LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER Vs. NARAYANAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Land Acquisition Officer, Special Tahsildar, National Highway, Kannur and the District Collector, Kannur are the appellants in this appeal. The respondent filed O. P. 4423 of 1997 to quash the original of Exts. P3, P4 and P6 issued by the appellants and for a mandamus directing the first appellant to refer the claim of the respondent under Ext. P2 for reference to the Court under S.18 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short 'the Act'). Compensation amount was fixed by the authorities for the property at Rs. 28,299/-. Respondent was directed to appear before the Land Acquisition Officer on 22-11-1995. Ext. P1 is the notice of award issued by the first appellant dated 1-11-1995. According to the respondent, Ext. P1 was served on him on 17-11-1995 and as soon as the said notice was received, he approached his lawyer and as per instructions given by him, a lawyer notice detailing the objections of the respondent was issued. It was further requested that the matter may be referred to the Land Acquisition Court to enable the respondent to claim enhanced compensation. Ext. P2 is the lawyer notice issued by the respondent through his counsel. Under Ext. P2, it has been specifically stated by the counsel for the respondent that the respondent has received the award amount under protest and since the property is situated very close to the National Highway and has other valuable improvements etc., the respondent will be entitled to a higher compensation. Respondent's counsel, therefore, called upon the first appellant to refer the matter to the Sub Court to enable the respondent to claim enhanced compensation for the property acquired. Under Ext. P3, the first appellant informed the counsel for the respondent that the notice sent by him is not entertainable as an application for reference to the court under S.18 of the Act since the person interested in the property, namely, the respondent has to make a written application for referring the matter to the court as provided in the section. Therefore, the first appellant advised the counsel for the respondent to file a fresh application for reference to the court. In Para.3 of Ext. P4, the first appellant has stated as follows:

(2.) S.18 of the Act, which deals with reference to the court and the procedure thereon, reads thus:

(3.) To demand a reference under S.18 of the Act, a written application is mandatory and the demand for a reference in such application should be clear. The existence of an award is an essential first requisite to confer the jurisdiction on the Collector to make a reference. There is no provision in the Act authorising the aggrieved claimant to approach directly the civil court of original jurisdiction for a reference under S.18 of the Act. The aggrieved party is to apply to the Land Acquisition Officer or the Collector inviting him to make a reference. But, before the Collector can make a reference, he must be satisfied that the application is by a person interested, that such person has not accepted the award and that the dispute raised by the person is with regard to the amount of compensation. In the instant case, the Collector has refused to make a reference on the ground that the applicant has not applied in writing, but has applied through his lawyer and, therefore, the said application for reference is not competent. As already stated, a reference can be invited only by a person interested. A person interested is one who is directly or indirectly interested in the title of the land or in the amount of compensation, the person to whom it is payable or the apportionment of compensation. In our opinion, "any person interested" appearing in S.18 has to be given a plain and natural meaning, namely, a person who had an interest in the land. In this case, a person interested has invited the reference through his attorney and, therefore, the said attorney, on instructions from his client, is competent to invite a reference under S.18 of the Act and the act done by the said attorney shall be construed as an act of the person interested himself.