Land Acquisition Officer / ... vs Kalubhai Sufrabhai Parmar
2021 Latest Caselaw 9932 Guj

       C/CA/1030/2021                                 ORDER DATED: 29/07/2021




             IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

                        R/CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 1030 of 2021

                        In F/FIRST APPEAL NO. 11097 of 2021

==========================================================
         LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER / REHABILITATION OFFICER
                               Versus
                   KALUBHAI SUFRABHAI PARMAR
==========================================================
Appearance:
MR. MANRAJ BAROT, ASSISTANT GOVERNMENT PLEADER(1) for the
Applicant(s) No. 1,2,3
RULE SERVED(64) for the Respondent(s) No. 1
==========================================================

     CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE N.V.ANJARIA

                                  Date : 29/07/2021

                                   ORAL ORDER

Though served with the Rule, none appears for the respondents.

2. Heard learned Assistant Government Pleader Mr. Manraj Barot for the applicant State and its authorities.

3. What is prayed by filing present Civil Application is to condone the delay of 378 days which has taken place in preferring the First Appeal against the judgment and award of the Reference Court.

4. Explaining the delay, it is stated that after judgment and award was pronounced by the Reference Court, certified copy was applied on 30.11.2018. Thereafter, the opinion was solicited from the District Government Pleader and upon receipt of such opinion, the papers were sent to the Sub-divisional Office. They were further transmitted through the Divisional Authority and the State Government. After the State Government received the necessary proposal, the file was further

C/CA/1030/2021 ORDER DATED: 29/07/2021

processed and the proposal of preferring was placed before the committee headed by the Chief Engineer. The file further traveled through different departments in the decision making process. Ultimately, the Legal Department granted approval and thereafter the case papers were sent to the Government Pleader's office at High Court to prefer the appeal.

5. Delay is of 378 days. Looking to the aspect that the applicant is State and consumption of time was inherent in administrative process, sufficient cause could be said to have been made out. At the same time, the passage of time could have been curtailed with more diligence. The delay can be said to be large. Therefore, even while condoning the delay, in order to balance the interest, a token cost of Rs. 750/- deserves to be imposed on the applicants.

6. This application is accordingly allowed by condoning the delay of 378 days which has occurred in preferring the First Appeal, however, on the condition that the applicant State shall pay cost of Rs. 750/- by depositing amount with the Gujarat High Court Legal Aid Committee within six weeks.

7. This application accordingly stands disposed of. Rule is made absolute as above.

(N.V.ANJARIA, J) C.M. JOSHI