- (1.) Leave granted. Though notice was served on the respondents - the first and the fourth respondents, the 1st respondent is not appearing either in person or through counsel; equally, 4th respondents through counsel. We have heard the counsel for the appellants as well as for the State.
(2.) The undisputed facts are that the appellant-Society consists of labourers and Scheduled Caste persons belonging to the village Khardosan in Deesa Taluka of Banaskantha District of Gujarat State. The appellant-Society had requested the Gram Panchayat to recommend to the District Collector for assignment of 300 acres of gaucher land (waste land) vested in the Gram Panchayat for the purpose of cultivation and augmentation of economic empowerment of the members of the appellant-Society. The Gram Panchayat had unanimously resolved and requested the Collector to resume the land and assign it to the appellant. The District Collector in response thereto had resumed the land and assigned the same to the appellant. Calling the order of the District Collector in question a Review Petition was filed before the Government by the first respondent. The Government by order dated August 20, 1986 set aside the order on the ground that District Collector did not issue any notice to the villagers before its resumption. When the writ petition came to be filed, while upholding that the waste land was required to be resumed by the Collector for public purpose of assignment to the rural labourers belonging to backward classes and Scheduled Castes, the High Court directed the Collector to give notice to the villagers and to consider their objections and to pass order afresh thereafter. On appeal, by the impugned order dated January 24, 1994 in Appeal No. 33/94, the Division Bench confirmed the same. Thus this appeal by special leave.
(3.) The question that arises for consideration is:whether notice to the villagers is mandatory under Section 96(4) of the Gram Panchayat Act, 1961 (for short, the 'Act') Section 96 reads as under: "96. Government may vest certain lands in Panchayats - (i) For the purpose of this Act, the State Government may subject to such conditions and restrictions as it may think fit to impose, vest in a panchayat open sites or waste, vacant or grazing lands or public roads, streets, bridges, ditches, dikes and fences wells, river-beds, tanks streams, lakes, nallas, canals, water courses, trees or any other property in the gram or nagar, as the case may be, vesting in the Government. (2) Subject to any condition and restrictions imposed by the State Government under sub-section (1) and with the previous sanction of the Collector, a panchayat may discontinue or stop up any such public road or street vested in it by the State Government, but which it is no longer required as public road or street and may lease or sell any such land therefor used for the purposes of such public road or street: Provided that one month before it is decided to stop up or discontinue such public roads or street, the Sarpanch or Chairman as the case may be, shall, by notice signed by him and affixed in the part of the public road or street which is proposed to discontinue or stop up, and published in such other manner as it prescribed, inform the residents of the gram or nagar as the case may be, of the said proposal and consider any objections in writing made thereto; the notice shall indicate the alternative route, if any, which it is proposed to provide or which may already be in existence. (3) Whenever any public road or street or any part thereof has been so discontinued or stopped up, reasonable compensation shall be paid to every person who was entitled to use such road or street or part thereof, otherwise than as a mere member of the public, as a means of access to or from his property and has suffered damage from such discontinuance or stopping up, and the provisions in the Bombay Highways Act, 1955, (Bom. LV of 1955) in relation to the assessment, apportionment, and payment of compensation shall, mutatis mutandis apply thereto as they apply in relation to the closure of a highway under Section 52 of that Act. (4) Where any open site or waste, vacant or grazing land vesting in Government has been vested by Government in a panchayat whether before or after the commencement of this Act, then it shall be lawful for the State Government to resume at any time such site or land, if it is required by it for any public purpose; Provided that in case of any improvement of such site or land made by the panchayat or any other person, the panchayat or person, as the case may be, shall be entitled to compensation equal to the value of such improvement and such value shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894". ;