Manharlal Shivlal Panchal vs Collector

REPORTABLE IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CIVIL APPEAL NO. 9004 OF 2022 (Arising from SLP(Civil) No.19053/2022)

Manharlal Shivlal Panchal & Others …Appellants

Versus

The Deputy Collector & Special Land Acquisition Officer & Others …Respondents

JUDGMENT

M.R. SHAH, J.

1. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment

and order dated 10.03.2022 passed by the High Court of Gujarat at

Ahmedabad in Regular First Appeal No. 492/2022, by which the High

Court has dismissed the said appeal preferred by the appellants herein

and has confirmed the order dated 20.10.2021 passed by the Reference

Court, rejecting the reference under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Signature Not Verified

Act, 1894 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Act 1894’) as barred by Digitally signed by Neetu Sachdeva Date: 2022.12.12 16:57:12 IST Reason:

limitation, the original claimants have preferred the present appeal.

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2. The facts leading to the present appeal in nutshell are as under:

That a notification under Section 4 of the Act 1894 came to be

issued for acquiring the lands in question for the construction of Gas

Compressor Station and necessary facilities under the Reliance Gas

Transportation, Surat on 30.07.2008. Declaration under Section 6 of the

Act 1894 was issued on 1.6.2009. The Land Acquisition

Officer/Collector declared the award under Section 11 of the Act, 1894

awarding compensation @ Rs. 69/- per square meter, vide award dated

6.4.2011. Notice under Section 12(2) of the Act, 1894 with a copy of the

award was issued to the landowners/appellants on 25.04.2011. The

appellants filed Special Civil Application No. 1428/2012 before the High

Court challenging notifications under Sections 4 & 6 of the Act, 1894 as

well as award dated 6.4.2011. The Division Bench of the High Court vide

judgment and order dated 7.8.2012 dismissed the said writ petition.

However, while dismissing the writ petition, the Division Bench reserved

liberty with the appellants to pursue such remedy as may be available to

them for enhancement of the compensation or any other relief to which

they may be legally entitled.

2.1 Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the judgment and order

dated 7.8.2012 passed by the High Court dismissing the writ petition, the

appellants approached this Court by way of Special Leave Petition (Civil)

No. CC 7382/2013. This Court vide order dated 11.04.2013 dismissed

2 the special leave petition on the ground of delay as well as on merits.

That thereafter considering the liberty reserved in favour of the

appellants reserved by the High Court while dismissing writ petition No.

1428/2012, the appellants filed reference under Section 18 of the Act,

1894. The Reference Court dismissed the reference as barred by

limitation, having been filed beyond the period specified in Section 18(2)

of the Act, 1894. The appellants preferred First Appeal No. 492/2022

before the High Court. By the impugned judgment and order, the High

Court has dismissed the said first appeal by observing that the

Reference Court has rightly dismissed the reference as barred by

limitation. The impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court

is the subject matter of the present appeal.

3. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the appellants has

vehemently submitted that in the facts and circumstances of the case

and more particularly when the appellants challenged the acquisition

proceedings which ended in 2013 when this Court dismissed the special

leave petition and thereafter within a period of six months from the date

of dismissal of the special leave petition, the appellants filed reference

under Section 18 of the Act, 1894, the Reference Court ought to have

entertained the same and ought to have considered the reference on

merits.

3 3.1 It is submitted that as such while dismissing Writ Petition No.

1428/2012, the Division Bench of the High Court specifically reserved

liberty in favour of the appellants to pursue such remedy as may be

available to them for enhancement of compensation and thereafter when

the appellants filed reference for enhancement of the compensation, the

same could not have been dismissed on the ground of limitation.

3.2 It is submitted that therefore in the peculiar facts and

circumstances of the case, narrated hereinabove, the time taken by the

appellants in pursuing the writ petition before the High Court and

thereafter before this Court challenging the acquisition proceedings is

required to be excluded.

3.3 It is submitted that the valuable lands of the appellants have been

acquired compulsorily under the provisions of the Act, 1894 and the

Land Acquisition Officer awarded compensation @ Rs. 69/- per square

meter only. It is submitted that the lands acquired have been situated in

Surat and were very valuable lands. It is submitted that the landowners

are entitled to just compensation for the acquired lands.

3.4 Making above submissions, it is prayed to allow the present

appeal.

4. The present appeal is vehemently opposed by Shri Shyam Divan,

learned Senior Advocate appearing on behalf of respondent No.3.

4 4.1 Shri Shyam Divan, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of

respondent No. 3 has vehemently submitted that the time limit to file

reference under Section 18 of the Act, 1894 for enhancement of the

compensation would be six months from the date of receipt of the award

under Section 12(2) of the Act, 1894. It is submitted that in the present

case the appellants were served notice under Section 12(2) of the Act

with a copy of the award on 25.4.2011. It is submitted that therefore the

period of six months for making reference expired on 6.10.2011. It is

submitted that therefore the Reference Court rightly dismissed the

reference as barred by limitation.

4.2 It is further submitted by Shri Shyam Divan, learned senior counsel

appearing on behalf of respondent No.3 that even otherwise while

preferring Special Civil Application No. 1428/2012, the appellants did

challenge the award also contending inter alia that the amount of

compensation awarded is on a lower side. It is submitted that while

dismissing the writ petition, the Division Bench specifically observed that

the objections raised by the appellants before making of the award were

mainly related to the amount of compensation and they are not stated to

have applied for reference under Section 18 of the Act, leading to the

inference that either they were satisfied with the award of compensation

or have missed the time limit for applying for reference under Section 18

of the Act, 1894. It is submitted that the Division Bench has further

5 observed that therefore the petition and the prayers made therein are

found to be an afterthought and not a bona fide grievance about any

injustice. It is submitted that therefore also no interference of this Court

is called for.

4.3 Making above submissions and relying upon the decisions of this

Court in the case of Officer on Special Duty (Land Acquisition) &

Another v. Shah Manilal Chandulal & Others, (1996) 9 SCC 414 and

Mahadeo Bajirao Patil v. State of Maharashtra & Others, (2005) 7

SCC 440, it is prayed to dismiss the present appeal.

5. Ms. Deepanwita Priyanka, learned counsel appearing on behalf of

the state has supported the impugned judgment and order passed by

the High Court.

6. Heard.

7. The reference under Section 18 of the Act, 1894 has been

dismissed as barred by limitation having been filed beyond the period of

six months, specified in Section 18(2) of the Act, 1894. The same has

been confirmed by the High Court. However, it is required to be noted

that the respective appellants – original landowners, as such, challenged

the acquisition proceedings as well as the award under Section 12(2) of

the Act, 1894, which ended in dismissal of the special leave petition by

this Court vide order dated 11.4.2013. The reference applications were

filed on 1.7.2013. At this stage, it is required to be noted that though in

6 the writ petition being SCA No. 1428/2012, the award under Section

12(2) of the Act was challenged on the ground of inadequacy of the

amount of compensation and though the Division Bench of the High

Court dismissed the said writ petition, however thereafter reserved

liberty in favour of the appellants – original landowners to pursue such

remedy as may be available to them for enhancement of compensation

or any other relief to which they may be legally entitled. In view of that

liberty, the appellants – original landowners thereafter and after

dismissal of the special leave petition by this Court filed reference.

Therefore, in view of the liberty reserved by the High Court in favour of

the appellants to pursue such remedy as may be available to them for

enhancement of compensation, the reference application could not have

been dismissed as barred by limitation under Section 18(2) of the Act,

1894. Within a period of six months from the date of dismissal of the

special leave petition, the reference was filed. In the special leave

petition, which was dismissed by this Court on 11.4.2013, the original

landowners whose valuable lands had been acquired challenged the

acquisition proceedings. At this stage, it is required to be noted that

though in the writ petition before the High Court (in the earlier round of

litigation) they challenged the award under Section 12(2) of the Act and

the High Court observed that it is too late to make any grievance, still the

High Court while dismissing the writ petition reserved liberty in favour of

7 the appellants to initiate appropriate proceedings for enhancement of the

compensation.

8. As such, on a fair reading of the entire judgment and order passed

by the High Court, the observations made that it is too late to make the

grievance with respect to the inadequacy of the compensation, those

observations are to be read while considering the prayer of the

appellants challenging the acquisition proceedings. It appears that the

acquisition was also challenged on the ground that the amount awarded

is inadequate. To that, the observations were made by the High Court

that it is too late to raise such a dispute. Therefore, the High Court ought

to have interfered with the decision of the reference Court dismissing the

reference on the ground of limitation and ought to have remitted the

matter to the reference Court to decide the reference on merits.

9. Now so far as the reliance placed upon the decisions of this Court

in the cases of Shah Manilal Chandulal & Others (supra) and

Mahadeo Bajirao Patil (supra) are concerned, there cannot be any

dispute on the proposition of law laid down by this Court that the

limitation for making reference under Section 18 of the Act, 1894 cannot

be extended and that Section 5 of the Limitation Act shall not be

applicable. However, in the present case, it is not the case of condoning

8 the delay in exercise of powers under Section 5 of the Limitation Act. As

observed hereinabove, in the present case, the appellants challenged

the acquisition proceedings which ended on the dismissal of the special

leave petition by this Court vide order dated 11.4.2013 and thereafter

pursuant to the liberty reserved by the High Court, reserved while

dismissing Writ Petition No. 1428/2012, within a period of six months

from the date of dismissal of the special leave petition, i.e., on 1.7.2013,

the original landowners filed reference application under Section 18 of

the Act, 1894. In the aforesaid two decisions before this Court, there

were no such facts. Therefore, on facts, the aforesaid two decisions

shall not be applicable to the facts of the case on hand.

10. In view of the above and for the reasons stated above, the present

appeal succeeds. The impugned judgment and order passed by the High

Court as well as the order passed by the reference court dismissing the

writ petition/reference under Section 18 of the Act, 1894 as barred by

limitation are hereby quashed and set aside. The matter is remitted to

the reference court to decide the reference on merits. We direct the

reference court to finally decide and dispose of the reference within a

period of nine months from the date of receipt of the present order.

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11.The present appeal is accordingly allowed. However, there shall be

no order as to costs.

………………………………….J. [M.R. SHAH]

NEW DELHI; ………………………………….J. DECEMBER 12, 2022. [C.T. RAVIKUMAR]

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