Gujarat High Court
Judgename :S.K.Keshote
Executive Engineer - Appellant
Versus
Special Land Acquisition Officer - Respondent
C.A. 5250 of 1998
Decided On : 09/23/1999
In the matter of arriving at the figure of just, adequate and reasonable compensation to be awarded to the claimants some time the reference Court and even appellate Court has to make some guess work or some time there may be some arbitrariness in arriving at the figure.
[Para 6]
(b) Limitation Act, 1963 - Sec. 5 - After set off of summer vacation appeals were still time barred - No explanation for delay - Delay not condoned.
The appeals were prepared before starting of the summer vacation, but still the same have not been presented. The office has given set off of 36 days, i.e. the period of vacation to the appellants, and still thereafter the appeals are barred by 38 days.
[Para 7]
(c) Court Fee and Suit Valuation Act - Time barred appeal filed without requisite Court fee stamps - No application for extention of time to make deficiency of Court fee stamp.
These appeals were filed beyond limitation and still requisite Court fees has not been paid. Not only this, these appeals were not properly presented on the day on which the same were filed.
The appellants have not filed application for extension of time to make good the deficiency of Court fee stamp on the memo of these appeals. More than two months time has expired after presentation of these appeals. Still the appellant has not cared to make good of deficiency of Court fee. The judgment has been delivered by the reference Court in the month of November, 1997. These appeals have been filed in the month of June, 1998. These appeals has come up for orders before this Court on 21st August, 1998. Though this long period was there, still the appeals have been filed on Court fee stamp of Rs. 5/- and the deficit has not been made till date. If the appeals are not presented on requisite and proper Court fees and deficit thereof has also not been made good within reasonable time with permission of the Court, on this ground also the same deserves to be dismissed.
[Para 8]
( 1 ) AS these first appeals and civil application filed therein arise from the common judgment and award of the 2nd Extra Assistant Judge, Kheda at Nadiad, passed in group of Land Reference Cases No. 981/91 to 991/91, decided on 27th November, 1997, and further, as these matters arise out of one and same land acquisition, same are taken up for hearing together and are being disposed of by this common order.
( 2 ) BEFORE taking up these matters for consideration, I find that Civil Application No. 5264 of 1998 is not an application with prayer to condone delay caused in filing of the appeal. This civil application is filed in the first appeal No. 3044 of 1998 arising out of first reference Case No. 980/91 and prayer has been made therein for stay of the execution, operation and implementation of the award of the reference Court. Civil application No. 5250/98 is the application which has been filed by the appellants for condonation of delay caused in filing of First Appeal No. 3044/98 arising out of land reference case No. 980/91. So that is the mistake which is there in the record of these civil applications, and placing of the same in the file. If we go by these facts, then Civil application No. 5250/98 has to be numbered as 5264/98 and Civil Application No. 5264/98 should have been numbered as 5250/98. These facts have been mentioned only to point out how casually and mechanically matters are being taken and dealt with by the registry of this Court. However, from the record I find that in all these appeals there are civil applications for condonation of delay and for stay of execution of the decree. Ignoring this wrong registration of civil application as aforesaid, I proceed to consider these matters on merits.
( 3 ) THE aware in this case has been passed on 27th November, 1997 and these appeals are presented in this Court on 15th June 1998. Office has reported that these appeals are barred by 38 days. The office has pointed out another objection that proper and full Court fees is not paid on memo. This is another set of appeals where the same have not only been presented beyond limitation, but only a Court fees stamp of Rs. 5 has been affixed on the memo of these appeals. This way of filing of appeals in the High Court, which is a court of record, by the State of Gujarat is nothing but as if throwing waste papers to the dust bin. What the State of Gujarat has considered this Court is clearly borne out from the manner in which they are presenting appeals in this Court.
( 4 ) THE land of the respondents- claimants has been acquired for public purpose by the appellants. The lands are situated in village Mulaj, Taluk Nadiad District Kheda. These lands have been acquired for Khumarvad Vishakha of Mahi Canal, Thasra Division. Section 4 notification was published on 15th October, 1998; whereas Sec. 6 notification was published on 11. 9. 1989. The award has been passed by the Land Acquisition Officer on 26th December, 1990, and compensation was awarded at the rate of Rs. 375/- per Are. Considering this amount of compensation awarded to the claimants-repondents to be inadequate, on their request reference have been made to the Civil Court. Under the impugned order the Civil Court has awarded compensation to the claimants respondents at the rate of Rs. 1118/- per Are. Hence these appeals before this Court by the appellants.
( 5 ) AS these appeals are barred by limitation, application have been filed praying for condonation of the delay. Another set of civil application have been filed for stay of the execution of the award made by the learned reference Court. The learned reference Court has passed the impugned award relying on its previous awad in Land Acquisition reference Case No. 955/93 decided in the year 1998. One of the claimants in these matters has been examined as witness. The reference Court found that as a matter of fact village Devapura is adjoining to village Mulaj, and the lands of these two villages a
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