- (1.) Leave granted. These appeals have been filed for setting aside judgment dated 24.11.2011 of the Division Bench of the Patna High Court whereby the Letters Patent Appeals filed by the Appellants were dismissed and the order passed by the learned Single Judge negating challenge to the acquisition of their land was upheld.
(2.) The Superintendent of Police, Bagaha sent requisition dated 14.3.2000 to District Magistrate, West Champaran, Bettiah for making available suitable land for construction of police lines. For the next four years, different officers of the State Government exchanged correspondence for the acquisition of land of different measurements. On 24.2.2004, Superintendent of Police, Bagaha sent a requisition to District Magistrate, West Champaran for the acquisition of 45.05 acres of land of villages Pokharbinda and Domwalia on urgent basis. He also suggested that inquiry under Section 5A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, 'the Act') may be dispensed with by invoking Section 17. After about three years, the State Government issued notification dated 9.2.2007 under Section 4 read with Section 17(4) of the Act for the acquisition of land and also declared that Section 5A shall not be applicable. The declaration made under Section 6 was published on The Land Acquisition Officer passed award dated 1.4.2009.
(3.) On receipt of the notice issued under Section 12(2) of the Act, the Appellants filed C.W.J.C. Nos. 8653 of 2009 and 4817 of 2010 before the Patna High Court and prayed for quashing the acquisition of their land. One of the several grounds taken by the Appellants was that there was no urgency which could justify invoking of the provisions of Section 17 of the Act and, in any case, there was no valid ground to dispense with the application of Section 5A of the Act. The Appellants also pleaded that the acquisition proceedings will be deemed to have lapsed because the award was not passed within two years of the making of declaration under Section 6 of the Act.;