BAGH SINGH Vs. SPECIAL LAND ACQUISITION COLLECTORJALANDHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The controversy need to be settled in these five civil revision petitions Nos. 1601, 1602, 1603, 1604 and 1605 of 1983 is the same and, thus, these are being disposed of together.

(2.) The prayer of the petitioners under Order 1, Rule 10, Civil P. C. to be impleaded as parties to the respective References now pending before the Land Acquisition Court, Faridkot has been declined by the said Court primarily on the grounds-

(3.) It has repeatedly been ruled by this Court that if the property acquired is joint and the co-owners have no distinct and specified shares therein then a reference under Section 18 of the Act by one of the co-owners for the enhancement of the compensation awarded by the Land Acquisition Collector will tenure for the benefit of the other co-owners as well. In such a case it can safely be concluded that the co-owner who is wanting enhancement in the compensation was also acting on behalf of the other co-owners because their interest are joint and individual. Until the shares of the co-shares are specified the co-sharer filing the application under Section 18 of the Act will be deemed to be acting on behalf of all the co-owners in the property. Even an award passed as a result to such an application under Section 18 of the Act would ensure for the benefit of all the co-shares (See Clause Kehar Singh v. Union of India, AIR 1968 Punj 490, State of Haryana v. Bishan Singh 1981 Punj LJ 40 and Punjab State v. Globe Motors Ltd., 1981 Pun LJ 73). In the face of this settled legal petition, how can the petitioners who even in the absence of mentioning of their names in the Reference are entitled to all the benefits arising from the award itself be denied the right to be imploded as parties to the litigation at a stage prior to the passing of the said award. As per the observations in the above-noted judgments, the petitioners have virtually to be deemed to be parties to those References. Their innocuous prayer is only that their names be so mentioned. This cannot possibly be denied to them.