PRABHASHANKAR NARANBHAI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this two petitions, under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the challenge is against the order of respondent No.2 in Land Reference Case No.39/89, whereby, the petitioners application for reference to the District Court, Junagadh, under section 18(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (Act, for short), came to be rejected, on 9.1.2001 on the ground that there was delay in making such applications for reference to the District Court against the offer/award of the Land Acquisition Officer in respect of the acquired land.

(2.) After having given our anxious thoughts to the facts and circumstances emerging from the record of this group of two petitions and the submissions, coupled with the relevant proposition of law, we have been convinced that the impugned order of respondent No.2, Deputy Collector and Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation Officer (Irrigation), Junagadh is unjust, unreasonable and erroneous and is required to be quashed.

(3.) The petitioners were the owners of land bearing survey No.40 situated in the sim of village Bela, in Junagadh district, which came to be acquired by the respondent authority, for the purpose of irrigation. The Land Acquisition Officer, passed award on 4.1.96. The petitioners preferred application under section 18(1) of the Act on 10.9.96 for the purpose of making reference to the District Court, Junagadh, which came to be rejected by respondent No.2 on the premise that application under section 18(1) of the Act was not made within the period of limitation and that the petitioners had received the amount of compensation offered by the Land Acquisition Officer without any objection. It is, also, stated in the impugned order of the respondent No.2 that after award dated 4.1.96 was passed, the petitioners, original claimants were served with notice under section 12(2) of the Act and the notice was served on 13.3.96 and since the application under section 18(1) came to be made on 10.9.96, it is beyond the period of limitation. Therefore, the joint reference application of the petitioners came to be rejected by the order dated 9.1.2001, which is under challenge in this group of two petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.