- (1.) THE Executive Engineer (Tube Wells) proposed to widen a gul between inter alia plots Nos. 900 and 925 in village Pheguna so that the gul might carry a larger volume of water from the tube well to irrigate the lying lands; he accordingly proposed that a strip of land on both sides of the gul be requisitioned from the vari ous plots lying on the two sides of the gul. On his application for requisition, the Tahsildar, who is the Requisitioning Authority under the U. P. Rural De velopment (Requisitioning of Land) Act, 1948 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), invited objections if any from the various land-holders adjoining the gul. The petitioner who holds plots Nos. 900 and 925 and other landholders filed objections and the Requisitioning Authority, after hearing them and after a spot inspection of the gul was of the opinion that the requisition of the strips of land from the plots lying on the two sides was beneficial to the cultiva tors of the outlying land and would promote agriculture; he accordingly made an order under Section 3 of the Act requisitioning the strips of land from 11 plots including plots Nos. 900 and 925 belonging to the petitioner. The order of the Requisitioning Authority is impugned in this petition on various grounds.
(2.) IT is urged, to start with, that the Act, which was passed by the U. P. Provincial Legislature in 1948, is ultra vires as under the Provincial Legisla tive List in the Seventh Schedule to the Government of India Act, 1935, there is no entry enabling a Provincial Legis lature to make a law for requisitioning of lands. This argument is without sub stance as the Governor-General, by Notification No. F. 311/47-C and G dated 21st October, 1947, published In the Gazette of India Extraordinary, dated the 25th October, 1947, empower ed, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 104 of the Government of India Act, 1935, as adapted, the Provin cial Legislatures to enact laws for re quisitioning of lands. In virtue of this notification, the U. P. Provincial Legis lature was competent to enact the im pugned law. Reference was next made to Section 299 (1) of the Government of India Act, 1935, which provided that no person could be deprived of his pro perty save by authority of law and Section 299 (2) of that Act which pre cluded a Provincial Legislature from making a law for compulsory acquisi tion of any land for public purpose un less the law provided for payment of compensation for the property acquired and it was contended that the two sub sections, read together, authorised the Provincial Legislature to deprive a per son of his property by making a law for compulsory acquisition for public purposes and, by necessary implication, it prohibited the enactment of a law depriving a person of his property by requisitioning it. This contention has to be stated only to be rejected. The two sub-sections of Section 299 are independent of each other; sub-section (1) referred to all types of deprivation of property, while sub-sec tion (2) referred to deprivation of pro perty by compulsory acquisition thereof. A law made by a Provincial Legislature providing for acquisition of land in pur suance of the power conferred by the notification under Section 299 (1) of the Government of India Act would be a law under Section 299 (2).
(3.) IT was next contended that on the commencement of the Constitu tion the Act became void under Article 13 of the Constitution since its provi sions are inconsistent with the funda mental rights guaranteed under Articles 31 (1), 31 (2) and 19 (1) (f). 4-A. To appreciate this argument it is necessary to mention that the Act has been described in the preamble as '_'An Act to provide for the requisition ing of land to promote the improve ment and development of agriculture and economic condition in rural areas." Section 3 of the Act enables the Re quisitioning Authority, if in its opinion it was necessary or expedient so to do for a public purpose, to requisition by an order any land by serving on the owner and occupier thereof a notice stating that the Requisitioning Autho rity had decided to requisition the land. Under Section 4, the Requisitioning Au thority or any other prescribed autho rity could use the requisitioned land in such manner as may appear to it to be expedient for any public purpose. Section 9 provides for payment of com pensation and reads: "9. Payment of compensation - (1) Where any land is requisitioned under Section 3 there shall be paid to every person interested such compensation as may be agreed upon in writing be tween such person and the Requisition ing Authority in respect of- (a) the requisitioning of such land and (b) any damage done during the period of requisitioning to such land other than that which may have been sustained by natural causes. Explanation:- For the purposes of this sub-section the deepening of a tank, making of pits for composting vil lage refuse is not damage done to the land. (2) Where no such agreement can be reached, the Requisitioning Autho rity shall refer the matter with his re commendation as to the amount of com pensation and the reasons there for to the Compensation Officer and also direct the person claiming compensation to appear before such officer on such date as may be specified and the Compensa tion Officer shall, on the date fixed in that behalf or on any other date to which the hearing may be postponed, hear such person and after such further inquiry as he may deem fit, determine the amount of compensation which shall, except as provided in Section 12, be final and conclusive. (3) The Compensation Officer shall in fixing the amount of compensation have regard to- (a) the rent if any, assessed on the land which has been requisitioned; (b) the 'sayar' income if any, de rived from such land; (c) the value of any trees which as a result of the requisition have to be removed from the land; and (d) the purpose for which it has been requisitioned and shall also take into consideration the benefit which the use of such land is likely directly or indirectly to confer on any other pro perty owned or occupied by such per son. But he shall not take into consi deration- (i) the value of trees, except trees mentioned in clause (c). which may con tinue to be possessed and enjoyed by the person entitled thereto, (ii) the value of any crops which may be existing on the land at the time the requisition and may be removed by him after such time as the Requisi tioning Authority may specify in that behalf, (iii) the value of any right of any person in or over the requisitioned land enjoyment whereof has not been sus pended or otherwise prohibited. (4) The compensation fixed under sub-section (1) determined under sub section (2) shall be paid in such man ner as the parties may agree or as the case may be, the Compensation Officer may direct." The orders of the Compensation Officer under sub-section (2) of Section 9 are subject to review by the State Govern ment or the Prescribed Authority under Section 12. Section 10 deals with the release of land from requisition. Sec tions 6, 7 and 8 refer to requisitioning of land on the application of a Co- ope rative Society or a Union or a Gaon Sabha but we are not concerned with these sections in this case. ;