INDIAN COUNCIL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH Vs. VARIJA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) All these appeals are filed under Section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, challenging the awards passed by the Reference Court, either on a reference made under Section 18(3) of the Land Acquisition Act as amended by the Land Acquisition (Mysore Extension and Amendment) Act XVII of 1961, or under Section 30 of the Land Acquisition Act.

(2.) These appeals were posted before the learned single Judge for orders on the objection raised by the office regarding the maintainability of the same before this Court. Objection regarding maintainability was raised by the Registry in the light of Section 19(1) of the Karnataka Civil Courts Act, 1964 as amended by the Karnataka High Court and Certain Other Laws (Amendment) Act, 2007 (Karnataka Act No. 26 of 2007), whereunder the jurisdiction of the District Court to entertain appeals from the decrees and orders passed by Civil Judge (Sr. Dn.) in original suits and proceedings of civil nature has been increased to Rs. Ten lakhs. Before the learned single Judge, the Counsel for the Appellants placed reliance on the judgment of Division Bench of this Court (C.V. Palakshan v. Kallumane Madaiah,2007 ILR(Kar) 4 since dead by L.Rs. ), to contend that a Division Bench of this Court has already held that as per Section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, it is the High Court which alone has jurisdiction to entertain the appeal preferred against an award passed on a reference under Section 30 of the Land Acquisition Act. In the light of the judgment rendered by the Division Bench, wherein certain observations were made holding that an appeal shall lie to the High Court in any proceedings initiated under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act from the award passed, the learned Single Judge after examining the matter in the light of the provisions contained under Section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act as amended by the Land Acquisition (Mysore Extension and Amendment) Act XVII of 1961, read with Section 19(1) of the Karnataka Civil Courts Act, 1964, particularly in the wake of the Division Bench not referring to the State amendment and only proceeding on the basis of Section 54 of the Central Act, has opined that to put at rest the controversy regarding the jurisdiction of the Court to entertain the appeals arising from the awards passed under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, the matter deserved to be referred to the Larger Bench. That is how these cases have come up before the Full Bench for consideration.

(3.) We have heard the learned Counsel for both the parties.