The receipt of payment must be under protest, and the protest must precede or be simultaneous with the receipt of payment, as required by the second proviso to Section 33(2) of the Kerala Land Acquisition Act 1961.

The petitioners in these eight cases are members of a divided Marumakkathavam tarwad whose lands were acquired by the Land Acquisition Officer and Special Deputy Collector (Land Acquisition Fertilisers cum Petro Chemical Complex Ambalamedu for the purpose of the Cochin Division of the Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited as per awards No. 29 and 30 dated 15-6-1979 Notices dated 28-6-1971 of the awarded were sent to all the petitioners, requiring them to appear before the Land Acquisition Officer to receive the compensation awarded to them on 8-7-1971. Of the said date, all of them appeared either it person or through representatives and received the amount awarded to them 11 is stated that on the same day all of them prepared applications requiring the Land Acquisition Officer to refer the cases under Section 20 of the Kerala Land Acquisition Act 1961 to the appropriate court for adjudication of their claim for enhanced compensation. The applications were sent by registered Post on 9-7-1971 and they were received by the Land Acquisition Officer on 10-7-1971. The Land Acquisition Officer rejected the applications on the ground that they were not maintainable the amounts awarded were received by the petitioners without protest. These petitions have been filed to quash the orders of the Land Acquisition Officer and compel him to refer the cases to the appropriate court for adjudication.

2. The impugned orders are based on the second proviso to Sub-Section (2) of Section 33 of the Act. It is necessary to read Sub-Sections (1) and (2) of this Section for appreciating the contentions hi this case :-

"33 Payment of compensation or deposit of the same in Court :- (1) On making an award under Section 11 or Section 16. the Collector shall tender payment of the compensation awarded by him to the person interested entitled thereto according to the award and shall pay it to them unless prevented by any one or more of the contingencies mentioned in Sub-Section (2).

(2) If they do not consent to receive it or if there be no person competent to alienate the land, or if there be any dispute as to the title to receive the compensation or as to the apportionment of it, the Collector shall deposit the amount of the compensation in the Court to which a preference under Section 20 would be submitted.

Provided that any person admitted to be interested may receive such payment under Protest as to the sufficiency of the amount.

Provided further that no person who has received the amount otherwise than under protest shall be entitled to make any application under Section 20 :

Provided also that nothing herein contained shall affect the liability of any person, who may receive the whole or any part of any compensation awarded under this Act to pay the same to the person lawfully entitled thereto."

The only controversy is whether the petitioners, who admittedly received cheques for the amounts awarded in their favour on 8-7-1971, did so under protest if they did not receive the amount otherwise than under protest they will not be entitled to apply for reference. It is not necessary that the protest should be recorded in the receipt passed by the person who receives the payment. But it is clear from the relevant statutory provision that the receipt of payment must be under protest in other words, the protest must precede the receipt of payment or at least it must be simultaneous with the receipt of payment. It is not a requirement of the Statute that the protest must be in writing. But the person applying for the reference must establish that the receipt of payment was under protest. In all these cases, the petitioners have alleged that they had orally protested against the adequacy of the compensation awarded to them, before the payments were received. But that allegation is denied, and there is nothing to establish that alienation. The applications made for reference do not contain such an averment. On the other hand, the receipts given by the