T THIPPA REDDY Vs. ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER BANGALORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The following question has been referred for the opinion of the Full Bench:-

(2.) Section 30 of the Act provides for payment of compensation in respect of property requisitioned under S. 29 of the Act. The first part of S. 30 contains the factors to be taken into consideration in determining the amount of compensation. The first proviso to S. 30 entitles the aggrieved person to make an application within the prescribed time to the Central Government or the State Government as the case may be for referring the mater to an arbitrator. The determination of compensation by the arbitrator under S. 30 is final, there being no other provision in that Act for challenging the award made by the arbitrator. Under the second proviso to S. 30, any dispute as to title to receive the compensation or as to apportionment of the amount of compensation has to be referred to an arbitrator appointed by the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be S. 25 was added to the Requisitioning Act by the Requisitioning and Acquisition of Immovable Property (Amendment) Ordinance 4 of 1968 and the Ordinance was replaced by Act 31 of 1968, S. 25(1) of the Requisitioning Act provides that properties which have been requisitioned under the Defence of India Act, 1962 and which have not been released from such requisition before 10th January, 1968, shall, from that date, be deemed to have been requisitioned under the Requisitioning Act and all the provisions of that Act apply except to the extent provided in the proviso in sub-section (2). S. 3 of the Requisitioning Act is similar to S. 29 of the Act which empowers the competent authority to requisition any property needed or likely to be needed for any public purpose, being a purpose of the Union. Ss. 8 and 9 of the Requisitioning Act provide for principles and methods of determining compensation and for payment of compensation which provisions are similar to S. 30 of the Act. A dispute in regard to the amount of compensation payable is required to be decided by an arbitrator under S. 8 of the Requisitioning Act. Under S. 11 of that Act any person aggrieved by an award of the arbitrator made under S. 8 of the Requisitioning Act is entitled to prefer an appeal to the High Court within 30 days from the date of the award. These appeals have been preferred invoking S. 11 of the Requisitioning Act, on the ground that the awards made after 10th Jan. 1968 must be deemed to have been made under S. 8 of the Requisitioning Act.

(3.) In respect of properties requisitioned under S. 29 of the Act, appeal is provided against the award made under S. 30 of the Act. The question for consideration in these cases is, as to whether these appeals are maintainable under S. 11 of the Requisitioning Act. As S. 11 of the Requisitioning Act provides for an appeal against an award made by an arbitrator under S. 8, we have to examine whether the awards made in these cases can be regarded as having been made under S. 8. The contention of the appellants is that the awards in these cases are appealable under S. 11 having regard to the provisions of S. 25 of the Requisitioning Act. For the sake of convenience, we shall set out S. 25 of the Requisitioning Act as follows:-