In Brief
Punalur Paper Mills Ltd., which owned premises in Calcutta, had its property requisitioned in 1973 under the West Bengal Requisition Act. After 25 years (ending August 1998), the property should have been released under statutory amendments. Instead, the State issued a section 4 land acquisition notification invoking the urgency clause to dispense with the normal objection procedure. The Supreme Court held that the urgency clause was improperly invoked because the State had years to acquire the property before the requisition period expired, and only sought to claim urgency after a court order. The Court quashed the acquisition, ordered vacation within four months, and appointed an arbitrator to assess compensation for unlawful occupation.
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