ANIL AGARWAL FOUNDATION ETC. ETC. v. STATE OF ORISSA AND ORS.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by A M. R. SHAH, J.

1Copy pinpoint1. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned common judgment and order passed by the High Court of Orissa dated 16.11.2010 passed in Writ Petition Nos. 10325 of 2008, 12948 of 2008 and 6863 of 2009 by which the Division Bench of the High Court has allowed the said writ petitions and has quashed the land acquisition proceedings in question including the notifications under Section 4(1) and 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (hereinafter referred to as “Act, 1894”) and the awards passed in the land acquisition proceedings for acquisition of lands in favour of the appellant – beneficiary company and directed that the possession of the acquired lands shall be restored to the respective landowners and on restoration of the possession to the landowners, they shall refund the amounts received by them as compensation or otherwise in respect of their lands. By the impugned common judgment and order, the High Court has also quashed the grant of Government Land in favour of the beneficiary company under Rule 5 of the Government Land D Settlement Rules with a direction to the State Government to resume the lands which were granted to the beneficiary company by way of lease, the appellant – the beneficiary company and others have preferred the present appeals.

2Copy pinpoint2. At the outset, it is required to be noted that before the High E Court, two writ petitions were filed by the original landowners whose lands have been acquired and one writ petition was filed by way of public interest litigation on behalf of the small landholders, who could not approach the Court and also on behalf of the people of the locality. 2.1 It is required to be noted that the dispute is with respect to the F acquisition of about 6000 acres of land belonging to about 6000 families, affecting approximately 30,000 people.

3Copy pinpoint3. The facts leading to the present appeals in nutshell are as under:- 3.1 That on 23.06.2006, one Mohit Kumar Rana, Principal, A.T. G Kearney Limited submitted an application before the State Government stating that M/s. Vedanta Resources Limited is contemplating to set up a University in Orissa to impart education in under-graduate and post- graduate courses in Engineering, Medicine, Management, General Science and Humanities etc. It was further stated in the application that the Group had given a presentation to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of H

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A Orissa during April, 2006. That after visiting different sites in Orissa, their team have selected a site on the outskirt of Puri on the Puri-Konark marine drive to be the place ideal for establishment of the University. Therefore, it was, inter alia, prayed that the Government of Orissa should make available 15,000 acres of contiguous land around Nuanai, in the district of Puri in Bhubneswar-Puri-Konark marine drive. It was also B prayed that the Government of Orissa should also coordinate the land acquisition process by appointment of a Special Land Acquisition Officer. The Group prayed that they require 1500 acres of land for Phase-I to be acquired by September, 2006 and the balance by December, 2006. Thereafter, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the C Government of Orissa and Vedanta Foundation on 19.07.2006. The Government of Orissa confirmed the availability of contiguous land of about 8000 acres and to make endeavour to provide an additional contiguous land and other facilities as required by the Foundation. 3.2 That a Private Limited Company incorporated in the name D and style of Sterlite Foundation changed its name to Vedanta Foundation under section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 and accordingly fresh Certificate of Incorporation consequent on change of the name was issued in July, 2004. After signing of the MOU, necessary steps were taken by the State Government for allotment of the land to the Foundation and the Vice President of the Vedanta Foundation was directed to deposit E 20% of the estimated investment cost, which was subsequently reduced to 10% and necessary direction was issued to Collector, Puri to obtain administrative approval of the project from the Higher Education Department and to produce the approval along with the proposal before the Government. F 3.3 According to the State, in the meantime, the opinion of the Law Department was sought on the questions:- (a) Whether the foundation is an education foundation? and (b) Whether the land is required to be acquired for public G purpose? 3.4 Thereafter the correspondences took place between the Law Department and the Revenue and Disaster Management Department. The Law Department observed that land can be acquired for the proposed educational scheme under the Act, 1894 if the appropriate Department of the Government sponsors a Scheme to carry out that. H

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Alternatively, the land can be acquired for an educational scheme A sponsored by a Society but with the prior approval of the Government. So observing, the Law Department opined that under the Act, 1894, land can be acquired for public purpose provided Government sponsors to carry out an educational scheme or by a registered society with prior approval of the Government. Alternatively, it also opined that the B Administrative Department may verify if acquisition of land can be made under section 15 of the Orissa Industrial Infrastructural Development Corporation Act, 1980. After the aforesaid opinion was received, the Administrative Department was of the view that the second option to go through IDCO was not feasible and suggested to consider as to whether the Higher Education Department will sponsor and own the project directly C and whether it would be done through a Society to be framed by the Higher Education Department. 3.5 Thereafter, it was decided to explore the alternative of the Private Company to be converted into a public company on which, the views of the Law Department was again sought. The Law Department D opined that the land can be acquired for a ‘Public Company’ under the Act, 1894 in accordance with Part VII. That Vedanta Foundation again changed its name to Anil Agarwal Foundation. On account of the name change, a fresh Certificate of Incorporation was obtained from the Registrar of Companies under Section 23(1) of the Companies Act on 06.09.2006. E

3.6 In a meeting of the Board of Directors of Anil Agarwal Foundation held on 16.10.2006, a resolution was passed to change the status of the company from a private company to a public company. Anil Agarwal Foundation intimated the Department of Higher Education of the change of name and structure of Vedanta Foundation on 01.11.2006. F On 24.11.2006, Anil Agarwal Foundation confirmed to the Secretary, Department of Higher Education that the status of the company had been changed from a private to a public company. The Collector, Puri, on the same day, i.e., 24.11.2006, intimated the Joint Secretary, Revenue Department regarding the change of status to a public company and G also to the Department of Higher Education for revised administrative approval for acquisition of land for the establishment of Vedanta University. 3.7 That thereafter notifications under Section 4(1) of the Act, 1894 were issued between 13.12.2006 to 21.08.2007 for 6917.63 acres. H

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A The said notifications inter alia indicated that the acquisition was being conducted in terms of Chapter VII of the Act, 1894. That thereafter a declaration under Section 6 of the Act, 1894 was issued for 5619.05 acres after seeking the objections under Section 5A of the Act, 1894. According to the appellant, after the awards were declared, the possession was delivered in respect of 3342 acres of acquired land and the sponsored 495 acres of Government land and the compensation of Rs. 41.96 crores was also disbursed. 3.8 As a vast tract of lands belonged to the poor, small farmers and the land so acquired was at a prestigious location and thousands of families of farmers were affected by the acquisition of such a vast tract of lands and that too in favour of a private company, which was mala fide subsequently converted to public company, the writ petitions were filed before the High Court challenging the entire acquisition proceedings / process. 3.9 By the impugned judgment and order, the Division Bench of the High Court has allowed the writ petitions including the public interest litigation by holding that :- (i) the acquisition proceedings from the stage of initiation till the date of purported awards which in fact and in law not awarded and that the alleged taking over the possession of the lands is in flagrant violation of the statutory provision of Sections 4, 5A, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, (2), 23, 24, read with the provisions under Part - VII of the Act, 1894.; (ii) the initiation of the acquisition proceedings in favour of the beneficiary company, on the requisition made by the Vedanta Foundation by misrepresenting fact and playing fraud on the State F Government, has vitiated the entire acquisition proceedings.; (iii) that the public interest at large is affected and there is violation of rule of law.; (iv) the Public Interest Litigation was maintainable, which was on behalf of small land holders who have no sustenance to approach G this Court to fight litigation.; (v) therefore, the acquisition proceedings in its entirety in respect of persons who have approached this Court and even who have not approached this Court are liable be quashed for the reason that there is flagrant violation of the provisions of the Act, 1894. H

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3.10 Thereafter, the High Court has passed the following order in terms of paragraph 69, which is as under:- “69. In the result, we allow the writ petitions, quash the impugned land acquisition proceedings including the notification under Sections 4(1) and 6 and the award passed in the Land Acquisition Proceedings for acquisition of land in favour of the beneficiary company and direct that the possession of the acquired lands shall be resorted to the respective land owners irrespective of the fact whether they have challenged the acquisition of their lands or not. On restoration of the possession to the land owners, they shall refund the amount received by them as compensation or otherwise in respect of their lands. We also quash the grant of Government C Land in favour of the Beneficiary Company under Rule 5 of the Government Land Settlement Rules with a direction to the State Government to resume the lands which were granted to the beneficiary company by way of lease. All concerned including the State Government, the land owners and beneficiary company shall implement the aforesaid direction at an early date.” 3.11 The impugned common judgment and order passed by the High Court and the operative portion of the order in paragraph 69 of judgment are the subject matter of the present appeals.

4Copy pinpoint4. Shri C. Aryama Sundaram and Shri Rakesh Dwivedi, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the respective appellants have vehemently submitted that in the facts and circumstances of the case, the High Court has materially erred in quashing and setting aside the entire acquisition proceedings and that too even with respect to the landowners whose lands came to be acquired, did not challenge the acquisition proceedings and/or even many of them did not raise any objections under Section 5A of the Act, 1894. 4.1 Learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the respective appellants have prayed to consider the following facts in support of their submissions that the impugned judgment and order passed by the High G Court setting aside the entire acquisition proceedings is not warranted:- (i) It is submitted that notifications under Section 4 of the Act, 1894 came to be issued between 13.12.2006 to 21.08.2007 for 6917.63 acres; H

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A (ii) Declarations under Section 6 of the Act, 1894 were issued for 5619.05 acres, before that the objections under Section 5A of the Act, 1894 were invited; (iii) Only 13 landowners, who were the owner of 78.89 acres submitted their objections; with respect to 3 landowners to B the extent of 25.61 acres, objections came to be accepted and 10 objections came to be rejected. None of the 10 rejectees had approached any Court with any grievance. (iv) That the possession came to be delivered in favour of the beneficiary in respect of 3342 acres of acquired land. C (v) Possession was also delivered in respect of 495 acres of Government land. (vi) It is submitted that therefore, the possession of total 3837 acres was handed over to the beneficiary.

D (vii) That the beneficiary has already disbursed the compensation of Rs. 41.96 crores. (viii) It is submitted that in addition to compensation, ex-gratia amount of Rs. 25.13 crores was also disbursed. (ix) It is submitted that, thus, 3837 persons have received the compensation as above. It is submitted that in view of the above facts and circumstances, the High Court has materially erred in setting aside the entire acquisition proceedings. 4.2 It is further submitted that there were a total of 9 writ petitioners before the High Court. One of them was an objector under Section 5A, however, his land was dropped from the land acquisition proceedings. He is, therefore, now only a pro forma party before this Court. 4.2.1 It is submitted that one of the original writ petitioners was a land loser, but not an objector under Section 5A. His land was also dropped from the land acquisition proceedings at the stage of Section 6. 4.2.2 Five of the original writ petitioners are land losers, but not objectors under Section 5A. 4.2.3 Two of the writ petitioners are PIL petitioners. H

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A 4.9 Relying upon those documents, it is vehemently submitted that therefore at the time when the Section 4 notifications were issued, the beneficiary company was already converted to a public company. Therefore, the acquisition in favour of the beneficiary company was absolutely in consonance with the provisions of the Act, 1894. It is further submitted that the acquisition of the lands in question in favour of the B beneficiary trust/ company was after a detailed consultation and taking into consideration the object and purpose of the trust / company in the field of education etc. It is submitted that the beneficiary company / trust wants and/or desirous of establishing a very renowned university in the State of Orissa. C 4.10 It is further submitted by the learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the beneficiary company that if the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court is not interfered with by this Court, there shall be serious and adverse impact in implementing the appellant’s project. 4.11 It is submitted that the appellant – beneficiary has drawn up D a Vision Plan for over 3837 acres of land, which is currently in their possession. It is submitted that the Vision Plan postulates a University catering to 1,00,000 students and the University would be built in a phased manner. It is submitted that in Phase I, colleges in the field of Medicine, Liberal Arts, Science & Technology, Agriculture and Food Processing E and Institute of Design would be started. 4.12 It is submitted that eminent academicians are already on the advisory/academic board of the project. It is further submitted that adequate safeguards have been provided in Section 41 agreement that the land would be utilized for the University, and in case any portion of the land is not utilized for the University purpose, then the said portion reverts to the State Government. 4.13 It is further submitted by the learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the respective appellants that even after the acquisition of the lands in question, the rehabilitation measures have been taken as per the policy of the State Government, which are as under:- “1. R&R Policy of State Govt. followed whereunder an R&R Colony of 65.17 acres within the acquired land has been set apart to accommodate the 230 displaced families. It may be noted that site of the R&R Colony has been chosen by the displaced families themselves. H

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2. The project affected families are entitled to a preference for employment in the University.

3. Appellant has agreed to appoint one graduate from all land losing families as an employee.

4. Appellant has agreed to engage landless agriculture labourers as unskilled construction workers. In the event the same is not provided, then a subsistence allowance of Rs. 1500 per month would be paid to each family from date of possession to 2010.

5Copy pinpoint5. Appellant has agreed to bear the expenditure for students from land losing families to study at DAV School, Puri.” C

4.14 It is further submitted by the learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the appellants that in the present case, there is a compliance of Part VII of the Act, 1894 and the Land Acquisition (Companies) Rules, 1963 ( hereinafter referred to as “Rules, 1963”). It is submitted that in the present case, Part VII has been complied with as under:- D “1. Part VII has been complied with as: (i) Section 39/40 consent has been given by the State Government. (ii) Enquiry under Section 40(2)/ Rule 4 has been carried out. E (iii) Agreement has been signed by the Foundation as mandated under Section 41. (iv) Section 44B not applicable since the Appellant is a public company.” F 4.15 It is further submitted that insofar as Rules, 1963 are concerned, it is the case on behalf of the appellant that a Rule 4 enquiry is relevant only in the case when the land is identified by the company and not by the State Government and thereafter an application is made by the company to acquire the said identified land. It is submitted that in the present case, the land was not only identified by the State Government G (and, therefore, not by the appellant beneficiary), but done so after substantially undertaking the enquiry as envisaged under Rule 4. In support of his above submission, Shri C. Aryama Sundaram, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant trust / beneficiary has prayed to consider the following dates and events:- H

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A “(i) April 2006- A presentation was made by Vedanta Resources Ltd. to the Chief Minister of Odisha for setting up of a University in Orissa. (Note: No Particular land identified by Vedanta in this presentation) (ii) April-June, 2006 - It was known to the State Govt. that the B Vedanta group had made similar representations to few other States as well. Since the proposal presented a huge opportunity for the State, it started the process of identifying suitable locations on its own, under the leadership of its top officers, i.e. the Chief Secretary, and carried out a detailed inquiry towards identifying land keeping in mind the C considerations under Rule 4 (iii) After looking at various options, the State Govt. finally zeroed in on Puri. (iv) 16.06.2006- The Office of the Chief Minister of Orissa D convened a meeting of Secretaries of various departments in relation to the establishment of the University. At the meeting, State Govt. made a detailed presentation to the Appellant on the land identified by it in Puri. In the said presentation, considerations regarding the suitability of the land, the extent thereof, the habitation thereunder etc. have been considered in detail. [Note: this also shows Compliance with Rule 4(1)(i) and (iii)] (v) 23.06.2006 - Pursuant to the aforesaid presentation by the State, the Appellant made independent visits to the site proposed in the presentation. On this basis, a letter was written to the Office of the Chief Minister by AT Kearney (a Consultant appointed by Vedanta) stating that Vedanta was interested in setting up a University in Puri. (vi) 26.06.2006- as per direction of the State Government, the Addl. District Magistrate, Puri and the Tahasildar, Puri made further visit to the project area. (vii) During the aforesaid exercise: a) Addl. District Magistrate, Puri and Secretary, Works also made aerial survey of the site. [Note: this also shows Compliance with Rule 4(1)(i)] H

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b) Number of informal group meetings in the village A between the Collector and other State Govt. officers before the acquisition proceedings were initiated. This was done to discuss various aspects of land acquisition including suitability of land, and to appraise the villagers of the purpose of land acquisition; [Note: B this also shows Compliance with Rule 4(1)(i) and (iii)] c) Visits were also made for the purpose of ascertaining that minimum displacement was taking place out of the one various alternative locations C d) Determination was also done to see that the Appellant is able to utilize the land, which were frozen, expeditiously; at various reviews, the requirement of land was scaled down to 6000 acres; [Note: this also shows Compliance with Rule 4(1)(iv) and (v)] D e) Exercise was also undertaken to find out that the land is rain fed; not irrigated; not much good quality of agricultural land; inferior, unproductive and fallow land. [Note: this also shows Compliance with Rule 4(1)(vi)] E f) Most of the land oustees of the project area were contacted either in meetings by the Appellants to make negotiations for payment of reasonable price. [Note: this also shows Compliance with Rule 4(1)(ii)] (viii) 19.07.2006 - after being satisfied about the direct and indirect F benefits to be accrued to the state, an MoU was signed to establish the proposed university. [Note: Compliance with Rule 4(1)(v)], namely, determination to ensure that the Appellant is able to utilize the land expeditiously (ix) 09.08.2006- The State Govt. appointed a Special LAO & G special officer for R&R in order to coordinate the land acquisition process. (x) 29.11.2006 - the State Government, upon being satisfied, has accorded Administrative Approval for the project. H

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A (xi) Minutes of the 7 Core Committee meetings between 02.09.2006 and 07.02.2008 also record substantial compliance of Rule 4.” 4.16 It is further submitted that therefore, there is a compliance with Rules 3(1) and 3(2). It is submitted that even the Rule 4 has been complied with subsequently. 4.17 Learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the State Government has vehemently submitted that in the present case, there is a compliance of Sections 4, 5A, 6, 9, 11 and 12 of the Act, 1894. It is prayed to consider the following dates and events in support of compliance of the State Government with the provisions under the Act, 1894, which are as under:- “1. Notification under Section 4(1) has been published in the Official Gazette, and in two daily newspapers circulating in that locality and the Collector has used public notice of the substance of Notification u/s.4(1) by way of beating of drums at convenient places in the locality under Sec.4(1)

2. No provision in the Act for serving show cause notice to the interested persons for inviting objections u/s. 5A. The same is a requirement in Karnataka because of a State Amendment to the LA Act, 1894 Unfortunately, the same has been applied by the High Court vide the impugned judgment even though Orissa has no such requirement.

3. 13 objection petitions received from 6 villages for an area measuring Ac 78.89. The Spl. Land Acquisition Officer has given notice to the objectors for hearing u/s 5-A. Heard the petitioners. Has forwarded the objection petitions to Govt. in the Revenue Department through the District Collector together with his report and the record of the proceedings. In fact, 3 of the 13 objections were allowed (25.61 acres). None of the 10 rejectees approached any Court with any grievance. G

4. State Govt. has given public notice of declaration under Section 6(2).

5. The Collector has served notices u/s. 9 (1) in the village and to the interested persons u/s. 9(3) calling upon them to H file claims to compensation, as evident in the LA records.

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6Copy pinpoint6. After making enquiry into their respective interests, claims A to compensation and objections to the area, which the interested persons have stated pursuant to the notices u/s. 9, the Collector u/s. 11 has passed Award on the true area of the land, the compensation allowed and the apportionment of compensation. B

7Copy pinpoint7. In addition to compensation under the LA Act, 1894, ex- gratia amount of Rs. 1 lakh per acre subject to a minimum compensation of Rs. 2 lakh acre was to be paid as approved by the RPDAC (formed as per the State R&R Policy). This is in addition to various other benefits to be provided, which have been enumerated at (I).B of this C Note at Page 3 above.

8Copy pinpoint8. Collector has given notice of his Award to such interested persons u/s. 12(2) of the LA Act 1894, as evident in the LA records.” D 4.18 It is further submitted by the learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the appellants that in fact the project does not fall in any prohibited area. It is beyond the coastal regulatory zone. The distance of the sea from the proposed Vedanta University is more than 2000 meters. The Balukhand Wildlife Sanctuary is separated from the proposed site by a highway / Puri-Konark Marine Drive. It is submitted that the E Sanctuary is on the seaward side, whereas the proposed site is on the landward side. 4.19 It is submitted that there are a number of private institutions and organizations which are on the same side of the highway as the proposed university, along with the entire village of Beldala with a large population. It is submitted that Nuanai which flows through the proposed site is not a river as alleged. It is submitted that it comprises of two man- made channels (Gabakund Cut and Siar Cut). It is submitted that the land was acquired by the State Government for constructing these channels. The ownership of these two channels continues to lie with the Water resources Department of the Government of Orissa. It is submitted that in any event, all environmental requirements would be scrutinized and looked into by the MOEF while granting environmental clearance. 4.20 Learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the respective appellants have taken us to the findings by the High Court and their response, which by and large have been refereed to hereinabove. H

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A 4.21 Making above submissions, it is prayed to allow the present appeals.

5. Present appeals are vehemently opposed by Shri Prashant Bhushan, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respective respondents – original writ petitioners. B 5.1 It is submitted that the instant case involves acquisition of about 6000 acres of land belonging to about 6000 families, and thus, involving displacement of approximately 30,000 people. It is submitted that the Government of Orissa has showered huge largesse on the appellant company by acting in a manifestly arbitrary manner and flouting all the mandatory provisions of the Act, 1894 and the Rules, 1963 by pre-determining the acquisition of the concerned land in favour of the appellant company. It is submitted that the said illegal action of the Government of Orissa gives rise to sufficient cause for espousal of public interest. It is submitted that the action of the State in allotting such a huge tracts of land admeasuring 6000 acres and that too in the prime location, which was nothing but a clear case of favourism and arbitrariness, which has been rightly set aside by the High Court. 5.2 It is submitted that the land acquisition proceedings including the notifications under Sections 4(1) and 6 and the awards passed in the land acquisition proceedings for acquisition of land in favour of the beneficiary company have rightly been quashed by the Hon’ble High Court by the impugned judgment and order, which does not require any interference of this Court in exercise of the powers under Article 136 of the Constitution of India. 5.3 It is submitted by the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the original writ petitioners – original landowners / land losers that in the present case the land was identified by the appellant company, and not by the Government as is evident from the chronology of dates and events and the Note Sheet of the Principal Secretary of the Chief Minister. It is submitted that the Note sheet clearly shows, inter alia, that the appellant company asked the Government of Orissa to specifically make available for it 15,000 acres of contiguous land around Nuanai, Puri district in Bhubaneshwar-Puri-Konark by 15.06.2006. 5.4 It is submitted that even the relevant clauses in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) dated 19.07.2006 also show that the land was identified by the Company and not by the Government. It is H

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submitted that as per the MoU dated 19.07.2006, it was Vedanta A Foundation that proposed to set up the university along with a self- contained township near Puri in Orissa with an estimated cost of Rs. 15,000 crores. It is submitted that in the said MoU also there was a refence to the proposed location. It is submitted that the Government of Orissa just confirmed the availability of the contiguous land of about B 8000 acres. [Clause 5 of the MoU] 5.5 It is submitted that even, the Section 41 agreement executed between the Government of Orissa and the Anil Aggarwal Foundation also shows that the land was identified by the company and not by the Government as the said agreement says that the Company intended to establish Vedanta University near Puri and had applied to the Government C of Orissa for the acquisition of the land described in the schedule thereunder, written and delineated on the map annexed therein whereon the company intended to establish Vedanta University. 5.6 It is further submitted by the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the original writ petitioners – original landowners / land losers that the Government of Orissa, despite knowing fully well that the Vedanta Foundation had no prior track record in the field of education, included several clauses in the MoU dated 19.07.2006, providing undue largesse to Vedanta like total autonomy to Vedanta University and its authorities with regard to administration, admission, fee structure, curriculum and faculty selection; proposed university to have complete immunity from any reservation laws of the State Government, all assistance in getting regulatory approvals from UGC, AICTE etc. It is submitted that even, as per the said MoU, the Government agreed to provide 4-lane road from Bhubaneshwar city to the proposed site and the Government of Orissa shall make the land use/ zoning plan in the 5 km radius from the university boundary only after Consultation with Vedanta. It is submitted that the Government also promised to exempt all state levies/ taxes/ duties namely, viz. VAT, Works Contract Tax, Stamp Duty and Entry tax on R&D equipment, educational aids, lab equipment and tools, and construction materials from the date of signing of the MoU. It is submitted that the Government also promised to assist the Foundation in obtaining NOC from SPCB and all clearances from the Central Government. It is submitted that the Government also promised to assist the Foundation in arranging rapid EIA and EMP for the project. It is submitted that the Government also promised to provide extraordinary huge amounts of H

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A electricity and water. It is submitted that the aforesaid role of the Government shows clear favourism in favour of a private trust / company – Vedanta Foundation. 5.7 It is submitted that the Government of Orissa didn’t apply its mind regarding the genuineness of the appellant company’s demand of B 10.000 acres for building the campus. It is submitted that it is to be noted that one of the largest universities in the world - Stanford University has lesser contiguous area of around 8,100 acres. It is submitted that in the present case, the Government of Orissa confirmed the availability of 8000 acres and promised to provide additional contiguous land as required by the appellant Company. It is submitted that at the relevant time, the C Foundation was a private company with 3 members of a family and limited by guarantee of Rs. 5,000/-, and no prior track record in education sector. It is submitted that while accepting the request by the Vedanta Foundation, the Government did not consider the prior track record and did not consider why the Vedanta group has been repeatedly indicted by various Governments / authorities / courts/tribunals and agencies for severe violations of mining laws, environmental laws, causing pollution, and violation of human rights in its mining projects in Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Karnataka. 5.8 Taking us to the observations made by the High court made in paras 63 to 67 of the impugned judgment, it is submitted that the High Court has given cogent reasons and findings to hold that the land acquisition proceedings were carried out by the Government in a manifestly arbitrary manner and had defeated the public interest. It is submitted that therefore, the High Court has rightly entertained the Public Interest Litigations holding that the initiation of the acquisition proceedings in favour of the beneficiary company, on the requisition made by the Vedanta Foundation by misrepresentation of facts and by playing fraud on the State Government, which has vitiated the entire acquisition proceedings. It is submitted that the High Court has rightly observed and held that the public interest at large is affected and there is violation of rule of law. G 5.9 Insofar as the submission on behalf of the appellant that only 7 people filed section 5A objections out of approximately 6000 people, who were losing their lands is concerned, it is submitted that the fact that only 7 people filed their objections itself shows that the landowners were either unaware of the land acquisition proceedings and/or were H too weak, poor and disadvantaged and not in a position to even file

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objections with the Collector. Relying upon the decisions of this Court in the case of S.P. Gupta Vs. Union of India, 1981 Supp SCC 87; Bandhua Mukti Morcha Vs. Union of India, (1984) 3 SCC 161 and Public Union for Civil Liberties Vs. State of T.N., (2013) 1 SCC 585, it is submitted that the High Court has rightly entertained the Public Interest Litigation petitions and has rightly quashed the entire acquisition proceedings. It is submitted that the High Court has rightly entertained and allowed the Public Interest Litigation petitions as by the acquisition of such a huge tract of land to the extent of 6000 acres, affecting 30,000 people, who were too weak, poor and disadvantaged, who could not approach the court for legal redress. 5.10 It is submitted that apart from Public Interest Litigations, the land losers had also challenged the acquisition. It is submitted that in the present case, the High Court has rightly quashed the entire acquisition proceedings. It has been found that the Hon’ble Courts in various cases have repeatedly quashed entire acquisitions where illegalities go to the root of the matter. It is further submitted that even as rightly observed and held by the High Court, the entire acquisition proceedings were suffering from arbitrariness and in Violation of the Act, 1894 and the statutory Rules in the land acquisition process. 5.11 It is submitted that the appellant is a private company, and not a public company. It is submitted that admittedly, the appellant claims that it was a private company registered under Section 25 limited by guarantee with a license issued by Central Government. However, according to the said license itself, any change to Articles of Association is required to be approved by the Central Government. It is submitted that herein, the resolution, dated 23.11.2006, altering the Articles of Association by the appellant to convert it into a public company and increasing the members to 7 was not approved by the Central Government as per the License issued to it under Section 25 and hence, the company never became a public company. It is submitted that the aforesaid is evident even from the affidavit filed on behalf of the Registrar of Companies filed before the High Court. He has taken us to the relevant paragraphs namely paragraph Nos. 9, 10 and 12 of the affidavit filed by the Registrar of Companies dated 15.10.2008 filed before the High Court. It is further submitted that the reliance of Vedanta on the letter dated 22.11.2006 from the Ministry of Company Affairs is not any evidence of the company becoming a public company. It is submitted that it merely H

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A says that Vedanta’s “request for permission under Section 25(8) of the Companies Act 1956 is hereby considered of conversion of the status of the Company from Private to a Public Company”. It is submitted that the same was subject to compliance of the provisions of Sections 23, 31, 189(2) and 192 of the Companies Act, 1956, which are not complied with at all. B 5.12 It is submitted that that is why Articles of Association have not been produced before the Core committee of the Government without which no one could understand the nature of the company. It is submitted that the nature of company, i.e., whether it is public or private depends upon the nature of holding of shares. It is submitted that if the members C hold the shares jointly, then as per the proviso to Section 3(c) of the Act, 1956, they shall be treated only as a single member. Further, Section 12(5) of Act, 1956 as to the accountability of its members could not be ascertained even for Section 25 registered company. Accordingly, the members, as can be seen from Board Meeting minutes, all the Agarwals D seem to hold the company jointly, and therefore, it could only be a private company. 5.13 It is submitted that, however, in appellant’s letter dated 10.02.2011, the appellant admitted that they don’t have any shares and is a company registered on guarantee under Section 25 of the Act, 1956. E It is submitted that when there being no shares, the pattern of holding the shares jointly or severally cannot be ascertained and hence the company could only be a private company. 5.14 It is submitted that even in the agreement executed on 31.07.2007, the appellant company mentions itself only as a company but do not state itself to be a public company. It is submitted that even the appellant failed to file prospectus or statement in lieu of the same in Schedule IV as mandated under Section 44 of the Act, 1956. It is submitted that Schedule IV warrants disclosure of interest of each director in the company and share holding pattern, without which it is not possible to ascertain the nature of company. It is submitted that as public company is any company other than a private company, share holding pattern is a must to examine the compliance of proviso to Section 3(c) of 1956 Act. 5.15 It is submitted that a public company shall, in the context of Act, 1894, require provision in the Articles of Association enabling any public to purchase shares to remove the basis of private company. It is H

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submitted that the scope of Section 44B should be understood on its A intention. A company constituted by three family members cannot be legally accepted as a public company if its members are increased to 7 numbers by adding sons and daughters. It is submitted that therefore, the phrase “public company” should be construed by taking into consideration the scope and purport of Section 44B of the Act, 1894. It B is submitted that that is why an enquiry is contemplated under Section 40 and the Rules framed therefor. 5.16 It is further submitted that even Clause 13 of the Section 41 Agreement mandates not to pay more than 2/3rd, i.e., 66.66% of the compensation worked out which is in blatant violation of Section 17(3A) (3) which mandates to pay 80% of the compensation. It is submitted that even for public purpose, the Act mandates to pay 80% before entering / taking possession, but for private company, the aforesaid Agreement mandates not to pay more than 66.67% which is impermissible. 5.17 It is submitted that even Section 41 Agreement was executed on false premise as no such enquiry as mandated under Section 40 of the Act, 1894 r/w Rules, 1963 was conducted. It is submitted that therefore Section 41 Agreement was a fraudulent exercise of power to give undue favour to the appellant. 5.18 It is further submitted that even otherwise, admittedly, at the time of execution of MoU with the Appellant on 19.07.2006, the appellant was a private company and hence, the proposal ought not to have been entertained at all but should have been rejected outrightly. It is submitted that however, the Government showed undue interest and the entire Government Machinery worked hastily and acquired the lands using emergency provision, i.e., Section 17 of the Act. It is submitted that even on 30.07.2007, the company was not a public company. Therefore, entering into MoU/ Agreement with the appellant, a private company, which formed the basis for land acquisition is violative of the statutory bar under Sections 40(1)(aa) and 40(1)(b) and 44-B and hence, void ab initio. G 5.19 It is further submitted that the appellant’s reliance on Collector’s letter, dated 25.07.2008, which was after the Section 6 notification, is untenable. It is submitted that the inquiry and report of the Collector had to proceed before the Section 6 notification. It is further submitted that even no inquiry was conducted under the Rules, 1963, H

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A which has been established and proved from the response by the Special Land Acquisition Officer to the RTI query dated 27.05.2008. It is submitted that in response to the said RTI query, the Special Land Acquisition Officer has responded that; “There was no such inquiry under Land Acquisition (Companies) Rules, 1963”. B 5.20 It is further submitted that even in the present case, no Committee / Core Committee was constituted by the State Government from among the persons notified under sub-rule (2) of Rule 3 and clauses (i) and (ii) of the Rules. 5.21 It is submitted that in the present case, the ‘Core Committee’ C constituted by the Department of Higher Education, Government of Orissa vide the notification dated 17.08.2007, was setup for the expressly stated purpose of “coordinating activities relating to lease of Government land and acquisition of private land, facilitating rehabilitation of displaced families as per policy, expediting accreditation from relevant statutory bodies as UGC AICTE, MCI, BCI etc. enactment of an Act for the D University, facilitating issues of no objection certificate from State Pollution Control Board and other bodies and expediting provision of road, water, electricity and telephone connectivity required for the University, etc.” It is submitted that the scope, composition and purpose for establishment of the aforesaid Core Committee is completely different from the scope. composition and purpose of the Land Acquisition Committee envisaged under Rule 3 of the Rules, 1963. This is because while the Land Acquisition Committee is required to be established for assisting the government in evaluating the feasibility and desirability of the proposal from a company for land acquisition, the Core Committee was set out with the objective of facilitating the land acquisition process with the Government of Orissa having already pre- determined the feasibility and desirability of the acquisition in clear contravention of the statutory provisions. 5.22 It is submitted that the appellant’s argument that enquiry under Rule 4 of the Rules, 1963 was not required / relevant in the present case as the land was identified by the Government and not by the company, does not hold water. It is submitted that in the present case, the land had clearly been identified by the appellant company since the very inception. It is submitted that even otherwise, whether the land is identified by the company or the Government, the statutory Rule 4 cannot be dispensed with at all and the collector is bound to inquire into all the

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things mentioned in Rule 4 of the Rules, 1963, otherwise the whole purpose A of the Rules, 1963 and Part VII of the Act, 1894 will be defeated. It is further submitted that even the declarations under Section 6 of the Act, 1894, for most of the villages were made prior to the agreement under Section 41 of the Act was executed. It is submitted that the same is in complete contravention and breach of Rule 4 (4)(ii) of the Rules, 1963, B which provides that no declaration shall be made by the appropriate Government under Section 6 of the Act unless the agreement under section 41 of the Act has been executed by the company. It is submitted that even the same is also in clear violation of Section 39 of the Act, 1894 which stipulates that the provisions of Sections 6 of the Act, 1894 shall not be put in force in order to acquire the land for any company unless the Company has executed the agreement under Section 41 of the Act, 1894. It is submitted that therefore, as rightly observed and held by the High Court that the entire land acquisition proceedings is void and hence all consequential proceedings were also void ab initio. 5.23 It is further submitted by the learned counsel that in the present case, right from the very beginning and from the time of signing of the MoU, the Government of Orissa had made its mind that the land will be available to Vedanta even though the mandatory requirements of Act, 1894 and the Rules, 1963 were yet to be complied with, which might have led to the possible failure of the acquisition as the enquiries provided therein are meant to exclude acquisition of lands if certain mandatory requirements are not met with. 5.24 Shri Prashant Bhushan, learned counsel has heavily relied upon the decisions of this Court in the case of Devinder Singh Vs. State of Punjab, (2008) 1 SCC 728 and City Montessori School Vs. State of U.P., (2009) 14 SCC 253 in support of his submission that as observed and held by this Court Part VII of the Act, 1894 and the Rules, 1963 require strict compliance. It is submitted that in the present case, all the procedures and the requirements of Part VII of the Act, 1894 and the relevant Rules, 1963 are not complied with. 5.25 It is further submitted by Shri Prashant Bhushan, learned counsel that in the present case, the inquiry and the objection under Section 5A of the Act, 1894 have not been properly complied with and/ or adhered to. It is submitted that it was absolutely critical for the Collector to have properly heard the objections from the affected people in accordance with Section 5A in relation to desirability of the proposed H

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A project, irrespective of the number of objections received and should have made a report in accordance thereof. It is submitted that in the present case, the said procedure has not been followed by the Collector. 5.26 It is further submitted that even otherwise the impugned land acquisition is in violation of environmental norms. It is submitted that the acquisition of the lands in question in favour of the beneficiary company, is bad in law in view of the fact that by Gazette Notification dated 23.04.1984 published by the State Government, the nearby area of the acquired lands has been declared as Wildlife Sanctuary and two rivers, namely, “Nuanai’&’Nala’ are flowing in the acquired lands according to the satellite map issued by the Forest Department. It is submitted that the control of the said rivers will be under the said private company if the acquisition proceedings are held to be valid in law thereby the doctrine of public trust as held by this Court will be violated. It is submitted that in the case of Common Cause, A Registered Society, (1999) 6 SCC 667, this Court held that natural resources such as air, water, forest, lakes, rivers and wildlife are public properties entrusted to the Government for their safe and proper use and proper protection and the doctrine enjoins upon the Government to protect the resources for the enjoyment of the general public rather than to permit their use for private ownership or commercial purposes. It is submitted that even vast tract of lands belonging to the State Government including Gochar lands, on the basis of requisition made for Vedanta Company, had been de-reserved and divested from the purpose for which it was reserved and had been made available for grant in favour of the beneficiary company by way of lease. It is submitted that even the proper procedure has not been followed for grant of lease. F 5.27 It is further submitted that even the subsequent conversion of a private company to public company was mala fide action/act. It is submitted that the entire exercise was hurriedly done to convert the appellant company from private to purportedly public company after it was already decided to acquire land for it and after the Law department G during acquisition proceedings observed and opined that the land may be acquired only for a public company and thereby hurriedly the Articles of Association and Memorandum of Association were changed in violation of the conditions of the license granted to the appellant company and without first informing the concerned authority of the change, which shows that the exercise was expressly taken up to defeat the object of H Part VII of Act, 1894. It is further submitted that currently the possession

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of land is still with the landowners and most of whom are agriculturists A and their agricultural lands acquired are the only source of livelihood. It is submitted that in the present case, as submitted hereinabove, approximately 6000 families and 30,000 people are likely to be affected, if the land is taken away, then it will cause them great hardship which can never be compensated in monetary terms. B 5.28 Making above submissions, it is prayed to dismiss the present appeals.

6. Having heard the learned counsel for the respective parties and on going through the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court, it appears that while quashing and setting aside the entire land acquisition proceedings, the High Court had in fact identified 15 issues, which are as under:- Issues Issue No. 1

Whether the Anil Agarwal Foundation, The Beneficiary Company, is a public company in terms of the definition under section 3(1)(IV) of the Companies Act, 1956 and can the private guarantee limited company be converted to public company under section 25 of the Companies Act?

Issue No. 2 Whether the State Government can acquire the lands in question in favour of the beneficiary company in exercise of its eminent domain power for the purpose of establishment of the proposed Vedanta University (not in existence) in view of Section 44-B of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894?

Issue No. 3 Whether the State Government on the requisition of Vedanta Foundation could have initiated the acquisition proceedings in favour of the beneficiary company by issuing notifications under Section 4(1) of the LA Act without complying with the mandatory provisions of Section 39, 41 and 42 of the Land Acquisition Act read with Rules 3(2) and 4 of the Land Acquisition F (Companies) Rules, 1963? Issue No. 4

(A) Whether the Collector was required to conduct an inquiry as contemplated under Section 5-A of the Land Acquisition Act even in the absence of filing objections to the show cause notice along with preliminary notification proposing to acquire the lands of the land owners/interested persons in favour of a beneficiary company? G and

(B) Whether the Collector was required to submit his report to the State Govt. in relation to certain matters as referred to under Clause (1) of Rule-4 as it is mandatory for further action under Section 6 of the LA Act, 1894 in view of the fact that the acquisition will entail serious civil consequences of the owners of the lands? H

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6. Whether the Core Committee appointed by the State Govt. is in compliance with the provision under Section 40, sub section (2) of the LA Act, 1894 and it has conducted an inquiry and submitted its report to the State Govt. for its consideration and compliance of the above provisions of the Act can dispense with the Rules 3 & 4 of the Land Acquisition (Companies) Rules, 1963 for declaration under Section 6 of the LA Act? C and

7. Whether the State Government has complied with Rules 3(2) and 4 of the Rules, 1963 and the Collector has submitted his report to the State Government and the same is forwarded to the Committee constituted for this purpose and whether it has consulted the Committee before declaring the lands notified & published under Section 6 notifications? D Issue No. 8 & 9

8. Whether the beneficiary company has executed Memorandum of Understanding as required under Section 41 of the Land Acquisition Act with the State Government giving undertaking as provided under sub sections (1), (2) & (3) of the said section of the Act and the same is published in the E official gazette as required under Section 42 thereof?

And

9Copy pinpoint9. Whether the Memorandum of Understanding dated 19/07/2006 executed by the beneficiary company can be construed as a valid agreement as provided under Section 41 of the LA Act for acquiring the lands in question in favour of the beneficiary company? F Issue No. 10 Whether the Collector has determined approx. amount of compensation to be awarded and deposited as required under the provisions and by following the procedure as provided under Section 23 and 24 of the LA Act?

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Issue No. 12 A (A) Whether the impugned notifications acquiring the lands in the locality is legal and valid, as certain lands of them are declared for Wildlife Sanctuary according to Gazette notification dated 23.4.1984 and two rivers viz. “Nuanai" and "Nala" are flowing in the lands in question according to satellite map issued by the Department of Forest, would it affect the ecology and environment in the locality? B And

(B) If so, whether it amounts to violation of provisions of Wildlife (Protection) Act; Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act as well as Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) act, and Environment Protection Act of 1986 and for this reason would it affect either the public interest or public injury or violation of Rule of Law? C Issue Nos. 13, 14 & 15

13. Whether the PIL must succeed if the question Nos. 12(A) & (B) are answered in favour of the appellants and for violation of any provisions of Land Acquisition Act as well as Land Acquisition (Companies) Rules, 1963?

And D

14. Whether the acquisition proceedings in its entirety liable to be quashed, if the petitioners have made out a case, by exercising judicial review power by this Court? And

15. What relief petitioners are entitled?

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A Issue No. 2 i) Acquisition of lands for a private Whether the State Government can company is not permissible except acquire the lands in question in for the purpose mentioned in favour of the beneficiary company Section 40(1)(a) of the Act as in exercise of its eminent domain stated under Section 44-B of the power for the purpose of Act. Therefore, the acquisition in establishment of the proposed question is illegal. B Vedanta University (not in ii) The University in question is non- existence) in view of Section 44-B existent as no University has come of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894? into existence under the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 or under the Orissa Universities Act. iii) The State Government has promulgated an Ordinance to C establish an University which is untenable in law. Issue No. 3 i) Section 4(1) notification in favour of Whether the State Government on the beneficiary company were the requisition of Vedanta made on the basis of a requisition Foundation could have initiated the filed by Vedanta Foundation, but acquisition proceedings in favour of not Anil Agarwal Foundation, D the beneficiary company by issuing which is the beneficiary company. notifications under Section 4(1) of ii) No enquiry has been made by the the LA Act without complying with State Government in terms of the mandatory provisions of Section Rule-4 read with Rule 3 of the 39, 41 and 42 of the Land Land Acquisition (Companies) Acquisition Act read with Rules Rules, 1963 3(2) and 4 of the Land Acquisition iii) Acquisition of lands by publishing E (Companies) Rules, 1963? Section 4(1) Notifications in favour of the beneficiary company is vitiated in law for the reason that before putting the provisions of Section 4 to 16 and 18 to 37 in order to acquire land no previous consent of the State Government F under Section 39 was there and such consent shall not be given unless the company has executed the agreement under Section 41 of the Act. iv) Declaration under Section 6 has G been made by the State Government without consulting the Land Acquisition Committee to be constituted under Rule- 3 of the Land Acquisition (Companies) Rules, 1963.

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Issue No. 4 i) The order sheet of the records maintained by Collector discloses (A) Whether the Collector was required that the Collector has not caused to conduct an inquiry as public notice, by way of beat of contemplated under Section 5-A of drums, of the substance of such the Land Acquisition Act even in notification to be given at the absence of filing objections to convenient places in the locality. the show cause notice along with preliminary notification proposing ii) No notice along with the to acquire the lands of the land preliminary notification was owners/interested persons in favour issued and served upon either to of a beneficiary company? the owners/ interested persons of the acquired lands as required in and law. Therefore, the question of filling of objections by the land (B) Whether the Collector was required owners interested persons didn't to submit his report to the State arise. Govt. in relation to certain matters as referred to under Clause (1) of iii) The Collector has not submitted Rule-4 as it is mandatory for further report under Section 5-A of the action under Section 6 of the LA Act or Rule 4 of the Land Act, 1894 in view of the fact that Acquisition (Companies) Rules, the acquisition will entail serious 1963. civil consequences of the owners of the lands? Issue No. 5 i) Enquiry under Section 5A is (A) Whether the owners/ interested mandatory whether or not the land persons of the land in question have owner makes an objection in waived or acquiesced their rights writing for not filing objections to the ii) This point has not been answered preliminary notifications? by the Hon'ble High Court. And (B) Whether there is any delay and latches in these writ petitions and for that reason they are not entitled to the relief as prayed in these writ petitions? Issue No. 6 & 7 Declaration under Section 6 has been made by the State E

6. Whether the Core Committee Government without consulting appointed by the State Govt. is in the Land Acquisition Committee compliance with the provision to be constituted under Rule-3 of under Section 40, sub section (2) of the Land Acquisition (Companies) the LA Act, 1894 and it has Rules, 1963. conducted an inquiry and submitted its report to the State Govt. for its consideration and compliance of the above provisions of the Act can dispense with the Rules 3 & 4 of the F Land Acquisition (Companies) Rules, 1963 for declaration under Section 6 of the LA Act?

and

7. Whether the State Government has complied with Rules 3(2) and 4 of the Rules, 1963 and the Collector G has submitted his report to the State Government and the same is forwarded to the Committee constituted for this purpose and whether it has consulted the Committee before declaring the lands notified & published under Section 6 notifications? H

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i) MOU is not in conformity with sub A Issue No. 8 & 9 sections (1) to (4A) of Section 41.

8. Whether the beneficiary company has ii) There is non-compliance with executed Memorandum of Section 39 of the Act as there is Understanding as required under no formal agreement executed Section 41 of the Land Acquisition under Section 41. Act with the State Government giving undertaking as provided under sub sections (1), (2) & (3) of the said section of the Act and the same is published in the official B gazette as required under Section 42 thereof?

And

9. Whether the Memorandum of Understanding dated 19/07/2006 executed by the beneficiary company can be construed as a valid agreement as provided under C Section 41 of the LA Act for acquiring the lands in question in favour of the beneficiary company?

Issue No. 10 The compensation to be awarded Whether the Collector has has been determined by the determined approx. amount of Collector on the basis of sales compensation to be awarded and statistics secured from District deposited as required under the Sub Registrar and the value of the provisions and by following the land has been shown in the sales D procedure as provided under Section 23 and 24 of the LA Act? statistics has been treated as the market value and awarded the same as compensation. Issue no. 11 i) Notices under Sections 9 and 10 Whether awards are passed by the were not issued to the Collector in compliance with owners/interested persons for fling Sections 9, 10 and 11 of the LA Act claim statement to award and award notices as required under compensation is not done. Section 12 (2) of the Act are issued ii) Award has not been communicated and served upon the to the land owners as required owners/interested persons and under Section 12(2) of the LA Act E thereafter possession of the lands to work out their statutory rights has been taken by the State as provided under Section 18 of Government under Section 16 of the the Act. LA Act and transferred in favour of the company? Issue No. 12 i) The satellite maps issued by the (A) Whether the impugned notifications Department of Forest produced by acquiring the lands in the locality is the petitioners in the PIL petitions, legal and valid, as certain lands of clearly shows that two rivers, them are declared for Wildlife namely, ‘Nuanal’ and ‘Nala’ are F Sanctuary according to Gazette flowing in certain lands acquired notification dated 23.4.1984 and in favour of the beneficiary two rivers viz. “Nuanai" and "Nala" company. Hence, the control of are flowing in the lands in question the said rivers will be under the according to satellite map issued by said private company. If the the Department of Forest, would it acquisition proceedings are held to affect the ecology and environment be valid in law thereby the in the locality? doctrine of public trust will be violated. And ii) Requiring the beneficiary company G to maintain the flow of the above (B) If so, whether it amounts to two rivers would also affect the violation of provisions of Wildlife residents of the locality at large. (Protection) Act; Air (Prevention ii) The large scale construction for the & Control of Pollution) Act as well establishment of the proposed as Water (Prevention & Control of university will also adversely Pollution) act, and Environment affect the Wildlife Sanctuary, Protection Act of 1986 and for this entire Eco system and the reason would it affect either the ecological environment in the public interest or public injury or locality. H violation of Rule of Law?

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Issue Nos. 13, 14 & 15 i) Acquisition proceedings from the A

13. Whether the PIL must succeed if the stage of initiation till the date of question Nos. 12(A) & (B) are awards which in fact in law is not answered in favour of the appellants awarded and the alleged taking and for violation of any provisions over possession is in violation of of Land Acquisition Act as well as the Land Acquisition (Companies) Land Acquisition (Companies) Rules, 1963. Rules, 1963? ii) On the requisition made by the beneficiary company by B And misrepresenting facts and playing fraud on the State Government,

14. Whether the acquisition proceedings has vitiated the entire land in its entirety liable to be quashed, if acquisition proceedings. the petitioners have made out a iii) Apart from public interest the case, by exercising judicial review petitioners have also pleaded for power by this Court? And the small land owners of the marginalised section who have no C

15. What relief petitioners are entitled? access to this Court to fight litigation. iv) Therefore, the acquisition proceedings in its entirety is liable to be quashed, as per the judgement of the Supreme Court in HMT House Building Cooperative Society Vs. Syed D Khader & Ors., AIR 1995 SC 2244.

8. We have heard the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respective parties at length. 8.1 We have also gone through in detail and considered the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court quashing and setting aside the entire acquisition proceedings. 8.2 Now, so far as the submission on behalf of the appellants that the High Court has seriously erred in quashing and setting aside the entire acquisition proceedings as only few landowners submitted the objections under Section 5A of the Act, 1894 and that the High Court has materially erred in entertaining and allowing the Public Interest Litigation petitions is concerned, at the outset, it is required to be noted that in the present case, the State Government has in utter disregard to the relevant provisions of the Act, 1894 and the Rules, 1963 had acquired a huge tract of land to the extent of approximately 7000 acres of agricultural lands belonging to the various landowners, namely, 6000 families and thus involving displacement of approximately 30,000 people. It is required to be noted that the lands in question acquired for the beneficiary foundation / company / trust was acquired for the proposed university in a prime location just adjacent to the Wildlife Sanctuary and H

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A from the lands in question acquired, two small rivers belonging to the State / acquired by the State are passing. The manner in which the State Government has dealt with and acquired the agricultural lands belonging to 6000 families and as it in fact favoured the private limited company, which was subsequently alleged to have been converted to a public company and that too without holding any proper inquiry to the need etc., we are of the opinion that the High Court has rightly entertained the writ petitions including the Public Interest Litigation petitions and merely because some persons did not file the objections under Section 5A and/ or accepted a meagre compensation and/or even accepted the compensation cannot be a ground to set aside the acquisition proceedings, which as such rightly observed by the High Court, is vitiated by not following the statutory provisions under the Act, 1894 as well as the Rules, 1963. It is required to be noted that as such the entire initiation of land acquisition proceedings and even right from selection of the land was by the company – beneficiary company and not by the State Government. There is an utter non-compliance of Rule 4 of the Rules, D 1963 (which shall be dealt with hereinbelow). Under the circumstances, it cannot be said that the High Court has committed any error in entertaining the writ petitions including the Public Interest Litigation petitions. Cogent reasons have been given by the High Court in paragraphs 63 to 67 while entertaining the public interest litigation petitions and the E writ petitions, which are as under:- “63. For the reasons stated supra, definitely the public interest is involved in these writ petitions filed by the public spirited persons. It is profitable to know what the apex Court ruled on the point. In People’s Union for Democratic Rights Vs. Union F of lndia, (1982) 3 SCC 235, the Supreme Court held as under: “2 ........ We wish to point out with all the emphasis at our command that public interest litigation which is a strategic arm of the legal aid movement and which is intended to bring justice within the reach of the poor masses, who constitute the low visibility area of humanity, is a totally different kind of litigation from the ordinary traditional litigation which is essentially of an adversary character where there is a dispute between two litigating parties, one making claim or seeking relief against the other and that other opposing such claim or resisting such relief. Public interest litigation is brought before

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the court not for the purpose of enforcing the right of one individual against another as happens in the case of ordinary litigation, but it is intended to promote and vindicate public interest which demands that violation of constitutional or legal rights of large number of people who are poor, ignorant or in a socially or economically disadvantaged position should not go unnoticed and un-redressed. That would be destructive of the rule of law which forms one of the essential elements of public interest in any democratic form of Government. The rule of law does not mean that the protection of the law must be available only to a fortunate few or that the law should be allowed to be prostituted by the vested interests for protecting and upholding the status quo under the guise of enforcement of their civil and political rights. The poor too have civil and political rights and the rule of law is meant for them also, thought today it exists only on paper and not in reality. If the sugar barons and the alcohol kings have the fundamental right to carry on their business and to fatten their purses by exploiting the consuming public, have the chamars belonging to the lowest strata of society no fundamental right to earn an honest living through their sweat and toil? The former can approach the courts with a formidable army of distinguished lawyers paid in four or five figures per day and if their right to exploit is upheld against the Government under the label of fundamental right, the courts are praised for their boldness and courage and their independence and fearlessness and applauded and acclaimed. But, if the fundamental right of the poor and helpless victims of injustice is sought to be enforced by public interest litigation, the so-called champions of human rights frown upon it as waste of time of the highest court in the land, which, according to them, should not engage itself in such small and trifling matters. Moreover, these self-styled human rights activists forget that civil and political rights, priceless and invaluable as they are for freedom and democracy, simply do not exist for the vast masses of our people. Large numbers of men, women and children who constitute the bulk of our population are today living a sub-human existence in conditions of object poverty; utter grinding poverty has broken their back and sapped their moral fiber. They have no faith in the existing social and H

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A economic system. What civil and political rights are these poor and deprived sections of humanity going to enforce? This was brought out forcibly by W. Paul Gormseley at the silver jubilee celebrations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the Banaras Hindu University : B “Since India is one of those countries which has given a pride of place to the basic human rights and freedoms in its Constitution in its Chapter on Fundamental Rights and on the Directive Principles of State Policy and has already completed twenty-five years of independence, the question may be raised whether or not the fundamental rights C enshrined in our Constitution have any meaning to the millions of our people to whom food, drinking water, timely medical facilities and relief from disease and disaster, education and job opportunities still remain unavoidable. We, in India, should on this occasion study the human rights / D declared and defined by the United Nations and compare them with the rights available in practice and secured by the law of our country.” The Only solution for making civil and political rights meaningful to these large sections of society would be to E remake the material conditions and restructure the social and economic order so that they may be able to realize the economic, social and cultural rights. There is indeed close relationship between civil and political rights on the one hand and economic, social and cultural rights on the other and this relationship is so obvious that the International Human Rights F Conference in Teheran called by the General Assembly in 1968 declared in a final proclamation: “Since human rights and fundamental’ freedoms are indivisible, the full realization of civil and political rights without the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights G is impossible.” Of Course, the task of restricting the social economic order so that the social and economic rights become a meaningful reality for the poor and lowly sections of the community is one which legitimately belongs to the legislature H

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and the executive, but mere initiation of social and economic rescue programmes by the executive and the legislature would not be enough and it is only through multi-dimensional strategies including public interest litigation that these social and economic rescue programmes can be made effective. Public interest litigation, as we conceive it, is essentially a cooperative or collaborative effort on the part of the petitioner, the State or public authority and the court to secure observance of the constitutional or legal rights, benefits and privileges conferred upon the vulnerable sections of the community and to reach social justice to them. The state or public authority against whom public interest litigation is brought should be as much interested in ensuring basic human rights, constitutional as well as legal, to those who are in a socially and economically disadvantaged position, as the petitioners who brings the public interest litigation before the court. The State or public authority which is arrayed as a respondent in public interest litigation should, in fact, welcome it, as it would view it an opportunity to right a wrong or to redress an injustice done to the poor and weaker sections of the community whose welfare is and must be the prime concern of the State or the public authority.” In S.P Gupta v. Union of India and others, AIR 1982 SC 149, the apex Court held as under: E

“We would therefore hold that any member of public having sufficient interest can maintain an action for judicial redress for public injury arising from breach of public duty or from violation of some provision of the Constitution or the law and seek enforcement of such public duty and observance of F such constitutional or legal provision. This is absolutely essential for maintaining the rule of law, furthering the cause of justice and accelerating the pace of realization of the constitutional objective “Law”, as pointed out by Justice Krishna Iyer in Fertilizer Corporation Kamgar Union v. Union of India, AIR G 1981 SC 344,” is a social auditor and this audit function can be put into action when some one with real public interest ignites the jurisdiction ...... :. Another point which requires emphasis is that cases may arise where there is undoubtedly public injury by the act or omission of the State or public authority but such H

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A act or omission also causes a specific legal injury to an individual or to a specific class or group of individuals. In such cases, a member of the public having sufficient interest can certainly maintain an action challenging the legality of such act or omission.” B In the case of Janata Dal Vs. H.S. Chowdhary, reported in AIR 1993 SC 892, the Supreme Court taking note of the observations made in the case of S.P. Gupta (supra) and number of its earlier decisions, held as under: “It is thus clear that only a person acting bona fide having sufficient interest in the proceeding of PIL will alone have a locus standi and can approach the court to wipe out the tears of the poor and needy, suffering from violation of their fundamental rights, but not a person for personal gain or private profit or political motive or any oblique consideration. Similarly, a vexatious petition under the colour or PIL brought before the court for vindicating any personal grievance, deserves rejection at the threshold. It is depressing to note that on account of such trumpery proceedings initiated before the courts, innumerable days are wasted which time otherwise could have been spent for the disposal of cases of the genuine litigants. Though we are second to none in fostering and developing the newly invented concept of PIL and extending our Ione arm of sympathy to the poor, the ignorant. the oppressed and the needy whose fundamental rights are infringed and violated and whose grievance go unnoticed, unrepresented and unheard; yet we cannot avoid but express our opinion that while genuine litigants with legitimate grievance relating to civil matters involving properties worth hundreds of millions of rupees and criminal cases in which persons sentenced to death facing gallows under untold agony and persons sentenced to life imprisonment and kept in incarceration for long years, persons suffering from the undue delay in service matters, Government or private persons awaiting the disposal of tax cases wherein huge amounts of public revenue or unauthorized collection of tax amounts are locked up, detenus expecting their release from the detention orders etc. etc. are all standing in a long serpentine queue for

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years with the fond hope of getting into the courts and having their grievances redressed, the busybodies, meddlesome interlopers, wayfarers or officious interveners having absolutely no public interest except for personal gain or private profit either for themselves or as proxy or others or for any other extraneous motivation or for glare of publicity break the queue muffing their face by wearing the mask of public interest litigation, and get into the courts by filing vexatious and frivolous petitions and thus criminally waste the valuable time of the courts and as a result of which the queue standing outside the doors of the Court never moves which piquant situation creates a frustration in the minds of the genuine litigants and resultantly they lose faith in the administration of our judicial system”. (Emphasis added) Further in a recent decision, in the case of State of Uttaranchal Vs. Balwant Singh Chaufal & Ors., reported in (2010) 3 SCC 402, the Supreme Court referring to large number of its earlier decisions held as under: “33. The High Courts followed this Court and exercised similar jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution. The Courts expanded the meaning of right to life and liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. The rule of locus standi was diluted and the traditional meaning of “aggrieved persons” was broadened to provide access to justice to a very large section of the society which was otherwise not getting any benefit from the judicial system. We would like to term this as the first phase or the golden era of the public interest litigation. We would briefly deal with important cases decided by this court in the first phase after broadening the definition of “aggrieved person”

36. Public interest litigation is not in the nature of adversarial litigation but it is a challenge and an opportunity to the Government and its officers to make basic human rights meaningful to the deprived and vulnerable sections of the community and to assure them social and economic justice which is the signature tune of our constitution. The Government and its officers must welcome public interest litigation because it would provide them an occasion to examine whether the H