# MIS. GIRIAS INVESTMENT PVT. LTD. &-ANR. >--- !- • v. STATE OF KARNATAKA & ORS - **Citation:** [2008] 4 S.C.R. 948 - **Court:** Supreme Court of India - **Decided:** 2008-03-13 - **Case number:** Civil Appeal No. 1979 of 2008 - **Bench:** Tarun Chatterjee, Harjit Singh Bedi - **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/mis-girias-investment-pvt-ltd-anr-v-state-of-karnataka-ors-24497 - **Pages:** 28 ## Headnote Kamataka Industrial Area Development Board Act, 1966; 1 S. 28(1) and (3): c Acquisition of land for execution of a construction project - Change in location _of project - Fresh Notification ~Acquisition of land belonging to appellants - Challenge to - Dismissed by Single Judge_ of the High Court - Affirmed by Division Bench of the High Court - Correctness of - Held: Correct - Decision D I . for change in the .location of the project was taken by the authorities after due deliberation and keeping into consideration necessities thereof - The land in que$lion >--· purchased by the appellants long afler the final decision to acquire the land was taken -: Malafides have been alleged by E the appellants in the pleadings before the High Court without any factual basis - Mere allegation of malafides not enough and cogent evidence thereof must be furnished - Opportunity of effective personal hearing in terms of S. 28(3) of the Act was ) given to them before final notification was issued and F appellants had exercised their rights thereunder - Both, the Single Judge and the Division Bench of the High Court have ~ given categorical finding in connection thereof - Supreme Court found no reason to differ therefrom. Acquisition of land/property - Quashing of - Held: An G acquisition for the benefit of public at large not to be quashed unless extra ordinary reasons exist. Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board, respondent No.3, issued a Notification uls.28 of the ). H 948 ! M/S. GIRIAS INVESTMENT PVT. LTD. & ANR. v. STATE 949 OF KARNATAKA & ORS. Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board Act, A -... proposing acquisition of certain land for the purpose of constructing a 'trumpet interchange' and 'across road' from National Highway to Bangalore Airport. Later, the Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation proposed a change in the location of the said B project reducing the requirement of the land for the said purpose. Consequently, the Board issued a fresh Notification for acquisition of the land in the changed location. In the meantime, appellants allegedly purchased the land in question and objected the acquisition c proceedings on the ground that the land in question had been converted to non-agricultural use in terms of order of Revenue authorities; and that they proposed to put up a commercial complex on the land. The authority overruled the objections. Appellants challenged the D acquisition proceedings ~y filing a writ petition before the .../ High Court on grounds of malafides etc. Single Judge of -I the High Court found that the allegation of malafides had not been made out and that the change in the location of the land was necessitated on account of technical E reasons, hence, dismissed the petition. Appeal filed thereagainst was dismissed by the Division Bench of the High Court. Hence the present appeal. Appellants contended. that the action of the F . respondents in changing the location of the interchange ~ and the access road which had,ied to the acquisition of the appellants' land" was actuated by malafides and the explanation offered by them, that this had been necessitated on account of technical reasons, was an G after thought and not based on the record; that the personal hearing envisaged under section 28(3) of the Act was akin to a hearing under Section 5-A of the Land ....i. Acquisition Act, 1894; and that in the absence of any such effective hearing the acquisition was liable to fail. '- 950 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 4 S.C.R. J A Respondents submitted that the allegations of malafide were on the face of it unacceptable for the simple :;. reason that the proposal to change the alignment of the trumpet interchange and access road had been initiated after a complete technical re-survey and long before the B date of the sales in favour of the appellants and that in any case, allegations of malafides had to be leveled against some identified individual(s) who had to be impleaded as a party ## Text _Characters 0–39,782 of 57,053. This is a partial read: ask again with offset=39782 for what follows._ [2008] 4 S.C.R. 948 A MIS. GIRIAS INVESTMENT PVT. LTD. &-ANR. >--- !- • v. STATE OF KARNATAKA & ORS. (Civil Appeal No. 1979 of 2008) B MARCH 13, 2008 (TARUN CHATTERJEE AND HARJIT SINGH BEDI, JJ.) Kamataka Industrial Area Development Board Act, 1966; 1 S. 28(1) and (3): c Acquisition of land for execution of a construction project - Change in location _of project - Fresh Notification ~Acquisition of land belonging to appellants - Challenge to - Dismissed by Single Judge_ of the High Court - Affirmed by Division Bench of the High Court - Correctness of - Held: Correct - Decision D I . for change in the .location of the project was taken by the authorities after due deliberation and keeping into consideration necessities thereof - The land in que$lion >--· purchased by the appellants long afler the final decision to acquire the land was taken -: Malafides have been alleged by E the appellants in the pleadings before the High Court without any factual basis - Mere allegation of malafides not enough and cogent evidence thereof must be furnished - Opportunity of effective personal hearing in terms of S. 28(3) of the Act was ) given to them before final notification was issued and F appellants had exercised their rights thereunder - Both, the Single Judge and the Division Bench of the High Court have ~ given categorical finding in connection thereof - Supreme Court found no reason to differ therefrom. Acquisition of land/property - Quashing of - Held: An G acquisition for the benefit of public at large not to be quashed unless extra ordinary reasons exist. Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board, respondent No.3, issued a Notification uls.28 of the ). H 948 ! M/S. GIRIAS INVESTMENT PVT. LTD. & ANR. v. STATE 949 OF KARNATAKA & ORS. Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board Act, A -... proposing acquisition of certain land for the purpose of constructing a 'trumpet interchange' and 'across road' from National Highway to Bangalore Airport. Later, the Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation proposed a change in the location of the said B project reducing the requirement of the land for the said purpose. Consequently, the Board issued a fresh Notification for acquisition of the land in the changed location. In the meantime, appellants allegedly purchased the land in question and objected the acquisition c proceedings on the ground that the land in question had been converted to non-agricultural use in terms of order of Revenue authorities; and that they proposed to put up a commercial complex on the land. The authority overruled the objections. Appellants challenged the D acquisition proceedings ~y filing a writ petition before the .../ High Court on grounds of malafides etc. Single Judge of -I the High Court found that the allegation of malafides had not been made out and that the change in the location of the land was necessitated on account of technical E reasons, hence, dismissed the petition. Appeal filed thereagainst was dismissed by the Division Bench of the High Court. Hence the present appeal. Appellants contended. that the action of the F . respondents in changing the location of the interchange ~ and the access road which had,ied to the acquisition of the appellants' land" was actuated by malafides and the explanation offered by them, that this had been necessitated on account of technical reasons, was an G after thought and not based on the record; that the personal hearing envisaged under section 28(3) of the Act was akin to a hearing under Section 5-A of the Land ....i. Acquisition Act, 1894; and that in the absence of any such effective hearing the acquisition was liable to fail. '- 950 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 4 S.C.R. J A Respondents submitted that the allegations of malafide were on the face of it unacceptable for the simple :;. reason that the proposal to change the alignment of the trumpet interchange and access road had been initiated after a complete technical re-survey and long before the B date of the sales in favour of the appellants and that in any case, allegations of malafides had to be leveled against some identified individual(s) who had to be impleaded as a party to the litigation failing which the court was precluded from examining this plea; and that the c personal hearing envisaged under Section 28(3) had indeed been given and as a token of this hearing the appellants had signed the relevant proceedings. Dismissing the appeal, the Court D HELD: 1.1 From the statement of objections filed on behalf of the respondent No.1, the State of. Karnataka before the Karnataka High Court, it is noticed that the lands covered by the earlier Notification were proposed to be acquired based on the tentative requirements E indicated by the ~irport Authority. After issuance of the Notification a letter was addressed to the Airport Authority to reappraise the matter keeping in view the technical needs and requirements on which a team of the Chief Executive Officer and Head Technical of the Airport F Authority, a representative of the KSllDC and other local revenue officials visited the site and noticed that there were some adverse ground conditions and difficulties )>- such as the existence of a large pond which necessitated the change. It also appears that there was a great deal of correspondence between all concerned and the final G decision was taken to change the location of the trumpet interchange and access road after due deliberation. (Para - 7) [959-D, E, F, G) 1.2 It is the admitted position that the land had been ~. H purchased by the appellants long after the final decision M/S. GIRIAS INVESTMENT PVT. LTD. & ANR. v. STATE 951 OF KARNATAKA & ORS. had been taken to acquire the land in the light of the A revised proposal. It is also significant that in the objections filed before the Land Acquisition Collector, no malafide against any person has been alleged. (Para - 8) [961-B, CJ · .1.3 It is found that malafides have been alleged in the pleadings filed before the High Court. It is obvious 8 from a reading of the pleadings that only vague allegations of malafides have been leveled and that too without any basis. There can be two ways by which a case of malafides can be made out; one that the action which is impugned has been taken with the specific object of C damaging the interest of the party and, secondly, such action is aimed at helping some party which results in damage to the party alleging malafides. It would be see.n that there is no allegation whatsoever in the pleadings that the case falls within the first category but an inference D of malafide has been sought to be drawn in the course of a vague pleading that the change had been made to help certain important persons who would have lost their land under the original acquisition. These allegations have been replied to reveal that the land which had been E denotified belonged to those who had absolutely no position or power. (Paras - 8 & 11) [961-C, D; 965-E, F, G, H] Smt. S.R. Venkataraman vs. Union oflndia &Anr. (1979) 2 SCC 491; State of Punjab vs. Gurdial Singh (1980) 2 SCC 471; Collector (D. M.) vs. Raja Ram Jaiswal (1985) 3 SCC 1; F S.N. Patil vs. Or. M.M. Gosavi & Ors. (1987) 1 SCC 227 and B.E.M.L. Employees House Bldg. Coop. Society Ltd. vs. State of Karnataka (2005) 9 SCC 248 - distinguished. 1.4 It is no doubt open to the court to go into the G question of malafides raised by a litigant but in order to succeed, much more than a mere allegation is required. In the instant case, inference of malafide is based on the ground that the change in the location of the trumpet interchange and the access road had been suddenly H 952 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 4 S.C.R. A made without proper application of mind to help certain unidentified individuals resulting in the acquisition of the land belonging to the appellants is, thus, without any factual basis. (Para - 14) [968-G, H; 969-A] Keshab Rao vs. State of West Bengal (1973) 3 SCC 216; 8 First Land Acquisition Collector & Ors. vs. Nirdohi Prakash Ganguli & Anr. (2002) 4 SCC 160; Ajit Kumar Nag vs. G.M.(PJ) I. 0. C. Ltd., Haldi & Ors. (2005) 7 SCC 764 and Prakash Singh Badal & Anr. vs. State of Punjab and & Ors. {2007) 1 SCC 1 - c relied on. 1.5 The appellants have not identified any person who had been instrumental in harming their cause. This Court, therefore, even be p"recluded from going into the question of malafides, nevertheless the matter has been 0 examined in extenso. (Para - 18) [971-G; 972-A] E State of Bihar and another vs. PP Sharma, /AS & Anr. (1992) 1 Suppl. SCC 222 and All India. State Bank Officers' Federation & Ors. vs. Union of India & Ors. (1997) 9 SCC 151 - relied on. 2.1 The question as to whether an effe~tive personal hearing was given or not, is a question of fact and it is · noticed from a perusal of ttie record that s'uch hearing was indeed given and that the appellan~ had exercised his rights thereunder and it was only after the procedure F under Section 28(3) of the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board Act llad been followed, that the final No~ification had been issued. It is found that the Single Judge and the Division Bench of the High Court have given categorical findings against the appellant on this G score and this Court has no reason. tp .differ therefrom. H Nevertheless, the record has been examined by this Court to re-assure itself as to the correctness of the Hig,h Court'~ decision. (Para - 19) [972-F, G; 973-A] · 2.2 Merely because the word 'orders' has been MIS. GIRIAS INVESTMENT PVT. LTD. & ANR. v. STATE 953 OF KARNATAKA & ORS. recorded by the Collector in the proceedings dated 16th A January 2006, it does not imply that the matter remained inchoate or that it envisaged a further hearing. The record shows that comprehensive objections alongwith documents had been filed by the appellants on 16th January 2006 wherein after stating the history as to how B they had become owners of the land they had given their objections to its acquisition. (Para - 19) [973-D, E] Shri Farid Ahmad Abdul Samad & Anr. vs. The Municipal Corporation of City of Ahmedabad & Anr. (1976) 3 SCC 719; Rambhai Lakhabai Bhakt vs. State of Gujarat & Anr. (1995) 3 C SCC 752; Om Prakash &Anr. vs. State of UP & Ors. (1998) 6 SCC 1; Union of India & Ors. vs. Mukesh Hans (2004) 8 SCC 14; Union of India & Ors. vs. Krishan Lal & Ors. (2004) 8 SCC 453; Hindustan Petroleum Cor. Ltd. vs. Darius Shapur Chennai & Ors·. (2005) 7 SCC 627 and PNaranayyapa & Anr. D vs. State of Karnataka (2006) 7 SCC 578 - referred to. 2.3 The request for a personal hearing was conditional in that if a clarification or additional documents were required, time for that purpose be given. It ·is also significant that the objections filed by the appellants form E (almost exclusively) the basis for the present writ petition inasmuch the fact that there was no need for the change of the alignment of the trumpet interchange and the access road or that alternative land was available for that purpose, had been spelt out therein. The Collector in F dealing with the objections had observed that several objections/documents had been filed by the appellants but were liable to rejection as the acquisition was necessary for the Bangalore Airport. This Court is not mindful of the fact that though the rights of an individual G whose property is sought to be acquired must be scrupulously respected, an acquisition for the benefit of the public at large is not to be lightly quashed and extraordinary reasons must exist for doing so. (Para - 20) [974-A, 8, C, D] H 954 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 4 S. C.R. A Ramniklal N.Bhutta & Anr. vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors. (1997) 1 sec 134 - relied on. CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 1979 of 2008. B From the final Judgment and Order dated 20.9.2007 of the High Court of Karnataka at Bangalore in W.A. No. 1578/ 2007 (LA-KIADB) Dushyant A. Dave, Shyam Diwan, Seema Bengani, c Animesh Kumar Sinha, Rana Mukherjee and Dr. Kailash Chand for the Appellants. A. Sharan,A.S.G., P.P. Rao, Udaya Holla,Anitha Shenoy, Nitin, Kiran Suri, S.J.Amith,Aparna Bhat, Dheeraj Nair,Ananya Kumar, Ankur Saigal, Bina Gupta and Rashmi Rekha Devi for D the Respondents. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by >-- - HARJIT SINGH BEDI, J. 1. Leave granted. E 2. This appeal arises out of the following facts. 3. The 3rd respondent, the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (hereinafter called the 'Board') issued a Notification dated 5th April 2004 under Section 28(1) of the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board Act, 1966 (for F short the 'Act') proposing acquisition of land bearing serial Nos. 114,115 and 116 in village Kannamangala for the purpose of constructing a trumpet interchange and access road from National Highway No. 7 to the Bangalore Airport. This land was notified for acquisition on the basis of a comprehensive G feasibility report submitted by the Technical Consultant for the project, Sikon Private Ltd. The Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation (for short "KSllDC") in the meantime proposed a change in the location of the trumpet interchange and the access road on the ground that only 53 H Acres of land needed for these two projects whereas the M/S. GIRIAS INVESTMENT PVT. LTD. & ANR. v. STATE 955 OF KARNATAKA & ORS. [HARJIT SINGH BEDI, J.] ~ Notification was dated 5th April 2004 pertaining to 80 acres and A 27 gunthas was far in excess of the requirement and therefore ~· suggested reconsideration of the matter. Vide letter dated 24th \ August 2004 the Bangalore Airport Ltd. informed the KSllDC ,, that the proposed location of the trumpet interchange and the access road was final and that there was no reason to make a B change in their alignment. Notwithstanding the aforesaid communication the Board issued a fresh Notification under .,.. ,. section 28(1) of the Act on 5th December 2005 releasing the land proposed to be acquired by the earlier Notification dated 5th April, 2004, and proposing acquisition of the land bearing serial Nos.118-119. The appellants who had in the meanwhile c purchased the aforesaid land vide two Registered Sale Deeds dated 23rd and 25th November 2005 appeared in the enquiry under Section 28(3) of the Act before the second respondent i.e. the Special Land Acquisition Officer and submitted their D objections, inter-alia, pointing out that the land now notified for acquisition had been converted to non-agricultural use by orders of the Revenue Authorities and that they proposed to put up a commercial complex at that place. They also pointed out that that there were other alternative Government lands available for construction of the trumpet interchange and access road E which could be utilized thus sparing the lands of the appellants from acquisition. The second respondent, however, overruled the objections on various grounds particularly highlighting that the change had been necessitated as the earlier proposal had -I not been found to be technically sound. The Board also issued F a notification dated 3rd June 2005 under section 28(4) of the Act acquiring the land belonging to the appellants. The appellants thereupon filed a writ petition challenging the acquisition primarily on the ground that a large chunk of Government land was available which could be utilized and that G the acquisition of private land was therefore not justified. It was also pleaded that the second respondent had not given a personal hearing to the appellants as envisaged under section 28(3) of the Act and that the reports submitted by the said respondent to the State Government did not adequately meet H 956 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008) 4 S.C.R. ' A the issue raised before him. It was also submitted that the '1 'r acquisition was motivated by malafides as there were no sound and technical reasons for the sudden change in the alignment that was now proposed. The learned Single Judge in his ~ judgment and order of 9th August 2007 found that the allegations B of malafide had not bee.n made out and the contention that the personal hearing envisaged under section 28(3) of the Act had not been given also deserved to be rejected. The learned Judge also opined that the change had been necessitated on account ~ of technical reasons and having held as above, dismissed the c writ petition. The matter was then taken in appeal before the Division Bench. Similar arguments were raised before the Bench which in its judgment dated 20th September 2007 held as unper: "On a thorough consideration of the documentary material and the submission made at the Bar, we are of the view D that the proposed change of locating T.I & A.R by the 1st respondent is well-founded based on sound technical reasons. It may be that because of change of location, the appellants might lose lucrative and prime property but nonetheless the individual interests have to yield to the E public demands and public needs. If the lands are converted to non-agricultural purpose, the appellants do get the market value for their property. Therefore, we do not find any reason to hold that the proposed change of location of the T.I & A.R is actuated with any malafides. F The appellant makes only a vague statement of alternate ~ ~ t availability of the Government lands without precisely pointing out the particulars of the Government lands which can suitably satisfy the needs. The contention that there are alternate Government lands available for construction G of T.I & A.R without need of acquisition of other private lands, is not substar.tiated by any credible material. The proceedings of the enquiry dated 16.1.2006 of the ).. 2nd respondent discloses that the appellants were present H in the enquiry, submitted written objections with t \ M/S. GIRIAS INVESTMENT PVT. LTD. & ANR. v. STATE 957 OF KARNATAKA & ORS. [HARJIT SINGH BEDI, J.] ·-, documentary materials. The acquisition is resisted on the A ground that the lands are converted for non-agricultural. purpose and that they have borrowed loan from Andhra Bank for putting up a shopping complex. The appellants have not requested the 2nd respondent for an opportunity of further hearing in the matter. It appears from the s proceedings that the appellants had nothing more to say than what is stated in their objection statement. There is no request for further personal hearing. Therefore, it cannot be said that the 2nd respondent did not provide necessary opportunity of personal hearing as required under Section c 28(3) of the Act and the finding of the learned Single Judge in this regard is sound and proper. We find no merit in the appeal. Hence, dismissed. 4. It is in this situation that the present appeal is before us by way of special leave. D 5. Mr. Dushyant Dave, the learned senior counsel for the appellants has reiterated the arguments that had been raised earlier. He has pointed out that the action of the respondents in changing the location of the interchange and the access road which had led to the acquisition of the appellants land was E actuated by malafides and the explanation offered by the respondents that this had been necessitated on account of technical reasons was an after thought and not based on the record. He has pointedly stressed that in its letter of 24th August 2004, the Airport Authority had emphatically denied the need F for a change and it was in explicable as to what had prompted a reversal of the decision a few days later. Mr. Dave has accordingly placed reliance on Smt. S.R. Venkataraman vs. Union of India & Anr. (1979) 2 SCC 491, State of Punjab vs. Gurdial Singh (1980) 2 SCC 471, Collector (D.M.) vs. G Raja Ram Jaiswal (1985) 3 SCC 1, S.N.Patil vs. Dr. M.M. Gosavi & Ors. (1987) 1 SCC 227 and B.E.M.L.Employees House Bldg Coop. Society Ltd. vs. State of Karnataka (2005) 9 SCC 248 to argue that even in cases of land acquisition the bonafides of the acquiring authority had to be shown and H 958 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 4 S.C.R. A that it was open to an aggrieved party to plead malice in fact or law so as to avoid an acquisition. It has also been submitted that the personal hearing envisaged under section 28(3) of the Act was akin to a hearing under section 5-A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and that in the absence of any such B effective hearing the acquisition was liable to fail. It has been highlighted that the appellants had requested for a personal hearing and it was thus obligatory on the Collector to give one but he had bye-passed the provisions of section 28 (3) and directly made an order under section 28(4) of the Act. It has c accordingly been pleaded that in the light of the judgments reported in Shri Farid Ahmed Abdul Samad & Anr. Vs. The Municipal Corporation of City of Ahmedabad and Anr. (1976) 3 SCC 719, Rambhai Lakhabai Bhakt vs. State of Gujarat & Ors. (1995) 3 SCC 752, State of Rajasthan vs. Prakash Chand & Ors. (1998) 6 SCC 1, Union of India & D Ors. vs. Mukesh Hans (2004) 8 SCC 14, Union of India & Ors. vs. Krishan Lal & Ors. (2004) 8 SCC 453 and Hindustan Petroleum Cor.Ltd. Vs. Darius Shapur Chennai & Ors. (2005) 7 sec 627 an acquisition made without giving an effective and meaningful personal hearing was liable to be E quashed. 6. The arguments raised by Mr. Dave have been strongly controverted by the learned counsel for the respondents. It has been pointed out at the very outset that the allegations of malafide F were on the face of it unacceptable for the simple reason that the proposal to change the alignment of the trumpet interchange and access road had been initiated after a complete technical re-survey and long before the date of the sales in favour of the appellants and that in any case, allegations of malafides had to G be leveled against some identified individual(s) who had to be impleaded as a party to the litigation failing with the court was precluded from examining this plea. Reliance for this submission has been placed on Keshab Rao vs. State of West Bengal (1973) 3 SCC 216, First Land Acquisition Collector & Ors. vs. Nirodhi ·Prakash Gangoli & Anr. (2002) 4 SCC 160, Ajit H I MIS. GIRIAS INVESTMENT PVT LTD. & ANR. v. STATE 959 OF KARNATAKA & ORS. [HARJIT SINGH BEDI, J.] Kumar Nag vs . G.M. (PJ) Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Haldi A & Ors. (2005) 7 SCC 764 and Prakash Singh Badal & Anr. Vs. State of Punjab & Ors. (2007) 1 SCC 1. It has also been pointed out that the personal hearing envisaged under Section 28(3) had indeed been given and as a token of this hearing the appellants had signed the relevant proceedings. B 7. It would be seen that the primary issue raised by Mr. Dave pertains to the malafides in the acquisition of the ~· appellants land. These ·allegations are sought to be proved by inference on the premise (Mr. Dave's second argument) that -< the change had been made suddenly and without necessity C which showed the malafides of the respondents. We, therefore, deem it appropriate to take up the first two arguments together. It is Mr. Dave's contention that on the 24th August 2004 the Airport Authority had itself ruled out any change and as such, a complete volte face a week later showed the malafides on the D part of the respondents. We are unable to accept this argument as the facts depict quite a different picture. From the statement of objections filed on behalf of the respondent No.1, the State of Karnataka before the Karnataka High Court, we notice that the lands covered by the Notification dated 6th April 2004 were E proposed to be acquired based on the tentative requirements indicated by the Airport Authority in its letter dated 2nd December 2002. After issuance of the aforesaid Notification a letter was addressed to the Airport Authority to reappraise the matter keeping in view the technical needs and requirements on which F 4111 a team of the Chief Executive Officer and Head Technical of the Airport Authority, a representative of the KSllDC and other local revenue officials visited the site on 1st September 2004 and noticed that there were some adverse ground conditions and difficulties such as the existence of a large pond which G necessitated the change. It also appears that there was a great deal of correspondence between all concerned and the final ~ decision was taken to change the location of the trumpet interchange and access road after due deliberation, as has been revealed from the letters dated 22nd April 2005, 14th July 2005 H 960 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 4 S.C.R. A and 19th July 2005. Our pointed attention has been brought to .., the letter of 19th July 2005 and we reproduce the relevant contents hereinbelow: B c D E F H "Trumpet Interchange (Tl) & Access Road: The earlier proposal envisaged acquisition of 80 acres 27 guntas of land for Tl and Access Road from the National Highway upto the airport boundary based on the detailed study conducted by Bangalore International Airport Ltd. _. (BIAL) in consultation with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). However, at the time of physical survey of the land, certain adverse ground conditions and difficulties such as existence of large pond in the alignment of the access road were encountered. This necessitated change in the alignment of the access road and in turn, the location of the Tl. In the meanwhile, the issue of construction Tl through NHAI was discussed in the meeting at the Prime Minister's Office on 29.11.2004 and also in the meeting ). convened at NHAI on 8.12.2004. Based on the decisions taken in these meetings, NHAI appointed International Consultants and Technocrats Pvt. Ltd. (ICT) to carry out the General Alignment Drawing (GAD) as well as DP for the Tl. Accordingly, GAD and a draft DPR have been prepared by CT and submitted to NHAI. Based on these NHAI has confirmed the details of coordinates of proposed right of way (PROW) for land acquisition purpose and set out data for accommodating two future railway tracks. A ,.. copy of the letter dated 06.7.2005 received from NHAI in this regard, is enclosed for ready reference (Enclosure-I). Based on these details, BIAL with the assistance of Mis. Secon Surveys has finalized the revised extent of land I Sy. No. to be acquired and has confirmed vide their letter dated 14. 7.2005. A copy of this letter is also enclosed (Enclosure-II). The details of villages, Sy. No. and extent in respect of modified requirement of lands to be acquired for Tl and M/S. GIRIAS INVESTMENT PVT. LTD. & ANR. v. STATE 961 OF KARNATAKA & ORS. [HARJIT SINGH BEDI, J.] Access Road as confirmed by BIAL are enclosed for your A needful action (Enclosure-Ill). 8. Mr. Dave's peripheral argument that the change had · been made on account of the objections raised by the prospective land losers of the first acquisition is also unacceptable as this objection had been made only with respect 8 to the land proposed for the special runway, a fact which had also figured in the letter dated 19th July 2005. It is the admitted ' position that the land had been purchased by the appellants vide sale deeds dated 23rd November 2005 and 26th November 2005 i.e. long after the final decision had been taken to acquire C the land in the light of the revised proposal. It is also significant that in the objections filed before the Land Acquisition Collector, .... no malafide against any person has been alleged. We also find that malafides have been alleged in paragraph 4.9 of the pleadings filed before the Karnataka High Court. Paragraph D 4.9 is reproduced hereunder. "4.9 It is important to note that lands covered under Annexure-J and the lands now sought to be acquired are adjacent to each other. However, apparently to help the owners of the said lands sought to be denotified as per E Annexure-K and with ulterior motives, there appears to be a change of plan, for no ostensible reason at all, whereby instead of locating the trumpet on the said Survey No.115, 116, 117, 121 (P) and 90 belonging to some influential persons and Sy. No. 73 vast stretch of Government Gomal F land, a plan is hatched up to denotify all the said survey numbers including the Government land in Sy. No. 73 and acquire Schedule A and B lands belonging to the 1st petitioner company. This apparently has been done by certain interested quarters in the respondents' offices with G ulterior.motives with a view to help and to the advantage of the owners of the said lands and others, to the detriment of the interest of the petitioners. A proposal, therefore, appears to have been mooted for a Trumpet interchange. The proposal interchange has been sought to be followed H 962 A SUPREME COURT REPORTS · [2oon14 s.c.R. up by proposal as could be seen inAnnexure-K, the revised details for acquisition of lands, a true copy of which is produced herewith as Annexure-K." ,. 9. These allegations have been replied to in paragraphs 11 to 14 of the objections filed on behalf of the State Government, B respondent No.1. These too are reproduced: c D E "11. It is submitted that, the extent and location of land required for Tl was finalized after due consultation with 1 · BIOAL, NHAI and also the Railway Authorities after holding series of meetings with the concerned authorities in this behalf. The process of acquisition of lands required is completed. It is submitted that, there is only a national interest involved in this project by all concerned and the Project is certainly not aimed at helping any specific parties or to affect someone as alleged by the petitioners in the Writ Petition at Paras 4.6, 4.9, 4.11, 4.12, 4.13 and 4.14 and other parts of the Writ Petition. It is submitted that the allegations of malafide, arbitrariness, highhandedness etc., on the part of this respondent in notifying Schedule. A and B properties for acquisition in the above case are hereby emphatically denied as baseless and without any foundation. It is further submitted that the said averments are made by the petitioners to mislead this Hon'ble Court. The documents marked as Annexure -J and H in the Writ Petition do not disclose the full facts of the case. In this F context, it is relevant to make a mention about the ~ correspondence between BIAL and KSllDC dated 24.8.2004, 30.3.2005, 22.4.2005, 14. 7 .2005 and G H 19. 7 .2005 and marked at Annexures - R 1 to R.5 respectively with enclosures therein. These five documents bring out the development, subsequent to the Notification of 7.4.2004, relied upon by the petitioners. As explained in subsequent paragraphs of this petition, these five documents explain the reason for relocation of the Tl. >- 12. With regard to the averments made in para 4.9 of the I MtS.' GIRIAS INVESTMENT PVT. LTD. & ANR. v. STATE 963 OF KARNATAKA & ORS. [HARJIT SINGH BEDI, J.] Writ Petition, it is not correct to say that the lands covered A ... under Annexure-J to the Notification dated 7.4.2004 and the lands now being acquired are adjacent to each other. The lands being acquired now are at a distance of about 350 meters away from the lands notified earlier. The lands covered in the Preliminary Notification mentioned in 8 Annexure-J were proposed to be acquired based on the tentative requirements indicated by BIAL in its letter dated 1 2nd December 2002 and a copy of the same is herewith produced and marked as Annexure R6. After issuance of Preliminary Notification, a letter was addressed to BIAL c requesting to review thoroughly the scheme and reconfirm the access road alignment, Tl position and the corresponding actual/exact extent of land required therefore to initiate final action towards acquisition of the required additional lands. Subsequently a team comprising D of .the Chief Executive Officer and the Head Technical of ~ Bangalore International Airport Limited, a representative of KSllDC and the local revenue officials visited the site on 1st September 2004 and during the said visi, it was noticed that there were certain adverse ground conditions E and difficulties such as existence of a large pond in the alignment of the access road, regarding existence of pond and the map are produced herewith and marked as Annexures R1 & RB respectively. Thus, this aspect has necessitated marginal change in alignment of the access road and in turn the location of the Tl. F ... 13. It is submitted that the petitioner refers to the 1st Survey Report of Secon dated 27.11.2002 (Annexure H) to the Writ Petition but makes no reference to the 2nd Revised Report of Secon dated 30.3.2005 (Annexure R-2 to this G Statement of Objections). In the Preliminary Notification dated 7.4.2004, a total extent of 242 acres 27.5. guntas of land covering 7 villages viz. Segur, Hikkanahlli, A Mylanahalli, and Gangamuthanahalli were published. In letter dated 23.8.2004 of KSllDC the BIAL was requested H . ' 964 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 4 S.C.R. ~ A to reconfirm the alignment of access road/Trumpet. Interchange.As already stated at para -12, at the request· ,. of KSllDC a 'joint inspection by a team comprising of the ' Chief Executive Officer and the Head Technical of BIAL, ,- representative of l- exercise is bad. Not that this land is needed for the mandi, E in the judgment of government, but that the mandi need is hijacked to reach the private destination of depriving an enemy of his land through back-seat driving of the statutory engine! To reach this conclusion, there is a big 'if' to be proved - if the real object is the illegitimate one of taking F away the lands of respondents 1 to 21 to vent the hostility of respondent 22, under the mask of acquisition for the i mandi." ~- 12. In Raja Ram Jaiswal's case (supra) several questions including one of malafides were raised before the G Supreme Court. The facts of the case are however tell-tal~. It appears that the Hindu Sahitya Sammelan Parishad had obtained a large piece of land from the Municipal Board in 1953 for constructing a Hindi Sangrahalaya but the land remained unutilized for a long time. The land belonging to the respondent ~ H Raja Ram Jaiswal, who was apparently a well connected MIS. GIRIAS INVESTMENT PVT. LTD. & ANR. v. STATE 967 OF KARNATAKA & ORS. [HARJIT SINGH BEDI, J.) · individual, was in the immediate vicinity oo which he proposed A to construct an air-conditioned cinema hall. The Parishad opposed the proposal on the ground that, that it would be destructive of its cultural and academic environment. This objection was overruled by the District Magistrate who granted the requisite certificate for the construction of the cinema.