JEHANGIR BOMANJI Vs. C D GAIKWAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners are the present trustees of a deed of trust dated 28-3-1928, and as such trustees they owned certain land at Goregaon admeasuring about 24 acres. In June 1948 Government issued a notification under the Land Acquisition Act in relation to this land and a notification under Section 6 was issued on 4-6-1949. In July 1949 notice to file the claim was given and pursuant to this notice the petitioners filed a claim in November 1949. They made a claim of about Rs. 28,00,000. As far as the petitioners were concerned, nothing further happened till March 1953 and then they came to know that an award had been made by the Collector on 28-12-1951, by which award he had awarded to the petitioners a sum of Rs. 28,128-3-0. They then applied to the Collector for a reference under Section 18. The Collector declined to make a reference on the ground that the application was barred by limitation. and the petitioners have come before us for a writ to compel the Collector to make the reference, and the question that we have to consider on this petition is whether the application of the petitioners is barred by limitation.

(2.) NOW, turning to the Act, a notification under Section 4 can be issued when it appears to the State Government that land in any locality is likely to be needed for any public purpose. Then Section 6 provides for a declaration when the Government is satisfied that a particular land is needed for a public purpose. Section 9 then provides for a public notice to be given by the Collector to the effect that Government intends to take possession of the land and that claims to compensation for all interests in such land may be made to him, and it was pursuant to this notice that the petitioners filed their claim claiming Rs. 28,00,000. Section 11 provides for the inquiry which the Collector has to make prior to the making of the award, and it is not disputed that this inquiry is an administrative inquiry and it is not incumbent upon the Collector to give any notice with regard to this inquiry to any claimant. In fact no notice of the inquiry was given to the petitioners and they were not present. Then Section 12 provides for the filing of the award which is made by the Collector after the holding of the inquiry under Section 11, and that section provides :

(3.) THEN we come to Section 18 and that section provides :