The matter pertains to the acquisition of around 900 acres in Uttar Pradesh, adjacent to the Dadri-Noida main road.The preliminary notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act was issued on August 25, 1981, for acquiring land in Habibpur village for a public purpose.
By the notification, an inquiry under the Act was dispensed with and thereafter, a final declaration under Section 6 was issued and the land was acquired within a month without addressing the objections of land owners.
Section 5-A of the Act directed the government to give 30 days to the parties to raise their claims and objections against the acquisition. The aggrieved parties filed a writ petition in the high court, which quashed the notification and held it as invalid.
“Notification without affording opportunity to the petitioner to file objection and without inquiry under Section 5-A of the Act is invalid. “The decision to obviate the inquiry under the provision was wholly without authority of law”, the high court said.
The state government had then approached the Supreme Court, but a division bench comprising Mr Justice B.P. Singh and Mr Justice Altamas Kabir dismissed its petition.
“This court found that there were vital defects in the first two notifications”, the bench said.
— PTI
