Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan, J.

1. What is the remedy of a person considering himself aggrieved by the decision of the principal civil court of original jurisdiction on a reference of a dispute as to apportionment, to that court under Section 3H(4) of the National Highways Act, 1956.

2. The Registry has objected to this appeal instituted under Section 96 of the Code of Civil Procedure, for short, ‘CPC’, by one of the parties to such a reference. Heard the learned counsel for the appellants, the learned counsel for the National Highways Authority and the learned Senior Government Pleader.

3. Sub-section 3 of Section 3H of the aforesaid Act, hereinafter called, the ‘NH Act’, provides that where several persons claim to be interested in the amount deposited under sub-section (1), the competent authority shall determine the persons who in its opinion are entitled to receive the amount payable to each of them. Sub-section (4) provides that if any dispute arises as to the apportionment of the amount or any part thereof or to any person to whom the same or any part thereof is payable, the competent authority shall refer the dispute to the decision of the principal civil court