SC quashes notification acquiring land owned by Milkha and

Chandigarh administration notification for acquisition of land belonging to various persons including flying Sikh Milkha Singh for setting up of Technology park was today quashed by the Supreme Court.
A bench of justices G S Singhvi and V Gopala Gowda said that proper procedure was not followed by the administration under the Land Acquisition Act.
Notification was issued by the administration on October 2002 for the acquisition of 71.96 acres land for various purposes including the Chandigarh Technology Park.
Milkha Singh and other land owners filed detailed objections as per the provision of the Act. Land Acquisition Officer, however, submitted report with the recommendation that the land be acquired which was accepted by the authority.

Singh along with other land owners then moved Punjab and Haryana High Court which upheld the decision of the authority.
They then challenged the order in the apex court which, after going through the record, quashed the notification.

"We agree with the learned counsel for the appellants that the report of the Land Acquisition Officer was vitiated due to total non-application of mind by the concerned officer to large number of substantive objections raised by the appellants.
"He mechanically rejected the objections and senior officers of the Chandigarh Administration accepted the report of the Land Acquisition Officer despite the fact that the same had been prepared in violation of the Act," it said.

"The appeals are allowed, the impugned order is set aside and Notifications are quashed insofar as the same relate to the lands of the appellants," the bench said.