- News>
- States
SC quashes Centre`s order acquiring 14 prime Delhi properties
New Delhi, May 03: The Supreme Court has quashed a 1987 notification of the union government seeking to acquire 14 prime properties in Delhi for setting up of a dispensary, offices and residential quarters of government servants.
New Delhi, May 03: The Supreme Court has quashed a 1987 notification of the union government seeking to acquire 14 prime properties in Delhi for setting up of a dispensary, offices and residential quarters of government servants.
Upholding the high court order, a bench comprising Justice Shivaraj V Patil and Justice D M Dharmadhikari said the "urgency" clause invoked by the government while issuing
the notification under the Land Acquisition Act was not borne
out from the facts and circumstances prevailing then.
Among the properties intended to be acquired by the Delhi government were 3-Tilak Marg, 1-Rajpur Road, 15- Rajpur road, 2-Underhill Road, 6-Ansari Road and 97-Daryaganj. The bench said the government by invoking powers under Section 17 of the act claimed urgency to deny the persons whose land was acquired the opportunity to file objection saying acquisition was unwarranted.
"Section 17 confers extraordinary powers on the authorities under which it can dispense with the normal procedure laid down under section 5a of the act in exceptional case of urgency," it said.
A public purpose, however, laudable it could be, by itself was not sufficient to take aid of section 17 to use this extraordinary power as use of such power deprives a land owner of his right to file objections, the court said. "Failure to take timely action for acquisition by the authorities of the union of India cannot be a ground to invoke the urgency clause to the serious detriment of the right of landowner to raise objections to the acquisition under Section 5a," it said.
Bureau Report
Among the properties intended to be acquired by the Delhi government were 3-Tilak Marg, 1-Rajpur Road, 15- Rajpur road, 2-Underhill Road, 6-Ansari Road and 97-Daryaganj. The bench said the government by invoking powers under Section 17 of the act claimed urgency to deny the persons whose land was acquired the opportunity to file objection saying acquisition was unwarranted.
"Section 17 confers extraordinary powers on the authorities under which it can dispense with the normal procedure laid down under section 5a of the act in exceptional case of urgency," it said.
A public purpose, however, laudable it could be, by itself was not sufficient to take aid of section 17 to use this extraordinary power as use of such power deprives a land owner of his right to file objections, the court said. "Failure to take timely action for acquisition by the authorities of the union of India cannot be a ground to invoke the urgency clause to the serious detriment of the right of landowner to raise objections to the acquisition under Section 5a," it said.
Bureau Report