KAJARILAL AGARWALA Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Rule involves a point under the West Bengal Land (Requisition and Acquisition) Act, 1948. which was raised in the case of Birendra Nath Ray Sarkar Vs. Union of India, (57 C.W.N. 283), but left undecided, as the petitioner in that case was entitled to relief even if this point failed. The present Rule cannot, however, be disposed of without deciding the point.

(2.) The facts which are simple are these : It appears that an area of 37.85 acres of land, belonging to the petitioner and situated within the units of the Siliguri Municipality, was acquired for purposes of the Assam link Railway Project. We are told i hat it is on a portion of this land that the present Siliguri Junction station has been constructed.

(3.) The notification under section 4(1) of the Act was issued on the 30th June, 1919, and the petitioner filed his claim on the 29th Dec. following. In his petition of claim, he valued the and at Rs. 100 per cottah which, if allowed, would entitle him to receive a total sum of Rs. 2,27100, but in striking the total, an arithmetical error was committed and the claim was wrongly laid at Rs. 1,14000. Be that as it may, the amount actually awarded to the petitioner was considerably less. The Collector made his award on the 5th of Feb., 1951. and he allowed the petitioner a sum of Rs. 2,2074 computed at the rate of Rs. 600 per acre of (he land acquired. The petitioner was not satisfied with the award and made an application under section 8(1) of the Act for a reference to the court, but the did not make the application till the 2nd of Feb., 1953. The Collector has rejected the application as time-barred, and has said that he is passing his order in accordance with our decision in Civil Rule No. 2940 of 1951 which, by the way, is the cave of Birendra Nath Ray Sarkar Vs. Union of India, (supra) to which I referred a few moments ago.