Telangana High Court
Syed Sab vs The State Of Telangana on 7 February, 2022
Bench: A.Abhishek Reddy
THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE A. ABHISHEK REDDY
WRIT PETITION No.23010 of 2021
ORDER:
Heard the learned counsel for the petitioners and the
learned Government Pleader for Land Acquisition for all the
respondents. With their consent, the Writ Petition is disposed
of at the admission stage.
2. This Writ Petition is filed seeking to declare the action of
the respondents in not referring the objections of the
petitioners in respect of the Award No.B/42/87 dated
25.08.1988 passed by the Land Acquisition Officer and
Special Deputy Collector Additional L.A. Unit-I, Singoor
Project, Sangareddy, Medak District, to the District Court,
Medak at Sangareddy.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioners has stated that
though the petitioners have filed the applications under
Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (in short 'the
Act'), within the time, the respondent authorities are not
referring the matter to the Court. Learned counsel has
further stated that once the application is filed under Section
18 of the Act, it is the mandatory duty of the respondent
authorities to refer the same to the Civil Court. In support of
the said contention, the learned counsel has relied on the
judgment of this Court in Smt. Suram Ramakka v. The
District Collector, Karimnagar1.
4. It is apt to refer to Section 18 of the Act, which reads as
under:
"18. Reference to Court. - (1) Any person interested who
has not accepted the award may, by written application
to the Collector, require that the matter be referred by
the Collector for the determination of the Court, whether
his objection be to the measurement of the land, the
amount of the compensation, the person to whom it is
payable, or the apportionment of the compensation
among the persons interested.
(2) The application shall state the grounds on which
objection to the award is taken:
Provided that every such application shall be
made-
(a) if the person making it was present or
represented before the Collector at the time when he
made his award, within six weeks from the date of the
Collector's award;
(b) in other cases, within six weeks of the receipt
of the notice from the Collector under Section 12, sub-
Section (2), or within six months from the date of the
Collector's award, whichever period shall first expire."
5. Admittedly, in the instant case, the petitioners have
made the applications in June, 1988, by invoking Section 18
of the Act, and the same are well within the time stipulated
under Section 2(b) of Section 18 of the Act.
6. This Court as well as the Hon'ble Supreme Court, on
number of occasions, have held that once an application is
1 1993 (1) ALT 695
filed seeking reference within the stipulated time, that would
be sufficient to come to the conclusion that the person who
makes the application was not satisfied with the
compensation and that he received it under protest.
7. Having regard to the above laid proposition of law and
also the fact that the petitioners have made the applications
well within the stipulated time, the writ petition is allowed
with a direction to the respondent authorities to refer the
matter pertaining to the lands of the petitioners covered by
Award No.B/42/1987, dated 25.05.1988, to the Civil Court,
under Section 18 of the Act, within a period of four weeks
from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. On such
reference being made, the Court below shall dispose of the
same as expeditiously as possible, preferably, within a period
of two months thereof, duly putting all the interested parties
on notice and taking into consideration the evidence adduced
by them.
Consequently, miscellaneous petitions pending, if any,
shall stand closed. There shall be no order as to costs.
_________________________
A. ABHISHEK REDDY, J
Date : 07.02.2022
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