ORDER: This is an application for revision under S. 18 (3) of the Land Acquisition Act and is preferred by the Corporation of the City of Nagpur. The application arises out of proceedings taken for the acquisition of a certain area of land from a field Survey No. 163 of Nagpur which belonged to the non-applicant Narendrakumar. The notification under which the acquisition was made was dated 10-8-1955 and the public purpose notified therein was "for construction of road from Chhindwara road to village Takli". In the proceedings before the Land Acquisition Officer, the Corporation was permitted to intervene under the provisions of S. 50 (2) for the purpose of determining the amount of compensation. It appears that after the award was made on 28-4-1956, the Corporation was dissatisfied with the award and, therefore, applied under S. 18 of the Act to the Land Acquisition Officer to make a reference to the Civil Court. The Land Acquisition Officer rejected that application in limine upon the ground, that the applicant Corporation was not a person interested in the compensation within the meaning of S. 18 and was therefore not entitled to move an application for making a reference. This is the order impugned in the present revision.

(2) Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act runs as follows:

"18. (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 persons 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:

Pr|ovided 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 Collectors award;

(b) in other cases, within six weeks of the receipt of the notice from the Collector under S. 12, sub-s. (2), or within six months from the date of the Collectors award whichever period shall first expire."

(3) Section 3 (b) defines "person interested" as follows:

"the expression person interested includes all persons claiming an interest in compensation to be made on account of the acquisition of land under this Act; and a person shall be deemed to be interested in land if he is interested in an easement affecting the land;"

(4) Now, the scheme of the Land Acquisition Act appears to be that in every case of acquisition, it is only the Local Government that can acquire-land, and for every acquisition, compensation has to be paid. A perusal of Part V of the Act indicates that the duty to pay compensation is solely that of the Local Government. Therefore, in the entire proceedings from the time of the issue of the-notification under S. 6 till the payment of compensation, the parties interested in the acquisition are in law the owner of the property and Government who acquires the property.

(5) No doubt, Government acquires property on behalf of an individual company or statutory Corporation. But having regard to the scheme of-

298 Bombay (Prs. 5-12)_[Pr. 1] I.-T. Commr., v. M/s. B. J. Vaidya (Chagla C. J.) A. I. R.

the Act it does not appear that these parties can become parties to the proceedings except to the limited extent indicated in S. 50 (2) of the Land Acquisition Act. Section 50 (2) runs as follows: "In any proceeding held before a Collector or court in such cases the local authority or company concerned may appear and adduce evidence for the purpose of determining the amount of compensation:

Provided that no such local authority or company shall be entitled to demand a reference under S. 18."

(6) The question that arises for consideration, therefore, is whether this limited right given to a local authority or company for whom an acquisition is being made to interven

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