PANDIT JHANDU LAL & ORS. vs THE STATE OF PUNJAB & ORS.

The Supreme Court upheld the validity of land acquisition proceedings initiated under Sections 4 and 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, for the construction of a labour colony, affirming that such acquisition serves a public purpose as defined under Article 31(2) of the Constitution. The Court clarified that while Article 31 prohibits acquisition without public purpose, the provisions of Part VII of the Act are not rendered redundant, but in this case, compliance was unnecessary as part of the compensation was to be borne by the Government. The appeal was dismissed, affirming the High Court's ruling.