Sri Radhy Shyam (Dead) Through L.Rs. and other vs State of Uttar Pradesh

The apex court passed the present judgement while quashing the acquisition of 205 hectares of agricultural land in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Budh Nagar by the state on behalf of the Greater NOIDA Industrial Development Authority for business enterpreneurs in March 2008. The land owners Radhy Shyam and others had challenged the acquistion on the ground that the government invoked Section Section 17(1) and 17(4) of the Land Acquisition Act empowering it to dispense with the process of inviting objections from the victims as mandated under Section 5A of the legislation. The high court had dismissed the land owners' plea, after which they appealed in the apex court. Upholding the landowners plea, the apex court said if land is acquired for the benefit of private persons, the court should view the invoking of Section 17(1) and/or 17(4) with suspicion and carefully scrutinize the relevant record before adjudicating upon the legality of such acquisition. The Supreme Court said the right to property is a constitutional right and government cannot deprive a person of his land in an arbitrary manner and courts should view with "suspicion" the action of the government in acquiring land for private parties in the name of urgency.