisition for public purpose. It is
incumbent on the part of the appropriate Government
while granting approval to examine different aspects of G·
the matter so that it may serve the public interest and not
the interest of few who can as well afford to acquire such
lands by negotiation in open market. According to us,
the State Government has not granted the prior approval
in terms of Section 3(f)(vi) of the Act to the housing H
548 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 7 S.C.R.
A scheme in question. The power under Sections 4( 1) and
'6(1) of the Act has been exercised for extraneous
consideration and at the instance of the persons who
had no role in the decision-making process - whether
the acquisition of the lands in question shall be for a public
B purpose. This itself is enough to vitiate the whole
acquisition proceeding and render the same invalid.
22. In the present case there has been contravention of
Section 3(f)(vi) of the Act inasmuch as there was no prior
c approval of the State Government as required by the said
section before steps for acquisition of the lands were
taken. The report of Shri GK.V. Rao points out as to how
the appellant-Society admitted large number of persons
as members who cannot be held t9 be genuine
D members, the sole object being to transfer the lands
acquired for "public purpose", to· outsiders as part of
commercial venture, undertaken by the office- bearer of
the appellant-Society. We are in agreement with the
finding of the High Court that the statutory notifications
E issued under Sections 4( 1) and 6( 1) of the Act have been
issued due to the role played by M/s S.R. Constructions,
Respondent 11. On the materials on record, the High
Court was justified in coming to the conclusion that the
proceedings for acquisition of the lands had not been
F
initiated because the State Government was satisfied
about the existence of the public purpose but at the
instance of agent who had collected more than a crore
of rupees for getting the lands acquired by the State
G Government.
xx xx xx
95. The Division Bench of the High Court in Subramani,
ILR 1995 Kant 3139, noted that the terms of the
H agreement entered into between the Society and Mis.
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH 549
[A.K. SIKRI, J.]
Devatha Builders was not for the acquisition of land but A
only for development of the acquired land. The Division
Bench also noted that the agreement was entered into
between the Society and the owners in 1985, whereas
the Government gave approval for acquisition in 1985
and the agreement with the developer was of 1986. The B
Division Bench also noted that no stranger had been
inducted as a member of the society. However, the
acquisition which was under challenge in Writ Petition
No. 28707 of 1995 was declared illegal because the
House Building Cooperative Society concerned has not C
framed any housing scheme and obtained approval
thereoffrom the State Government. The Division Bench
also expressed the view that remedy under Article 226
was discretionary and it was not inclined to nullify the D
acquisition made for the society because the petitioners
had approached the Court after long lapse of time and
there was no explanation for the delay.
xx xx xx
E
132. Before concluding we consider it necessary to
observe that in view of the law laid down in the 1st H.M.T.
case (paragraphs 19, 21and22), which was followed in
2nd H.M.T. case and Vyalikawal House Building
Cooperative Society's case, the view taken by the F
Division Bench of the High Court in Narayana Raju's case
that the framing of scheme and approval thereof can be
presumed from the direction given by the State
Government to the Special Deputy Commissioner to take
steps for issue of notification under Section ~cannot G
be treated as good law and the mere fact that this Court
had revoked the certificate granted by the High Court
cannot be interpreted as this Court's approval of the view
expressed by the High Court on the validity of the H
550 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 7 S.C.R.
A acquisition.
133. In the result, the.appeals are dismissed. However,
keeping in view the fact that some of the members of the
appellant may have built their houses on the sites allotted
B to them, we give liberty to the appellant to negotiate with
the respondents for purchase of their land at the prevailing
market price and hope that the landowners will,
notwithstanding the judgments of the High Court and this
Court, agree to accept the market price so that those
C who have built the houses may not suffer.
134. At the same time, we make it clear that the appellant
must return the vacant land to the respondents
irrespective of the fact that it may have carved out the
o sites and allotted the same to its members. This must
be done within a period of three months from today and
during that period the appellant shall not change the
present status of the vacant area/sites. The members of
the appellant who may have been allotted the sites shall
E also not change the present status/character of the land.
The parties are left to bear their own costs."
(28) In support of the prop~sition that it was a case of
malice in law, reference was made to the judgment in the case
F of S. Partap Singh v. State of Punjab5.
(29) Countering the arguments of delay and laches putforth
by the respondents even in appellants cases, the reference
was made to the judgment in the case of S.P. Chengalvaraya
G Naidu v. Jagannath and others6, in support of the plea that
fraud vitiates all action and it was a case of fraud where land
was acquired for one purpose but thereafter the Government
"'AIR 1964 SC 72
H 6
' (1994) 1 sec 1
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH 551
[AK. SIKRI, J.]
sought to utilise it for some other purpose. In this behalf, A
reliance was also placed in the case of Vya/ikaval
Housebuilding Coop. Society v. \I. Chandrappa and
others7 :
"3. This writ petition was contested by the appellant B
society as the respondent and it was alleged that it was
hopelessly barred by time being delayed by 14 years
and it was also submitted that the writ petitioners had
participated in the inquiry under Section 5A of the Act
and have also received substantial amount from the C
appellant society pursuant to the agreement executed in
their favour. Learned Single Judge dismissed the writ
petition on the ground of being hopelessly barred by time
and the writ petitioners participated in the proceedings
therefore they have acquiesced in the matter. Aggrieved D
against this order passed by learned Single Judge, a
writ appeal was filed by the respondents which came to
be allowed by the Division Bench for the reasons
mentioned in another writ appeal decided by the same
Division Bench headed by the Chief Justice of the High E
Court on 17.1.2000. In that writ appeal the Division Bench
held that the entire acquisition on behalf of the appellant
society was actuated with fraud as held in Narayana
Reddy v. State of Karnataka ILR 1991 Kar. 2248. In that F
case it was held as follows:
"As seen from the findings of G.V.K. Rao Inquiry Report,
in respect of five respondent societies and the report of
the Joint Registrar in respect ofVyalikaval House Building
Co-operative Society, these societies had indulged in G
enrolling large number of members illegally inclusive of
ineligible members and had also indulged in enrolling
large number of bogus members. The only inference that
1 c2007) g sec 304 H
552 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 7 S.C.R.
A is possible from this is that the office-bearers of the
societies had entered into unholy alliance with the
respective agents for the purpose of making money, as
submitted for the petitioners otherwise, there is no reason
as to why such an agreement should have been brought
B about by the office-bearers of the society and the agents.
Unless these persons had the intention of making huge
profits as alleged by the petitioners, they would not have
indulged in enrolment of ineligible and bogus members.
The circumstance that without considering all these
c relevant materials the Government had accorded its
approval, is sufficient to hold that the agents had
prevailed upon the Government to take a decision to
acquire the lands without going into all those relevant
facts. The irresistible inference flowing from the facts and
D
circumstances of these cases is, whereas the power
conferred under the Land Acquisition Act is for acquiring
lands for carrying out housing scheme by a housing
society, in each of the cases the acquisition of lands is
E not for a bona fide housing scheme but is substantially
for the purpose of enabling the concerned office-bearers
of respondent-societies and their agents to indulge in
sale of sites in the guise of allotment of sites to the
members/ associate members of the society to make
F money as alleged by the petitioners and therefore it is a
clear case of colourable exercise of power. Thus the
decision of the Government to acquire the lands suffers
from legal mala fides and therefore the impugned
notifications are liable to be struck down."
G
(30) Judgment in the case of Royal Orchid Hotels
Limited and Anr. v. G Jayarama Reddy and Ors. 8 also relied
upon to counter the plea of delay and !aches, wherein this Court
H • c2011) 10 sec soa
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH 553
[AK. SIKRI, J.]
held: A
"24. The first question which needs consideration is
whether the High Court committed an error by granting
relief to Respondent 1 despite the fact that he filed the
writ petition after a long lqpse of time and the explanation B
given by him was found unsatisfactory by the learned
Single Judge, who decided the writ petition after remand
by the Division Bench.
25. Although the Framers of the Constitution have not c
prescribed any period of limitation for filing a petition
und~r Article 226 of the Constitution of India and the
power conferred upon the High Court to issue to any
person or authority including any Government, directions,
orders or writs including writs in the nature of habeas D
corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and
certiorari is not hedged with any condition or constraint,
in the last 61 years the superior courts have evolved
several rules of self-imposed restraint including the one
that the High Court may not enquire into belated or stale E
claim and deny relief to the petitioner if he is found guilty
of iaches. The principle underlying this rule is that the
one who is not vigilant and does not seek intervention of
the Court within reasonable time from the date of accrual
of cause of action or alleged violation of constitutional, F
legal or other right is not entitled to relief under Article
226 of the Constitution. Another reason for the High
Court's refusal to entertain belated claim is that during
the intervening period rights of third parties may have
crystallized and it will be inequitable to disturb those G
rights at the instance of a personwho has approached
the Court after long lapse of time and there is no cogent
explanation for the delay. We may hasten to add that no
hard-and-fast rule can be laid down and no straightjacket
H
554 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 7 S.C.R.
A formula can be evolved for deciding the question of delay/
!aches and each case has to be decided on its own facts.
xx xx xx
31. In the light of.the above, it is to be seen whether the
B
discretion exercised by the Division Bench of the High
Court t~ ignore the delay in filing of writ petition is vitiated
by any patent error or the reasons assigned for rejecting
the appellants' objection of delay are irrelevant and
c extraneous. Though it may sound repetitive, we may
mention that in the writ petition filed by him, Respondent
1 had not only prayed for quashing of the acquisition
proceedings, but also prayed for restoration of the
acquired land on the ground that instead of using the
D same for the public purpose specified in the notifications
issued under Sections 4(1) and 6, the Corporation had
transferred the same to private persons. Respondent 1
and the other landowners may not be having any serious
objection to the acquisition of their land for a public
E purpose and, therefore, some of them not only accepted
the compensation, but also filed applications under
Section 18 of the Act for determination of market value
by the court. However, when it was discovered that the
acquired land has been transferred to private persons,
F they sought intervention of the Court and in the three
cases, the Division Bench of the High Court nullified the
acquisition on the ground of fraud and misuse of the
provisions oftheAcf."
G The Arguments : Respondents
(31) Mr. L.N. Rao, learned senior counsel appearing for
the official respondents, emphatically countered the aforesaid
submissions. He argued that in most of these appeals, writ
H petitions were filed in the High Court challenging the acquisition
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTIAR PRADESH 555
[A.K. SIKRI, J.]
after passing of the award and taking possession of the land A
and in most of the cases, the land owners had even received
the compensation. Therefore, these writ petitions were not
maintainable and should have been dismissed on the ground
of laches and delay inasmuch as acquisition cannot be
challenged after the award is passed an<.i compensation is B
received. He sought to distinguish the judgments cited by the
appellants' counsel. He submitted that the High Court has
wrongly fixed the cut-off date as 06.07 .2011. He also submitted
that the High Court was in error in rejecting the arguments of
acquiescence as acceptance of compensation clearly meant C
that these land owners had acquiesced into the action of the
authorities in acquiring the land. His submission was that case
should have been examined keeping in view the aforesaid
factors and the plea taken by the writ petitioners that they felt D
aggrieved only when they came to know land was allotted/sold
to private builders, was totally irrelevant and could not have
been the ground to entertain the writ petitions on merits.
(32) It was also argued by Mr. Rao that the High Court
could not have enhanced the compensation by 64. 7% in writ E
petition filed under Article 226 as it was not a public law remedy.
His plea in this behalf was that Land Acquisition Act provided
for complete machinery for determination of the compensation
and reference by the land owners under Section 18 of the Act F
had already been sought and present way to matters are
pending before the Reference Court to determine the market
value of the land. He argued that merely because in the case
of Patwari village, the Government had entered into an
agreement with some of the villagers for payment of G
compensation by increasing it by 6~.70%, would ndt mean
that High Court could extend that to all villages in the absence
of any agreement with those parties. lri the same wave length,
he challenged the direction for allotment of developed Abadi
plot to the extent of 10% of the acquired land subject to H
556 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 7 S.C.R.
A maximum of 2~00 square metres by pointing out that the
aforesaid allotment was under the scheme of the Government
which provided for allotment of 5% developed Abadi plot in
respect of Naida land and 6% of developed Abadi plot where
the land acquired was situated in Greater Naida. Here again,
B it was i:-'eaded, the Hi'.1h Court could not tinker with the said
policy by enhancing the entttlement for allotment to 10%. It was
also argued that in any case once the compensation was
enhanced, there was no reason to give allotment of larger are1
C of land and it amounted to giving double benefit to the land
owners.
(33) Without prejudice to the aforesaid contentions, Mr.
Rao submitted that in spite of these serious infirmities in the
judgment of the High Court, insofar as Government authorities
D are concerned, theywere ready to pay the higher compensation
and even allot land to the extent of 10% subject to the condition
that quietus is given to all these cases with no further benefits.
He pointed out that 64. 7% additional compensation had
already been given to about ninety percent land owners.
E Further, 6% of land/flats had already been allotted to ninety
percent farmers. He further argued that care was taken at the
time of acquisition itself not to touch the Abadi land.
(34) Mr. Rakesh Dwivedi and Mr. Pramod Swarup, senior
F advocates, who appeared for private respondents/builders to
whom the land was allotted, supported the aforesaid
submissions of Mr. Rao and submitted that substantial justice
had been done by the High Court in these cases and, therefore,
in exercise of its power under Article 136 of the Constitution of
G India, the Court should not interfere with the exercise done by
the High Court.
Our Analysis of the subject matter:
H (35) We have bestowed our serious consideration to the
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH 557
[A.K. SIKRI, J.]
submissions made by learned counsel for parties on both A
sides. No doubt, the High Court has held that it was wrong
exercise in law on the part of the Government to invoke the
provisions of Sections 17(1) and 17(4) of the Act, thereby
dispensing with the enquiry under Section 5A of the Act which
amounted to taking away the valuable right of the land owners. B
That is a finding on merit. However, it is subject to the caveat
that the writ petitions filed by the appellants herein could be
considered on merits and were not to be dismissed on the
grounds of laches and delay. Such a contention was indeed
taken by the respondents/ authorities before the High Court. C
However, the same has been repelled. Primary reason given
by the High Court in this behalf is that the delay was explained
satisfactorily inasmuch as the'land acquired for the purposes
of industrial development was, at a later period of time, allotted D
to private builders for development of residential units and when
this was done it came to the knowledge of the appellants.
Aggrieved by this step taken by the Noida authorities, the
appellants filed the writ petitions. Thus, in nutshell, allotment of
the land by the Naida authorities at a subsequent point of time E
has weighed with the High Court. In other words, it is clear that
the appellants did not challenge the acquisition per se inasmuch
as when the land was acquired even after invoking urgency
provisions contained in Section 17 of the Act and dispensing
with the requirement of Section 5A of the Act, this position was F
accepted by the land owners. They even allowed the authorities
to proceed further in passing the award and taking possession
from many of these land owners and .even paying compensation
to them. It is a matter of record that before coming to the Court
and filing the writ petitions, most ,of these appellants had G
. received the compensation. They also sought reference under
Section 18 of the Act for higher compensation. Physical
possession of land of many ofthese appellants have also been
taken. In many other cases, paper possession had been taken
before filing of the writ petition.Agreat deal of argument was H
558 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 7 S.C.R.
A made as to whether such physical possession/paper
possession should be treated as taking possession in the eyes
of law, it would be a debatable point inasmuch as in various
judgments, this Court has held that whenever there is large
scale of acquisition and possession of large chunk of land
B belonging to number of persons is to be taken, paper
possession would be a permissible mode, particularly when it
is Abadi land. We are not going into this controversy since the
ultimate outcome is not influenced by the aforesaid factor, as
would be noticed in the later part of judgment. However, what
C we highlight and reiterate is that these appellants were not
aggrieved by the acquisition per se in the manner it was done
by the respondents. As per their own case, they became
aggrieved only when they found that land was not utilised for
the purpose for which it was acquired namely industrial
0
development but a large portion thereof was sought to be given
away to the builders for development of the land as residential.
The High"Court, while accepting such a plea of the land owners
on the ground of laches and delay, has referred to certain
E judgments which were relied upon before us as well and taken
note of above.
(36) This leads to an incidental issue as to whether
development of land for residential purposes is impermissible
F and could have given a fresh cause of action to the land owners
to approach the Court. Here, we would like to refer to the
judgment of this Court in Nand Kishore Gupta and Ors. v.
State of U.P. and Ors. 9 which concerns the same Act viz. U. P.
lndustrialArea DevelopmentAct, 1976. lnthatcase, forYamuna
G Express Project, the land was acquired setting it to be 'public
purpose'. The land was utilised for construction of Yamuna
Expressway and along therewith development of the part of
the land was undertaken for comme.'cial, amusement,
H •(2010) 10 sec 202
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH 559
[A.K. SIKRI, J.]
industrial, institutional and residential purposes as well. It was A
accepted that construction of Yamuna Expressway was work
of public importance. However, the utilisation of land for
development of other purposes, namely, commercial,
amusement, industrial, institutional and residential etc. was
challenged, as not amounting to acquisition for 'public purpose'. B
There was another feature namely for the development of the
land in the aforesaid manner Public Private Partnership (PPP)
was formed and private parties were asked to undertake the
development on BOT (Built, Operate and Transfer) basis. Such
PPP on BOT basis was also challenged as colourable exercise C
of power in which private parties were involved. The challenge
was repelled by this Court holding that acquisition of land along
Yamuna Express for development of the same for commercial,
amusement, industrial, institutional and residential purposes D
was complimentary to creation of Expressway. Such
complimentary purpose was also treated as 'public purpose'.
It was also contended by the land owners that the acquisition
was not for "public purpose" because: (a) its object was not
covered by Section 3(f) of the Act, (b) it really fell not under E
Part II of the Act but under Part VII thereof as it virtually amounted
to acquisition of land for the contractor Company J, (c) the
compensation was coming wholly from J and not from the
Government or YEIDA, (d) the acquisition for so-called
interchange was not at all necessary and was a colourable F
exercise of power. They further contended that the application
of Sections 17(1) and 17(4) oftheActwaswholly unnecessary
and therefore, the enquiry under Section 5-A could not have
been dispensed with. All the aforesaid cm1tentions were
rejected. Going by the dicta in the aforesaid judgment, it is G
contended by the authorities that merely because the part of
the land is utilised for residential purpose, it cannot be said
that the respondents-authorities have not adhered to the
purpose for which the land is acquired. As per them, this would
be complimentary purpose to the main purpose. H
560 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2015] 7 S.C.R.
A (37) We have to keep in mind that in all these cases, after
the land was acquired, which was of very large quantity and in
big chunks, further steps were taken by passing the award,
taking possession and paying compensation. In many cases,
actual possession was taken and in rest of the cases, paper
B possession was taken where because of the land under Abadi,
actual possession could not be taken on spot immediately.
Fact remains that in many such cases where possession was
taken, these land owners/appellants even received
compensation. All these petitions have been filed only thereafter
C which may not be maintainable stricto sensu having regard to
the law laid down by the Constitution Bench of this Court in
Aflatoon and Ors. v. Lt. Governor of Delhi and Ors. 10 and
the dictum of this judgment is followed consistently by this Court
in various cases [See Murari and Ors. v. Union of India and
0
Ors. 11 , Ravi Khullar and Anr. v. Union of India and Ors. 12 ,
Anand Singh and Anr. v. State of U.P. and Ors. 13]
(38) Once we look into the matter from the aforesaid
prospective, the argument of the appellants that giving away
E of the land by allotment to the private developers for
construction of residential units gave them the fresh cause of
action, gets dented to a great extent. No doubt, following Royal
Orchid Hotels Limited case and other similar cases, the High
F Court has not dismissed the writ petitions filed by the appellants
on the ground of delay and !aches accepting the plea of the
appellants that they felt aggrieved on coming to know that the
land was sought to be given to the private persons for
development. In this way, discretion is exercised by the High
G Court in entertaining the writ petitions on merits. Since such a
10
AIR 1974 SC 2077
11
(1997) 1 sec 15
1
2(2001) s sec 231
H 13
(201 oi 11 sec 242
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH 561
[AK. SIKRI, J.]
discretion is exercised, we would not like to interfere with that A
discretion, more so, when a very fair stand is taken by Mr. Rao,
learned senior counsel appearing for the Naida authority, as
mentioned above. However, the aforesaid position in law is
stated to highlight that it was equally possible to dismiss these
writ petitions as the same were filed belatedly after passing of B
the award and when in most of the cases, possession was
taken and compensation paid. When we examine the matter
from the aforesaid angle, we reach an irresistible conclusion
that the High Court has gone an extra mile in finding the solution
to the problem and balancing the equities in a manner which C
is favourable to the land owners.
(39) We have also to keep in mind another important
feature. Many residents of Patwari village had entered into
agreement with the authorities agreeing to accept enhanced D
compensation at the rate of 64. 7%. This additional
compensation was, however, agreed to be paid by the
authorities only in respect of land owners of Patwari village.
The High Court has bound the authorities with the said
agreement by applying the same to all the land owners thereby E
benefiting them with 64.7% additional compensation. There
could have been argument that the authorities cannot be
fastened with this additional compensation, more particularly,
when machinery for determination for just and fair F
compensation is provided under the Land Acquisition Act and
the land owners had, in fact, invoked the said machinery by
seeking reference under Section 18 thereof. Likewise, the
scheme for allotment of land to the land owners provides for
5% and 6% developed land in Naida and Greater Naida G
respectively. As against that, the High Court has enhanced the
said entitlement to 10%. Again, we find that it could be an
arguable case as to whether High Court could grant additional
land contrary to the policy. Notwithstanding the same, the Naida
authority have now accepted this part of the High Court H
562 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 7 S.C.R.
A judgment after the dismissal of the appeals filed by the Noida
authority, and a statement to that effect was made by Mr. Rao.
We may point out that while dismissing the appeals of Noida
authority, following remarks were made:
B "9. Insofar as allotment of 1.0 per cent of the plots is
concerned, the High Court, in exercise of its discretionary
power, has thought it fit, while sustaining the notification
issued by the authority for protecting them for allotting
10 per cent of the developed plots; and, there again they
c have put a cap of 2,500 sq.mtrs. In fact, in the course of
the order, the High Court has taken into consideration
the agreement that was entered into by the authority with
the villagers of Patwari and, in some cases. the authority
itself has agreed to raise 6 to 8 per cent of the developed
D plots to the agriculturists. The High Court has also taken
into consideration the observations made by this Court
in the case of Bondu Ramaswamy Vs. Bangalore
Development Authority, 2010 (7) SCC 129, where this
Court has gone to the extent of directing the authorities
E to allot 15 per cent of the developed plots. In our view
and in the peculiar facts and circumtances of these cases,
since the relief that is given to the respondents/
agriculturists is purely discretionary relief by the Court in
order to sustain the notification issued by the authorities,
F
we do not find any good ground to interfere with the
impugned judgment(s) and order(s) passed by the High
Court, at the instance of the petitioners/appellants/
authorities, namely, NOIDAand Greater NOIDA.
G 10. This order shall not be treated as a precedent in any
other case."
(40) Thus, we have a scenario where, on the one hand,
invocation of urgency provisions under Section 17 of the Act
H and dispensing with the right to file objection under Section
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH 563
[A.K. SIKRI, J.]
5AoftheAct, is found to be illegal. On the other hand, we have A
a situation where because of delay in challenging these
acquisitions by the land owners, developments have taken in
these villages and in most of the cases, third party rights have
been created. Faced with this situation, the High Court going
by the spirit behind the judgment of this Court in Bondu B
Ramaswamy and Others (supra) came out with the solution
which is equitable to both sides. We are, thus, of the view that
the High Court considered the ground realities of the matter
and arrived at a more practical and workable solution by
adequately compensating the land owners in the form of C
compensation as well as allotment of developed Abadi land
at a higher rate i.e. 10% of the land acquired. of each of the
land owners against the eligibility and to the policy to the extent
of 5% and 6% of Noida and Greater Noida land respectively. D
(41) Insofar as allegation of some of the app~ellants that
their abadi land was acquired, we find that this allegation is
specifically denied disputing its correctness. There is specific
averment made by the NOIDAAuthority at so niany places that
village abadi land was not acquired. It is mentioned that abadi E
area is what was found in the survey conductedp}ior to Section
4 Notification and not what is alleged or that which is far away
from the dense village abadi. It is also mentioned that as a
consequence of the acquisition, the Authority spends crores F
and crores of rupees in developing the infrastructure such as
road, drainage, sewer, electric and water lines etc. in the
unacquired portion of the village abadi. During the course of
hearing, Chart No. 2 in respect of each village of Greater Noida
was handed over for the consideration of this Court, wherein G
the amount spent by the Authority on the development, including
village development (which is the unacquired village abadi},
has been given in Column No. 4 thereof. It has been the
consistent stand of the NOIDA Authority that prior to the
issuance of Section 4 Notification under the Land Acquisition H
564 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 7 S.C.R.
A Act, 1894, survey was conducted and the abadi found in that
survey was not acquired. In fact, affidavits in this respect have
also been filed not only in this Court but also in the High Court.
We have mentioned that there has been a long gap between
acquisition of the land and filing of the writ petitions in the High
B Court by these appellants challenging the acquisition. If they
have undertaken some construction during this period they
cannot be allowed to take advantage thereof. Therefore, it is
difficult to accept the argument of the appellants based on
parity with three villages in respect of which the High Court
C has given relief by quashing the acquisition.
(42) To sum up, following benefits are accorded to the
land owners:
D (a) increasing the compensation by 64.7%;
(b) directing allotment of developed abadi land to the extent
of 10% of the land acquired of each of the land owners;
(c) compensation which is increased atthe rate of64.7%
E is payable immediately without taking away the rights
of the land owners to claim higher compensation under
the machinery provided in the Land Acquisition Act
wherein the matter would be examined on the basis of
the evidence produced to arrive at just and fair market
F
value;
This, according to us, provides substantial justice to
the appellants.
G Conclusion
(43) Keeping in view all these peculiar circumstances, we
are of the opinion that these are not the cases where this Court
should interfere under Article 136 of the Constitution. However,
H we make it clear that directions of the High Court are given in
SAVITRI DEVI v. STATE OF UTIAR PRADESH 565
[A.K. SIKRI, J.]
the aforesaid unique and peculiar/specific background and, A
therefore, it would not form precedent for future cases.
(44) We may record that some of the appellants had tried
to point out certain clerical mistakes pertaining to their specific
cases. For example, it was argued by one appellant that his B
land falls in a village in Naida but wrongly included in Greater
Naida. These appellants, for getting such clerical mistakes
rectified, can always approach the High Court.
(45) The Full Bench judgment of the High Court is, c
accordingly, affirmed and all these appeals are disposed of in
terms of the said judgment of the Full Bench.
(46) In view of the aforesaid, the contempt petitions also
stand disposed of.
D
Kalpana K Tripathy Appeals and Contempt
Petitions disposed of.
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