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AIR 1995 SC 191: “Any State action executive, legislative or judicial is void if it contravenes Art.14
NNRLJ12.6.2009: “when a mode is prescribed for doing an act and there is no impediment in following that procedure, performance of that act otherwise and in a manner which does not disclose any discernible principle which is reasonable, may itself attract the vice of arbitrariness” “rule of law contemplates governance by laws https://www.un.org/ruleoflaw/thematic-areas/human-rights-and-gender/
In the context of international human rights law, the rule of law requires that legal processes, institutions and substantive norms are consistent with human rights,
Question3: “How should we distinguish?”
Answer: We should distinguish as to which acquisition is arbitrary and as to which is not, by screening each acquisition and ascertaining as to whether all relevant rules of law (as contained in the Questionnaire below#) pertaining to land acquisition in India have been complied with by the Officers of the Government relevant to the acquisitions.
My brief analysis of the history of Indian Jurisprudence in respect of Land Acquisitions reveals that the validity of acquisitions has been tested by Indian courts only in respect of the provisions and procedures laid down by The LA Act and Rules, as if it will suffice. I believe, It will not, because the LA act, 1894, on a standalone basis, is flawed1 in respect of the absence of an unambiguous,crucial and self-sustaining clause which must have prescribed for the compulsory registrability of the initial notification (u/s 4(1) under land acquisition (to protect the Rights of third persons as prescribed by similar laws of most countries of the world). That is where the “Registration Deficiency Syndrome2” evolved. Therefore in order to deliver justice, all acquisitions must also be (apart from the provisions of LA Act and Rules) tested against the more efficient and more applicable touchstone of Non-arbitrariness and Rule of Law, by testing all acquisitions for compliance with other applicable rules of law that stipulate registrability, that define the stautory duty/responsibility of the relevant officers of the Government and those which prohibit arbitrariness and those which prescribe the solutions for & effects of such arbitrary actions or statutory negligence.
contd...,
