BANS GOPAL Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner has sought a mandate to respondent No. 2 to make reference to the Land Acquisition Court under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, the Act) for enhancement of compensation, in this petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India.

(2.) THE petitioner owned land in revenue estate Mawai Tehsil Ballabgarh, district Gurgaon. The land was acquired by the Government of Haryana. The Land Acquisition Collector rendered the award on March 30, 1978. The petitioner was dissatisfied with the compensation offered by the Land Acquisition Collector. He moved an application under Section 18 of the Act before the Land Acquisition Collector for making a reference to the Land Acquisition Court. The reference was declined on the ground that the petitioner had accepted the compensation without protest.

(3.) WHEN the writ petition came up for motion hearing before a Bench of this Court on July 17, 1989, the counsel for the petitioner, relying upon a Single Bench judgment of this Court in Karnail Singh v. State of Punjab, (1982) 84 P. L. R. 267 submitted that it was not within the jurisdiction of the Land Acquisition Collector to decline to make a reference on the ground that the compensation was accepted without protest. The matter has to be left for adjudication by the Land Acquisition Court to whom the reference will be made under Section 18 of the Act. The Bench expressed doubt about the correctness of this judgment principally on the ground that the provision of sub-section (3) of Section 18 of the Act as introduced by the Land Acquisition (Punjab Amendment) Act II of 1954 were brought to the notice of the learned Judge deciding Karnail Singh case (supra ). It is how the case is placed before us for decision. Acceptance of the compensation after filing of the application under Section 18 of the Act or prior thereto will amount to acceptance of the compensation under protest. Filing of a valid application under Section 18 of the Act would be deemed as a protest against the compensation awarded by the Land Acquisition Collector. In disputably, after accepting the compensation, an application under Section 18 of the Act was filed by the Petitioner.