The division bench comprises Chief Justice K S Radhakrishnan and Justice Akil Kureshi.

In the amendment, the petitioner submitted that the then General Administration Department of the British government in 1914 had issued guidelines making it compulsory to preserve for lifetime the notifications issued under Sections 4, 6 and 11 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

While Sections 4 and 6 pertain to acquisition of land, Section 11 deals with compensation payment. One of the petitioners said that the department concerned with land acquisition had to preserve and maintain notification copies under all circumstances.

In the present case, the state government has not been able to produce the notification issued under Section 4 nor has it mentioned in its reply the date on which the government had published the Section 4 notification — a mandatory requirement for initiating acquisition proceedings.