KALIDASI DASI Vs. LAND ACQUISITION COLLECTOR SURI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS Rule is directed against an order of the Land Acquisition Collector, Birbhum, refusing to make a reference under section 8 of the West Bengal Land (Requisition and Acquisition) Act, 1948 [west Bengal Act II of 1948].

(2.) THE petitioner's prayer for reference has been rejected on the ground of limitation. It is admitted that the Collector's award in the instant case was made on 15th May, 1958. The petitioner was not present before the Collector at the time of the making of the said award but a notice appears to have been received by her on 18th May, 1958, purporting to be a notice under section 12, sub-section (2) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. The petitioner's application for reference was filed on 2nd September, 1958. That application was rejected on the ground of limitation as, according to the Collector, the time for filing the said application had expired on 28th June, 1958, that is, with the expiry of a period of six weeks from the date of the petitioner's receipt of the aforesaid notice, under the first part of section 18 (2) (b) of the Land Acquisition Act (Central Act I of 1894) which provision, inter alia, was attracted to the instant case, that is, to proceedings under the West Bengal Land (Requisition and Acquisition) Act, 1948, by the amended sub-section (2) of section 8 thereof.

(3.) BEFORE us a question was raised on behalf of the petitioner as to the scope of the Explanation, appended to the said sub-section (2) of section 8 of the above Act by the new section 5 of the amending Act XII of 1957 and. it was argued that the said Explanation, so far as it sought to widen the scope of the said sec. 8 (2) by equating the notice under sec. 7 (2) (aa) (ii) to that under sec. 12 (2) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, for purposes of its sec. 18 (proviso) was ultra vires and could not be recognised or given effect to.