JUDGMENT

1. Heard Mr. Vishnuprasad Lawande, who appears along with Mr. Parimal Redkar for the Appellant and Ms. Sapna Mordekar, learned Additional Government Advocate for the Respondents.

2. This appeal challenges the Judgment and Award dtd. 23/6/2016 in Land Acquisition Case No.3/2015, by which the Reference Court rejected the reference on the ground of limitation. The Reference Court also considered the merits and held that the Appellant made no case for compensation above Rs.7.00 per sq. mtr. as determined by the Land Acquisition Officer (LAO).

3. Mr. Lawande submits that the respondents never raised the limitation issue; therefore, the Reference Court could not have suo moto gone into this issue. Without prejudice, he proposes that the findings recorded by the Reference Court are contrary to the material on record. He submits that the Reference Court has adopted a literal and mechanical construction of the phrase "date of the award" in clause (b) of the proviso to Sec. 18(2) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (said Act). He submits that such a construction is contrary to the law in Raja Harish Chandra Raj Singh vs. Deputy Land Acquisition Officer and Another - AIR 1961 SC 1500 .