Jagdish Sahai J. - (1.) IN all these writ petitions the question involved is the same, i.e., whether a notification under sub- section (4) of S, 17 of the Land Acqui sition Act (hereinafter to be referred to as the Act) can be issued if a notification under Section 17 (1) of the Act has not already been issued. Since that is the only question raised in these petitions, instead of a question being referred to us, the petitions have been referred to us for decision.
(2.) DESAI , C. J. and R. N. Sharma, J. In Sheikh Ghulam Maula v. State of U. P., 1964 All LJ 928 = (AIR 1964 All 353) took the view that a notification under Section 17 (4) of the Act without there being an earlier notification under Sec tion 17 (1) of the Act would be invalid. Section 17 so far as it is relevant for our purposes reads:- "17(1) In cases of urgency, whenever the appropriate Government so directs, the Collector, though no such award has been made, may, on the 'expiration of fif teen days' from the publication of the notice mentioned in Section 9, sub-sec tion (1), take possession of any waste or arable land needed for public purposes or for a Company. Such land shall there upon vest absolutely in the Government, free from all encumbrances. (2) Whenever, owing to any sudden change in the channel of any aviable river or other unforeseen emergency, it becomes necessary for any Railway Ad ministration to acquire the immediate possession of any land for the maintenance of their traffic or for the purpose of mak ing thereon a river-side or ghat station, or of providing convenient connection with or access to any such station, the Collec tor may, immediately after the lication of the notice mentioned in sub-section (1) and with the previous sanction of the ap propriate Government, enter upon and take possession of such land, which shall thereupon vest absolutely in the Gov ernment, free from all encumbrances: (3)............... ......... .......... .......... ...... . ............. ........... .......... ....... ........ (4) In the case of any land to which, in the opinion of the appropriate Govern ment, 'the provisions of sub-section (1) or subs. (2) are applicable', (underlined by us (here in ' ') the appropriate Govern ment may direct that the provisions of S. 5-A shall not apply and, if it does so direct, a declaration may be made under S. 6 in respect of the land at any time A. IB. after the publication of the notification under S. 4, sub-section (1)."
(3.) IT may be pointed out that original ly Section 5-A and sub-section (4) of Sec tion 17 did not exist in the Act. These provisions were introduced by Sections 3 and 4 respectively of Act 38 of 1923. That Act was a remedial statute enacted to provide a remedy to the citizen against the acquisition of his land. Section 5- A of the Act gives a citizen the opportunity of objecting to the acquisition of his land. The object of introducing sub-section (4) of Section 17 in the Act is to extinguish the applicability of S. 5-A in case of urgency.;