State of Uttarakahand vs Rajiv Berry - Supreme Court

 State of Uttarakahand & Ors. vs Rajiv Berry - Supreme Court Important Judgment 2016 - 

 

On 10th August, 2016, in the case of State of Uttarakahand & Ors. vs Rajiv Berry & Ors. [Civil Appeal No. 6900 of 2009], while setting aside a judgment of the High Court which had struck down the acquisition of land for the purpose of expansion of the Uttaranchal Secretariat at Dehradun, it was held that Sections 17(1) and 17(2) of the Land Acquisition Act on the one hand and Section 17(4) on the other operate in two different fields and that “it is extent of urgency or emergency that would determine the application of the respective clauses/sub-sections of Section 17” of the Land Acquisition Act.

 It was further held that “even though the urgency clause under Section 17(1) and Section 17(2) may be invoked in a given case, the opportunity of filing objections under Section 5A of the L.A. Act need not be dispensed with and can still be afforded.

However, if the provisions of Section 17(4) are invoked, the State would be empowered to dispense with the requirement of affording opportunity under Section 5A and take possession prior to making of the award. The dispensation of the opportunity contemplated by Section 5A by invoking Section 17(4) is not an invariable consequence of the invocation of Sections 17(1) or (2).”