Bhimaji Narayanrao Lokur, J. - (1.) Writ petitions Nos. 637 of 1970, 708 of 1970 and 709 of 1970 were heard together and are disposed of by this common judgment as all the three petitions have challenged the process of acquisition of land under identical notifications. The Meerut Improvement Trust framed, under the UP Town Improvement Act, 1919 (hereinafter referred to as "the Town Improvement Act") an improvement Scheme called "Scheme No. 3 - -Housing Accommodation and Street Scheme lying between Meerut Garhmukteshwar and Meerut Hapur Roads" and published a notice of the Scheme in the UP Gazette dated 7th January 1967 as required by S. 36 of the Town Improvement Act. The area comprised in the Scheme included lands in four villages - -Kasba Meerut, village Aurangashapur Diggi, village Budhera Jahidpur and village Qazipur. The notice described the boundaries of the area to the north, south, east and west by specifying the plots located on the boundaries. The notices stated that the map of the area, particulars of the Scheme and statement of land and properties proposed to be acquired could be seen at the office of the Meerut Improvement Trust on all working days during office hours. Finally, it invited objections in writing within the specified date. Before any further action could be taken under the Town Improvement Act, the UP Avas Evam Vikas Parishad Adhiniyam, 1965 (hereinafter referred to as "Act No. 1 of 1966") was extended to the area under the jurisdiction of the Improvement Trust of Meerut with effect from the 7th December, 1967 by a Notification issued by the State Govt. u/S. 1(3)of that Act. From that date, the Town Improvement Act stood repealed in its application to the area under the jurisdiction of the Improvement Trust of Meerut in virtue of S. 96(1) of Act No. 1 of 1966. S. 97(3) of that Act, however, transferred to the UP Avas Evam Vikash Parishad constituted u/S. 3(1) of the said Act (hereinafter referred to as "the Board") every scheme and all proceedings relating thereto under the Town Improvement Act pending on the date on which the Act was brought into force and enabled the Board to proceed further with the Scheme or execution thereof from the stage at which it was transferred to it in accordance with the provisions of Act No. 1 of 1966. Accordingly, the Scheme in question was taken up by the Board for processing it further under Act No. 1 of 1966. The Scheme was sanctioned by the State Govt. u/S. 31(1) in due course and notified in the gazette as required by S. 32(1) on the 23rd November, 1968. The Notification merely mentioned that the State Govt. had sanctioned the said Scheme, in regard to which a notice was published u/S. 36 of the Town Improvement Act. Thereafter action was commenced for acquiring the land required for the execution of the Scheme under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, pursuant to S. 55(1) of Act No. 1 of 1966. The petitioners in the three writ petitions were served with notices u/S. 9 of the Land Acquisition Act as their plots lay within the area comprised in the Scheme and a Notification u/S. 17 of that Act was also published on the 18th November, 1969. Before, however, the possession of the plots of the petitioners could be taken, they came to this Court with these writ petitions, praying that the notice u/S. 36 of the Town Improvement Act dated 7th January, 1967, and the Notifications u/S. 32(1) of Act No. 1 of 1966 dated 23rd November, 1968 and u/S. 17 of the Land Acquisition Act dated 18th November 1969, be quashed by a writ of certiorari, for an appropriate direction and for the issue of a writ of mandamus directing the respondents, namely, the State of UP, the Board and the Collector of Meerut, not to proceed with the acquisition of the plots of the petitioners. The petitioners have been resisted by the three respondents.
(2.) The principal ground on which the proceedings have been attacked by the petitioners is that neither the notice u/S. 36(1) of the Town Improvement Act, nor the Notification u/S. 32(1) of Act No. 1 of 1966 gave details of the plots sought to be acquired with the result that the petitioners had no notice of the proposal to acquire their plots and were denied opportunity to object to their acquisition at appropriate stages and hence the notice u/S. 36(1) of the Town Improvement Act and the Notification u/S. 32(1) of Act No. 1 of 1966 were invalid.
(3.) As already observed above, the acquisition of the plots of the petitioners has to be taken under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act as provided in S. 55 of the Act No. 1 of 1966. The Land Acquisition Act has, by the same section, been modified in its application to the acquisition of land for purposes of that Act and these modifications are set out in the Schedule to the Act. The only modifications relevant for the purposes of these petitions are those specified in para. 2(1) and 2(2) of the Schedule, which read as follows: - - (1) The first publication, in the official Gazette, of a notice of any housing or improvement scheme u/S. 28 or under cl. (a) of sub -S. (3) of S. 31 of this Act shall be substituted for any have, in relation to any land proposed to be acquired under the scheme, the same effect as publication in the official Gazette, and in the locality, of a notification u/sub -S. (1) of S. 4 of the said Act, except where a notification u/S. 4 or a declaration u/S. 6 of the said Act has previously been made and is still in force, and the provisions of S. 5 -A of the said Act shall be inapplicable in the case of such land. (2) The issue of a notice u/cl. (c) of sub -S. (3) of S. 23 of this Act in the case of land acquired under a Bhavi Sarak Yojna and the publication of a notification u/sub -S. (1) or, as the case may be, u/sub -S. (4) of S. 32 of this Act in the case of land acquired under any other housing or improvement scheme under this Act shall be substituted for and have the same effect as a declaration by the State Government u/S. 6 of the said Act, unless a declaration under the last mentioned Sec. has previously been made and is still in force.;