UNION OF INDIA Vs. PARBHATI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The answer to the question-' Whether the provisions of Section 28A of the Land Acquisition Act,1894 (hereinafter referred to Act) were attracted only if the interested person has not sought a reference under Section 18 of the Act? would dispose of the present appeal.

(2.) In terms of the impugned judgment dated 7/4/1999, the learned Single Judge negated the contention advanced on behalf of the appellant that since the respondent in the present case had sought a reference under the provisions of Section 18 of the Act, the respondent was not entitled to the benefit of the provisions of the Section 28-A of the Act i.e. seeking redetermination of the compensation on the basis of the judgment delivered by the Addl.District Judge. The learned Judge thus remanded the matter to the Collector to dispose of the application of the respondent on merits in view of the findings recorded in the judgment. The appeal against the said judgement was admitted and the operation of the impugned order was stayed during pendency of the appeal.

(3.) The scope and ambit of Section 28-A of the Act has been considered by the Supreme Court in case of Babua Ram and others vs. State of U.P. and another (1995) 2 SCC 689. Section 28-A of the Act deals with the re-determination of the amount of compensation on the basis of the Award of the court, where the court allows to an applicant any amount of compensation in excess of the amount awarded by the Collector under Section 11 of the Act, Section 28-A permits any other person interested in the other land covered by same notification under Section 4, sub-section (.1) to apply to the Collector within three months from the date of the Award of the court for re-determination of the amount notwithstanding that they had not made an application to the Collector under Section 18. The question which arose was, whether 'notwithstanding' clause made the section applicable only to persons who had not made any application under Section 18 or whether it apply to even such cases.