In Brief
This appeal concerned the validity of a 1975 land acquisition notification issued under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 for a defence project in Village Malad, Mumbai. The Union of India had requisitioned the land in 1943 and formally notified its acquisition in 1975, taking symbolic possession in 1987. Respondents challenged the acquisition in 2002, claiming non-compliance with mandatory publication requirements under Section 4 of the Act. The Supreme Court held that since the identical Section 4 notification had been declared null and void in the earlier binding judgment of Kulsum R. Nadiadwala v. State of Maharashtra for failing to publish public notices in the locality (beyond merely publishing in the Official Gazette), the same conclusion applied here. The Court dismissed the Union's appeal, holding that mandatory procedural requirements cannot be overlooked, and that delay does not cure fundamental procedural defects in land acquisition.",
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