MOHANLAL Vs. B G DESHMUKH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two revision applications are directed against the orders D/- March 29, 1974 passed by the Special Land Acquisition Officer, Nagpur, rejecting the applicant's applications under S.18 of the Land Acquisition Act, for making references to the Court under S.18 of the Act, for determining the amount of compensation payable for the lands.

(2.) The amount of compensation was determined by the Special Land Acquisition Officer, after issuing requisite notices under the Land Acquisition Act. For the field Khasra No. 159, 15.13 acres of Mouza Nari, total amount of compensation awarded was Rs. 34,845/-, while for field Khasra No. 162, 7.81 acres, total amount of compensation awarded was Rs. 11,678/-. The amounts in respect of both the acquisitions were made payable to the non-applicant No. 3 Sundarlal Jagannath Dawali. The present applicant Mohanlal claiming to be the brother of non-applicant No. 3 Sunderlal, contended that the land belonged to him and Sunderlal as their joint family property and he was not aware of the land acquisition proceedings as he was residing in his home town in Uttar Pradesh and came to know of the awards in the first week of Dec. 1973 when he came to Nagpur. Contending that he was a person interested in the compensation, and the amount of compensation awarded was low, he prayed for determination of the compensation by making references to the Civil Court.

(3.) The Special Land Acquisition Officer, took the view that the applications which were presented on 15-2-1974 i.e. more than six months after the date of the award which was passed on 13-2-1973, were barred by time and that the applicant was not a 'person interested' within the meaning of S.18(1) of the Land Acquisition Act. Feeling aggrieved by these orders, the applicant challenged them by filing writ petitions, but later they came to be converted into Civil Revision Applications, as a revision application lay under S.18(3) of the Land Acquisition Act, as amended in this State.