CHANDRAMANI MISHRA Vs. LAND ACQUISITION COLLECTOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This revision application is directed against the order dated 27.2.1998 passed by the Civil Judge (Senior Division), Dharamgarh, in M.J.C. No. 66 of 1997 dismissing the petitioner's application under Order IX, Rule 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (in short the C.P.C.') read with Section 151 thereof praying for setting aside the order dated 24.4.1992 confirming the award of the Land Acquisition Collector in L.A. Case No. 13/87.

(2.) The brief facts leading to the present revision application are that the land of the petitioner was acquired for public purpose, i.e., for construction of Upper Indravati Project at Kusumkhunti in the District of Kalahandi and accordingly compensation was awarded and the petitioner also received the same with objection, the same being that the compensation was grossly low and not sustainable in the eye of law. The said objection was referred under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act to the Civil Judge (Senior Division), Bhawanipatna. which was registered as M.J.C. No. 19/43 of 1990/91. The petitioner engaged a Counsel at Bhawanipatna to conduct his case as due to his old age and ill health it was not possible on his part to attend the Court on each date. The further case of the petitioner is that the concerned Advocate did not inform him about the day-to-day development of the case and only on 22.8.1997 he came to know from his neighbour Dwaraka Prasad Jain, who was also an awardee in respect of the lands involved in M.J.C. Nos. 14/ 94 and 16/94 arising out of the same notification, that said Jain had already received the award in his cases. Thereafter, the petitioner enquired about the matter from his Advocate and on 26.8.1997 ascertained that his case had been transferred to the Court of the Civil Judge (Senior Division), Dharamgarh Thereafter the petitioner enquired and came to know that the M.J.C. had already been disposed of on 20.4.1992 in the absence of the petitioner by confirming the award passed by the L.A Collector. The further case of the petitioner is that though he had engaged an Advocate at Bhawanipatna, the said Advocate never informed him regarding the transfer of the case from Bhawanipatna to Dharamgarh and having no fault on his part, the case was set ex pane as the Advocate did not attend the case at Dharamgarh. Thereafter the petitioner filed an application under Order IX, Rule 9 of the CPC read with Section 151 thereof taking all the above grounds but the Trial Court did not accept the petitioner's contention and came to the conclusion that the petitioner had utterly failed to prove the required "sufficient cause" and hence the M.J.C. was dismissed.

(3.) The learned Trial Court further held that if the petitioner had engaged one Misra as an Advocate, he should have examined the said Advocate in the present proceeding under Order IX, Rule 9, CPC. The learned Trial Court further came to the conclusion that the averments made by the petitioner was false because of the reason that if the petitioner came to know the fact of award from D. P. Jain, he should have taken all care to examine him as a witness.