WHAT IS PUBLIC PURPOSE ?
In Hamabai Framjee Petit Vs. Secretary of State for India in Council, the High Court of Judicature of Bombay held that the phrase ‘public purpose’ must include
a purpose i.e., an object or aim in which the general interest of the community as opposed to the particular interest of individuals is directly and vitally concerned. On appeal, this view was upheld by the Privy Council.
While dealing with the phrase ‘public purpose’ a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in State of Bihar Vs. Kameshwar Singh held as under:
“…The expression ‘public purpose’ is not capable of a precise definition and has not a rigid meaning. It can only be defined by a process of judicial inclusion and exclusion.
In other words, the definition of the expression is elastic and takes its colour from the statute in which it occurs, the concept varying with the time and state of society and its needs. The point to be determined in each case is whether the acquisition is in the general interest of the community as distinguished from the private interest of an individual”.
