Gujarat High Court
Jadeja Pravinsinh Kalubha vs State Of Gujarat on 2 January, 2024
Author: Sunita Agarwal
Bench: Sunita Agarwal
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/12417/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 02/01/2024
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12417 of 2023
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12421 of 2023
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12424 of 2023
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12426 of 2023
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12428 of 2023
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12431 of 2023
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12433 of 2023
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12434 of 2023
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12456 of 2023
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12459 of 2023
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12480 of 2023
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12484 of 2023
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12512 of 2023
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12513 of 2023
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12514 of 2023
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12515 of 2023
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12517 of 2023
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12518 of 2023
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS. JUSTICE SUNITA AGARWAL Sd/-
and
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANIRUDDHA P. MAYEE Sd/-
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NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/12417/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 02/01/2024
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1 Whether Reporters of Local Papers may be allowed No
to see the judgment ?
2 To be referred to the Reporter or not ? No
3 Whether their Lordships wish to see the fair copy No
of the judgment ?
4 Whether this case involves a substantial question No
of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution
of India or any order made thereunder ?
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JADEJA PRAVINSINH KALUBHA
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT
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Appearance:
MR ANAND R PATEL(2424) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
MR VIJAY N RAVAL(2025) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
MR KRUTIK PARIKH AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
NOTICE SERVED BY DS 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 ANIRUDDHA P. MAYEE
Date : 02/01/2024
ORAL JUDGMENT
(PER : HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS. JUSTICE SUNITA AGARWAL)
The issue raised in the above noted writ
petitions is common and as such, they have been heard
and are being decided by this common judgment.
2. The petitioners herein are challenging the
orders of different dates passed by the In-charge Dy.
Collector and Special Land Acquisition Officer,
Gandhidham whereby the applications moved by the
petitioners under Section 64 of the Right to Fair
Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition and
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/12417/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 02/01/2024
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Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 ["Act of
2013" for short] had been rejected on the ground of
limitation, being barred by the time period as
provided under sub-section (2) of Section 64 of the
Act of 2013. It is the stand of the petitioners that
the original award under Section 26 of the Act of
2013 had been passed on 2.7.2015. However, there was
some dispute pertaining to the application of correct
valuation of the lands in question which has been
finally decided with the passing of the modified
award dated 24.11.2017 whereby Factor-2 was applied
with respect to the lands in question belonging to
rural area. The petitioners being aggrieved by the
determination of the compensation under the modified
award dated 24.11.2017 moved applications under
Section 64 of the Act of 2013 which have been
dismissed mechanically on the ground of being beyond
limitation.
3. Mr. Krutik M. Parikh, the learned AGP seeks to
submit that the limitation would run from the date of
the original award i.e. 2.7.2015 and as per the stand
of the respondents, the award dated 24.11.2017 cannot
be treated as an award under Section 26 of the Act of
2013 as it was mere application of Factor-2, on
account of the decision taken by the State
Government.
4. We find inherent fallacy in the argument of the
learned AGP for the simple reason that it is an
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/12417/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 02/01/2024
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admitted fact of the matter that the valuation of the
lands in question under the award dated 2.7.2015 was
modified by applying Factor-2 and modified award
dated 24.11.2017 has been passed. It is trite in law
that an award under the Land Acquisition Act is an
offer given by the State Government to the land
owners for deprivation of their lands. The initial
offer given by the State Government was modified and
as such, the original award dated 2.7.2015 had been
merged in the subsequent modified award dated
24.11.2017. The fact remains that the limitation as
prescribed under sub-section (2) of Section 64 of the
Act of 2013 would run from the date of making of the
modified award which is 24.11.2017.
5. We, thus, find that the competent authority has
erred in law in computing the limitation from the
date of the original award, i.e. 2.7.2015 and in
rejecting the applications under Section 64 of the
Act of 2013. We, therefore, find it a fit case to
interfere. While setting aside the orders impugned
passed by the In-charge Dy. Collector and Special
Land Acquisition Officer, Gandhidham as also the
orders impugned passed by the Presiding Officer, Land
Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement
Authority, Rajkot, we allow the present bunch of writ
petitions with the direction that the Dy. Collector
and Special Land Acquisition Officer, Gandhidham
shall compute the limitation in making the
applications by the petitioners herein under Section
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/12417/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 02/01/2024
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64 of the Act of 2013 from the date of the modified
award i.e. 24.11.2017, and shall refer the matter to
the competent authority strictly in accordance with
the provisions of Section 64 of the Act of 2013, in a
time bound manner, preferably within a period of four
weeks from the date of receipt of this order. Direct
Service is permitted.
Sd/-
(SUNITA AGARWAL, CJ )
Sd/-
(ANIRUDDHA P. MAYEE, J.)
KAUSHIK D. CHAUHAN
