Krishnagiri collectorate land acquisition set aside

He added that the inquiry under Section 5-A was not an empty formality.
For representational purposes
For representational purposes

CHENNAI: Holding that there was no urgency to acquire land for construction of a new collectorate complex in Krishnagiri, the Madras High Court has set aside the land acquisition proceedings invoking the emergency clause of the Land Acquisition Act.

Justice M Dhandapani on Monday passed the orders to quash the land acquisition proceedings initiated in 2005 under Section 17 of the Act, the consequential notification under Section 4 (1) dated July 2, 2005, and the declaration under Section 6, while allowing a batch of writ petitions filed by aggrieved land owners.

The judge noted that the Master Plan Complex would not fall within the ambit of emergency under Section 17 (2), and invoking the urgency provision under Section 17 (4) to dispense with the inquiry under Section 5-A could not be done away with.

He added that the inquiry under Section 5-A was not an empty formality. Pointing out that the authorities concerned had not attempted to get the stay order on the proceedings vacated, he said if the project was so very urgent, the respondents would have done so.

He further stated that though the urgency provision was invoked, the petitioners still have possession of the land, and the project hasn’t even started. Holding that the court is of the considered view that the project, for which land was sought to be acquired, cannot be said to be of such a grave nature that necessitated invocation of the urgency power by dispensing with the inquiry and the same warrants interference, Justice Dhandapani said, being in violation of the constitutional safeguards, the acquisition deserves to be quashed.

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