Deputy Collector Land ... vs Kantibhai Saburbhai Patel
2022 Latest Caselaw 7104 Guj

      C/CA/1586/2019                                ORDER DATED: 08/08/2022




            IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

                       R/CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 1586 of 2019

                       In F/FIRST APPEAL NO. 11258 of 2019

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     DEPUTY COLLECTOR LAND ACQUISITION AND REHABILITATION
                           OFFICER
                            Versus
                  KANTIBHAI SABURBHAI PATEL
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Appearance:
MR SHIVAM DIXIT, ASST. GOVERNMENT PLEADER for the Applicant(s)
No. 1,2,3
for the Respondent(s) No. 1.1,1.2,1.3,1.4,1.5,1.6
DECEASED LITIGANT for the Respondent(s) No. 1
MR VIJAY N RAVAL(2025) for the Respondent(s) No. 2
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 CORAM:HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE SONIA GOKANI
       and
       HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HEMANT M. PRACHCHHAK

                       Date : 08/08/2022
                        ORAL ORDER

(PER : HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE SONIA GOKANI)

1. This is an application seeking condonation of delay of 384 days in filing the appeal. The applicants are the original appellants who are aggrieved by the judgment and award dated 10.11.2017 passed by the learned Principal Senior Civil Judge, Lunawada, District: Mahisagar in Land Reference Case Nos. 446 to 452 of 2017.

2. This delay of 384 days is on account of the reasons mentioned in the said application by giving chronological details. This Court issued rule on 19.06.2019. Learned advocate Mr. Vijay Raval appeared for the respondents who has not objected to the grant of this application.

C/CA/1586/2019 ORDER DATED: 08/08/2022

3. We have heard learned Assistant Government Pleader Mr. Shivam Dixit who has urged this Court that there is a requirement of the opinion of the Government Pleader after getting the certified copy of the judgment and award. Thereafter the matter had gone to the Superintending Engineer, Ahmedabad Irrigation Project who tendered the proposal which was received by the concerned department on 20.04.2018 whereby the matter was put up for granting approval before the Land Acquisition Committee on 27.04.2018. Thereafter, the State Government through Narmada Water Resources, Water Supply and Kalpsar Department gave permission on 30.04.2018 to place the matter before the Land Acquisition Committee. The Committee approved on 21.05.2018. The department on the basis thereof had taken the decision on 13.06.2018 to place the matter before the Revenue and Legal Department for further approval. It further emerges that such a permission was granted on 30.06.2018 for preferring an appeal with an instruction to file it before the Legal Department for further approval and the Legal Department gave it on 05.07.2018.

3.1. The instruction thereafter had been forwarded to the Superintending Engineer on 12.07.2018 to contact the office of Government Pleader to initiate the further procedure. The file had been received by the learned Government Pleader on 01.07.2018. The office of Government Pleader send a fax on 20.07.2018 for supply of certified copy and thereafter on 08.10.2018 the certified copy had been provided to the office

C/CA/1586/2019 ORDER DATED: 08/08/2022

of the Government Pleader and hence, the matter had gone for drafting on 07.01.2019 and the draft was sent for the approval. After completing the entire chain, since the appeal has been filed, the delay of 384 days has been caused.

4. Noticing the fact that these are various necessary steps which have taken the matter to the various departments and that eventually had delayed the entire process by 384 days, which have been specifically and elaborately explained. Although, these administrative delays are not required to be in a routine manner overlooked nor are the government department immunized from explaining the delay whenever occurs. Having found sufficiency in explanation of delay and again when other side not having seriously objected to the same, the delay of 384 days is condoned. The Civil Application is allowed accordingly.

(SONIA GOKANI, J)

(HEMANT M. PRACHCHHAK,J) Bhoomi