Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980 – s. 352 – Power to acquire lands and buildings for public streets and for public parking places – Interpretation of s. 352 – If there is power of compulsory acquisition of immovable property u/s. 352 – On facts, Kolkata Municipal Corporation claims to have acquired the property of respondent-land bearer in exercise of powers u/s. 352 – Single Judge and the Division Bench of the High Court concurrently held that there was no such power of compulsory acquisition of immovable property u/s. 352 – Interference with:

Held: Not called for – Scheme of the Act makes it clear that s. 352 empowers the Municipal Commissioner to identify the land required for the purpose of opening of public street, square, park, etc. and u/s. 537, the Municipal Commissioner has to apply to the Government to compulsorily acquire the land – Upon such an application, the Government may, in its own discretion, order proceedings to be taken for acquiring the land – s. 352 is thus, not the power of acquisition – It cannot be said that s. 352 enables the Municipal Commissioner to acquire land – s. 352 is only intended to enable the Municipal Commissioner to decide whether a land is to be acquired for public purpose – Power of acquisition is in fact vested with the State u/s. 537 and it will exercise it, in its own discretion, whenever the Municipal Commissioner makes an application to that effect – s. 363 is not a provision for compensation for compulsory acquisition – Valid power of acquisition coupled with the provision for fair compensation by itself would not complete and exhaust the power and process of acquisition – Prescription of the necessary procedures, before depriving a person of his property is an integral part of the ‘authority of law’, u/Art. 300A and, s. 352 of the Act contemplates no procedure whatsoever – Thus, the exercise of the power is illegal, illegitimate and caused great difficulty to the respondent-land-bearer – Single Judge held that the appellant-Corporation acted in blatant violation of statutory provisions – High Court justified in rejecting the case of the Corporation acquiring land u/s. 352 – Costs quantified at Rs. 5,00,000/- to be paid to the respondent no. 1-land bearer. [Paras 22, 23, 32-35]

Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980 – Scheme of the Act – Explained. [Paras 14-23]

Constitution of India – Art. 300 A – Right to property – Net of intersecting rights – Seven sub-rights or procedures to right to property:

Held: Under the constitutional scheme, compliance with a fair procedure of law before depriving any person of his immovable property is well entrenched – Art 300A which declares that “no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law” has been characterised both as a constitutional and also a human right – Twin conditions of the acquisition being for a public purpose and subjecting the divestiture to the payment of compensation in lieu of acquisition were mandated – Although not explicitly contained in Art 300A, these twin requirements have been read in and inferred as necessary conditions for compulsory deprivation to afford protection to the individuals who are being divested of property – Furthermore, binary reading of the constitutional right to property must give way to more meaningful renditions, where the larger right to property is seen as comprising intersecting sub-rights, each with a distinct character but interconnected to constitute the whole – Seven such sub-rights can be identified, albeit non-exhaustive – These are, the right to notice; the right to be heard; the right to a reasoned decision; the duty to acquire only for public purpose; the right of restitution or fair compensation; the right to an efficient and expeditious process; and the right of conclusion – These seven rights are foundational components of a law that is tune with Art. 300A, and the absence of one of these or some of them would render the law susceptible to challenge – These seven sub-rights may be procedures, but they do constitute the real content of the right to property u/Art. 300A, non-compliance of these would amount to violation of the right, being without the authority of law – Seven principles are integral to the authority of law enabling compulsory acquisition of private property – Union and State statutes have adopted these principles and incorporated them in different forms. [Paras 24-29]

Constitution of India – Art. 300 A – Right to property – Compulsory acquisition of immovable property – Principle of right to notice – Importance of:

Held: Prior notice informing the bearer of the right that the State intends to deprive them of the right to property is a right in itself – Its a linear extension of the right to know embedded in Art. 19(1) (a) – Constitution does not contemplate acquisition by ambush – Notice to acquire must be clear, cogent and meaningful – s. 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, s. 3(1) of the Requisitioning and Acquisition of Immovable Property Act, 1952, s. 11 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, and s. 3A of the National Highways Act, 1956 reflect statutory incorporation of the right to notice before initiation of the land acquisition proceedings. [Para 30.1]

Constitution of India – Art. 300 A – Right to property – Compulsory acquisition of immovable property – Principle of right to be heard – Importance of:

Held: Right to be heard against the proposed acquisition must be meaningful and not a sham – Property-bearer has right to communicate his objections and concerns to the authority acquiring the property – s. 5A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, s. 3(1) of the Requisitioning and Acquisition of Immovable Property Act, 1952, s. 15 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, and s. 3C of the National Highways Act, 1956, are the statutory embodiments of this right. [Para 30.2]

Constitution of India – Art. 300 A – Right to property – Compulsory acquisition of immovable property – Principle of right to a reasoned decision – Importance of:

Held: It is incumbent upon the authority to take an informed decision and communicate the same to the objector – Authorities have heard and considered the objections is evidenced only through a reasoned order – Declaration of the decision to acquire, is mandatory, failing which, the acquisition proceedings would cease to have effect – s. 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, s. 3(2) of the Requisitioning and Acquisition of Immovable Property Act, 1952, s. 19 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 and s. 3D of the National Highways Act, 1956, are the statutory incorporations of this principle. [Para 30.3]

Constitution of India – Art. 300 A – Right to property – Compulsory acquisition of immovable property – Principle of duty to acquire only for public purpose – Importance of:

Held: Acquisition must be for a public purpose is inherent and an important fetter on the discretion of the authorities to acquire – This requirement, which conditions the purpose of acquisition must stand to reason with the larger constitutional goals of a welfare state and distributive justice – If the court arrives at a conclusion that that there is no public purpose involved in the acquisition, the entire process can be set-aside – ss. 4 and 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, ss. 3(1) and 7(1) of the Requisitioning and Acquisition of Immovable Property Act, 1952, ss. 2(1), 11(1),15(1) (b) and 19(1) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 and s. 3A(1) of the National Highways Act, 1956 depict the statutory incorporation of the public purpose requirement of compulsory acquisition. [Para 30.4]

Constitution of India – Art. 300 A – Right to property – Compulsory acquisition of immovable property – Principle of right of restitution or fair compensation – Importance of:

Held: Person’s right to hold and enjoy property is an integral part to the constitutional right u/Art 300A – Deprivation or extinguishment of that right is permissible only upon restitution, in the form of monetary compensation, rehabilitation or other similar means – Compensation is an integral part of the process of acquisition – Fair and reasonable compensation is the sine qua non for any acquisition process – s. 11 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, ss. 8 and 9 of the Requisitioning and Acquisition of Immovable Property Act, 1952, s. 23 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, and ss. 3G and 3H of the National Highways Act, 1956 are the statutory incorporations of the right to restitute a person whose land has been compulsorily acquired. [Para 30.5]

Constitution of India – Art. 300 A – Right to property – Compulsory acquisition of immovable property – Principle of right to an efficient and expeditious process – Importance of:

Held: Acquisition process is traumatic for the administrative delays in identifying the land, conducting the enquiry and evaluating the objections, leading to a final declaration, consume time and energy – Further, passing of the award, payment of compensation and taking over the possession are equally time consuming – It is necessary for the administration to be efficient in concluding the process and within a reasonable time – This obligation must necessarily form part of Art. 300A – ss. 5A(1), 6, 11A, and 34 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, ss. 6(1A) and 9 of the Requisitioning and Acquisition of Immovable Property Act, 1952, ss. 4(2), 7(4), 7(5), 11(5), 14, 15(1), 16(1), 19(2), 25, 38(1), 60(4), 64 and 80 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 and ss. 3C(1), 3D(3) and 3E(1) of the National Highways Act, 1956, prescribe for statutory frameworks for the completion of individual steps in the process of acquisition of land within stipulated timelines. [Para 30.6]

Constitution of India – Art. 300 A – Right to property – Compulsory acquisition of immovable property – Principle of right of conclusion – Importance of:

Held: Upon conclusion of process of acquisition and payment of compensation, the State takes possession of the property in normal circumstances – With the taking over of actual possession after the normal procedures of acquisition, the private holding is divested and the right, title and interest in the property, along-with possession is vested in the State – Without final vesting, the State’s, or its beneficiary’s right, title and interest in the property is inconclusive and causes lot of difficulties – After taking over possession, the process of land acquisition concludes with the vesting of the land with the concerned authority – Obligation to conclude and complete the process of acquisition is also part of Article 300A – s. 16 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, ss. 4 and 5 of the Requisitioning and Acquisition of Immovable Property Act, 1952, ss. 37 and 38 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, and ss. 3D and 3E of the National Highways Act, 1956, statutorily recognise this right of the acquirer. [Para 30.7]