Gujarat High Court
Mahipalsinh Vikramsinh Jadeja vs State Of Gujarat on 28 July, 2025
Author: Sunita Agarwal
Bench: Sunita Agarwal
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/2834/2025 ORDER DATED: 28/07/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 2834 of 2025
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 2841 of 2025
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 2844 of 2025
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 2843 of 2025
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 2895 of 2025
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 2896 of 2025
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 2907 of 2025
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 2916 of 2025
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 2928 of 2025
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 2953 of 2025
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 2973 of 2025
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MAHIPALSINH VIKRAMSINH JADEJA
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.
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Appearance:
MR ANAND R PATEL(2424) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
MS. HETAL PATEL, AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 1,2,3
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CORAM:HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS. JUSTICE
SUNITA AGARWAL
and
HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE D.N.RAY
Date : 28/07/2025
COMMON ORAL ORDER
(PER : HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS. JUSTICE SUNITA AGARWAL)
1. All the writ petitions, raise a common question for consideration before this Court. They have been heard together with the consent of the learned counsels for the parties and are being decided by this common judgment. Page 1 of 7 Uploaded by BINA SHAH(HC00353) on Tue Jul 29 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Jul 30 00:54:38 IST 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/2834/2025 ORDER DATED: 28/07/2025 undefined
2. Perused the additional affidavit filed on behalf of the original petitioners in compliance of the order dated 06.03.2025 passed by us. The petitioners herein are farmers who have been non-suited vide order dated 01.08.2019/24.09.2019 from making reference under Section 64 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 ("Act of 2013" for short), on the premise that the application moved by them under Section 64 of the Act, 2013 dated 16.03.2018, was beyond the limitation prescribed under Section 64 sub Section (2) of the Act, 2013.
3. Pertinent is to note that the original award applying Factor-1 was passed on 02.07.2015 and the said award was modified by the application of the Factor-2 vide award dated 21.11.2017. After receipt of the Award dated 21.11.2017, the petitioners/land holders filed a reference application on 16.03.2018 in the office of the Collector asking him to make a reference to the competent authority namely the Land Acquisition and Resettlement Authority constituted under the Act, 2013, in accordance with the provisions of Section 64 of Page 2 of 7 Uploaded by BINA SHAH(HC00353) on Tue Jul 29 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Jul 30 00:54:38 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/2834/2025 ORDER DATED: 28/07/2025 undefined the Act, 2013.
4. These applications have been rejected on 01.08.2019/24.09.2019 solely on the ground that the original award was passed in the year 2015 and the application made on 16.03.2018 is beyond limitation prescribed in Section 64 of the Act, 2013.
5. A perusal of the order dated 01.08.2019/24.09.2019 passed by the competent authority namely the Office of the Collector makes it clear that it was an illegal exercise of power, inasmuch as,the limitation was required to be computed from the date of making of the amended award i.e. dated 21.11.2017. Taking note of the clause (a) of the proviso to Sub-Section 2 of Section 64, pertinent is to note that the limitation prescribed therein for making of an application for reference under Section 64 of the Act is six weeks from the date of Collector's Award, which was not over by 16.03.2018. The fact that the original award of the year 2015 was made by applying Factor-1 and amended award was passed on 21.11.2017 by the application of multiplication Factor-2 as per the decisions of this Court, is sufficient to record that the Page 3 of 7 Uploaded by BINA SHAH(HC00353) on Tue Jul 29 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Jul 30 00:54:38 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/2834/2025 ORDER DATED: 28/07/2025 undefined original award of the year 2015, where market value was computed by applying Factor-1 stood amended with the subsequent award dated 21.11.2017 with the application of multiplication Factor-2.
6. There was no question for the petitioners to make any reference against the original award when he was agitating his right for enhancement of the market value by application of multiplication Factor-2 which was accepted only with the making of the amended award dated 21.11.2017. The order dated 01.08.2019/24.09.2019 passed by the competent authority in rejection of the application dated 16.03.2018 for making of the reference, therefore, cannot be sustained.
7. We may also note that the proviso to Sub Section (1) of Section 64 mandates the Collector to make a reference to the appropriate authority within a period of 30 days from the date of receipt of the application. In the instant case, almost one year was taken at the ends of the competent authority to decide the application filed by the petitioners on 16.03.2018.
8. It seems that after rejection of the application, on a Page 4 of 7 Uploaded by BINA SHAH(HC00353) on Tue Jul 29 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Jul 30 00:54:38 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/2834/2025 ORDER DATED: 28/07/2025 undefined wrong legal advice, the petitioners had approached the Land Acquisition Authority seeking for its intervention in the matter of rejection of the application vide order dated 01.08.2019/24.09.2019. The Land Acquisition Authority had rejected the said application on 26.08.2022 on the ground that it had no jurisdiction to deal with the matter.
9. It seems that after dismissal of his application vide order dated 26.08.2022, there was further delay in approaching this Court and a writ petition was filed only in the month of December 2024. For the long delay on the part of the petitioners in approaching this Court in challenging the order passed by the Land Acquisition Authority dated 26.08.2022, who was approached on a wrong legal advice, explanation has been offered in the additional affidavit filed by the petitioners.
10. Taking note of the averments made in the additional affidavit filed on behalf of the petitioners, in compliance of the order dated 06.03.2025, we are of the considered view that at the first instance, the petitioners had been non-suited on account of an illegal order passed by the competent authority in rejection of their application which was filed well within the Page 5 of 7 Uploaded by BINA SHAH(HC00353) on Tue Jul 29 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Jul 30 00:54:38 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/2834/2025 ORDER DATED: 28/07/2025 undefined limitation prescribed in section 64(2) of the Act, 2013. The order of rejection of the application for making a reference filed by the petitioners passed by the competent authority on 01.08.2019/24.09.2019, Annexure "B" to the writ petition, therefore, cannot be sustained.
11. While setting aside the order dated 01.08.2019/24.09.2019 passed by the In-charge Deputy Collector and Special Land Acquisition Officer (Narmada Yojana) Gandhidham, we relegate the matter for making a reference on the application dated 16.03.2018 to the appropriate authority under Section 64 of the Act, 2013 immediately, within a period of 15 days from today.
12. On such reference being made before the appropriate authority, all considerations on the merits of the application dated 16.03.2018, on the points of reference, shall be made in accordance with the provisions of Section 64 of the Act, 2013. For the laches on the part of the petitioners which is sought to be agitated before us by the learned Assistant Government Pleader appearing for the State-respondents, we are of the considered view that once the petitioners have been non- Page 6 of 7 Uploaded by BINA SHAH(HC00353) on Tue Jul 29 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Jul 30 00:54:38 IST 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/2834/2025 ORDER DATED: 28/07/2025 undefined suited at the ends of the Special Land Acquisition Officer by passing an illegal order, such an issue cannot be entertained.
With the above, writ petitions stand allowed. No order as to costs.
(SUNITA AGARWAL, CJ ) (D.N.RAY,J) BINA SHAH Page 7 of 7 Uploaded by BINA SHAH(HC00353) on Tue Jul 29 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Jul 30 00:54:38 IST 2025