MEGHJIBHAI RAVJIBHAI VIRANI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule. Mr. Kritik Parikh, learned AGP waives service of notice of rule on behalf of respondent State. With the consent of learned advocates for the respective parties, the matter is taken up for final hearing today.

(2.) It is the case of the petitioner that a parcel of land belonging to the petitioner came to be acquired by the respondent authority. An award was declared against which a reference was made in the court of learned 9 th Additional Sr. Civil Judge, Jamnagar. Such reference came to be allowed in part by award dtd. 22/7/2022. Subsequent thereto, the petitioner filed an application under Sec. 28A of the Land Acquisition Act (for short 'the Act') requesting to grant the amount which has been awarded qua other land owners whose references came to be partly allowed and whose lands were acquired under the same said notification and amount was decided by the Collector by a common award. It is the case of the petitioner that the application came to be rejected by respondent no. 2 only on the ground that the GIDC for which land was acquired had decided to file appeal. Hence, this petition.

(3.) Mr. K.M. Sheth, learned advocate appearing for the petitioner would submit that the authority concerned should not have rejected the application filed under Sec. 28A of the Act in view of the fact that no appeal has been preferred by GIDC till date. Even otherwise, the authorities should have kept the application pending for its decision even if the appeal is filed. He therefore would submit that the petition be allowed and the order impugned be quashed and set aside.