ROSHAN Vs. S D O

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Land measuring 9 kanals and 8 marlas comprising khasra No. 127, situate at village Katra, Tehsil Reasi was acquired by the State for a public purpose i. e. for construction of a lorry Adda at Katra. The acquisition proceedings having been initiated, the award was delivered by the Collector on 22-2-1971.

(2.) Respondents 3 to 5 are admittedly the owners of that land. The petitioner filed an application before the Collector under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act stating therein that though he was protected tenant of the land in question, and as such an interested person, but he had not been given any notice about the acquisition proceedings and therefore had no occasion to agitate his claim and on learning about the award, in September 1972, he was approaching him with the request that a reference be made so that he could also claim compensation. The Collector vide order dated 20-12-1972 refused to make a reference to the District Judge.

(3.) The petitioner challenges the impugned order on two grounds namely : (1) that the Collector had no jurisdiction to hold that he was not an interested person as the rights of the protected tenant had not been conferred on him because a Collector while dealing with an application under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act has no power to adjudicate upon the locus standi of the petitioner; and (2) that the view expressed by the Collector to the effect that the application of the petitioner was barred by time was erroneous and not sustainable in law.