A. Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (V of 1908), Section 80 – Notice u/s 80 CPC – Importance of -- A statutory notice holds significance beyond mere formality -- Its purpose is to provide the Government or a public officer with an opportunity to reconsider the matter in light of established legal principles and make a decision in accordance with the law -- However, in practice, such notices have often become empty formalities -- Administration frequently remains unresponsive and fails to even inform the aggrieved party why their claim has been rejected – Held, Public Authorities must take statutory notice issued to them in all seriousness -- Public Authorities must not sit over such notices and force the citizens to the vagaries of litigation -- They are expected to let the plaintiff know their stand within the statutory period or in any case before he embarks upon the litigation -- In certain cases, courts may be obliged to draw adverse presumption against the Public Authorities for not acknowledging the notice or telling the plaintiff of its stand and in the absence of that, a stand taken during the course of trial may be considered as an afterthought.

(Para 105, 106, 113)

B. Constitution of India, Article 19(1)(g), 31, 300A – Right to hold property -- Article 300-A provides that no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law -- This Article has been inserted by the Constitution (44th Amendment) Act, 1978 -- Prior to this amendment, the right to property was guaranteed by Article 31 -- While Clause (1) of that Article has been shifted from Part III to Article 300-A, Clause (2) of that Article, which dealt with compulsory acquisition of property, has been repealed -- Sub-Clause (f) of Clause (1) of Article 19, which guaranteed the right to acquire and hold property, has also been omitted by the same 44th Amendment Act, 1978 – The result of these changes, in short, is that the right to hold property has ceased to be a fundamental right under the Constitution and it has been left to the Legislature to deprive a person by the authority of law.

(Para 124)