COMMISSIONER TRICHUR MUNICIPALITY Vs. C NARAYANAN NAIR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These petitions raise a common question and are being disposed of by a common order. In all these petitions, the Commissioner, Trichur Municipality, is the petitioner. These petitions arise from Land Acquisition Proceedings, L.A.R. No. 137of 1976. Lands were acquired for the purpose of construction of Bell Mouth and Shopping Centre for the Municipality in the Naduvilal Junction, Trichur. The original compensation awarded was enhanced by the court below. The Municipality has to pay this. The State has not filed any appeal. In these petitions the Commissioner of the Municipality requests that leave may be granted to him for filing appeals against the judgment and decree in L.A R. No. 137 of 1976 on the file of the Subordinate Judge's Court, Trichur.

(2.) I shall consider the facts in L.A.A. No. 137 of 1978 for the purpose of this judgment. This appeal was filed on 16th August, 1979 and the present application for leave under S.151 CPC. on 3rd October, 1979. These two dates show that the appeal as originally filed was not accompanied by the leave petition. The question is whether the defect in presentation of the appeal will be cured by the subsequent application. This defect is common to all the petitions though the dates are different.

(3.) The contesting respondents have raised several pleas. According to them the appeals are not maintainable. In any case no leave can be granted since the leave petitions were not filed along with the appeals. They cannot cure the defect as they cannot operate retroactively.