ROSLIN JOHN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioners are aggrieved by Ext.P9 Order of the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Re-Settlement Authority, Kottayam, which refused to interfere with Ext.P7 Order of the Special Tahsildar. Vide Ext.P7, the delay in preferring a reference in terms of Sec. 64(1) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 ('2013 Act', for short) has not been condoned, resulting in rejection of the reference application.

(2.) The following facts are relevant: Revised Awards were passed by the competent authority in respect of the petitioners' property on 19/4/2022 and 11/10/2021. The 1st petitioner preferred an application for reference under Sec. 64(1) on 3/9/2022. The same was dismissed, holding that the application was preferred beyond the period prescribed in the second proviso to Sec. 64(2) and that there exists no sufficient cause to condone the delay in terms of the second proviso. The petitioners approached this Court by filing a Writ Petition, which culminated in Ext.P2 judgment, directing the petitioners to file necessary application before the Special Tahsildar, explaining the reasons which prevented the petitioners from filing an application for reference within six weeks from the date of Award. Ext.P2 also directed consideration of that application, after affording an opportunity of being heard to the petitioners and to issue fresh Orders. The said exercise has been done vide Ext.P7. The operative portion of Ext.P7 is extracted herebelow:

(3.) Challenging Ext.P7, the petitioners approached the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Authority, Kottayam (District Court, Kottayam), which resulted in Ext.P9 Order, holding that the said authority has no power to entertain the application from an exercise made under the second proviso to Sec. 64(2). In other words, according to the learned District Judge, the power of the Court has been conferred only on the failure of the District Collector to make a reference within the stipulated period of 30 days in terms of the second proviso to Sec. 64(1).