The Collector is bound to make a reference to the Court under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act if the conditions are fulfilled, and he has no discretion to refuse to do so.

Judgement

MISRA, J. :- The petitioners are some of the residents of village Komapalli within the Municipality of the Berhampur town. The deity Shri Baidyanadheswaraswami, installed in that village, owned some lands which were the subject-matter of a land acquisition proceeding conducted by opposite party No. 1 as Collector under the Land Acquisition Act (1 of 1894). Before opposite party No. 1, the petitioner, amongst some other villagers, claimed to be entitled to the compensation on behalf of the deity, whereas opposite party No. 2 was the rival claimant. The Land Acquisition Collector, after an elaborate enquiry, decided in favour of opposite party No. 2 and against the petitioners.

The petitioners, on the very day the award was passed, filed a petition under S. 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, requiring a reference of the matter for determination of the Court (Court of the District Judge). The Collector rejected the petition observing :

"After making due enquiry under Ss. 9 and 10 of the L. A. Act, I came to the finding that these objectors (petitioners and other members of the party) are not persons interested in this property under acquisition. Therefore the question of making a reference to Civil Court on the requisition of these objectors does not arise."

The Collector also rejected the petitioners incidental prayer to withhold payment of compensation under the award to opposite party No. 2. It is against the aforesaid order of the Collector that the present writ petition has been filed by the petitioners. One of the prayers in the writ petition was to stay payment of compensation to opposite party No. 2 or direct payment thereof on terms and any remedy on that score has now become infructuous, since the compensation has long since been paid.

The other prayer is to set aside the order or the Collector under S. 18 of the Land Acquisition Act refusing to make a reference, and to issue him a direction to make the required reference. Incidentally, it may be noted that though in the body of the writ petition this was the main grievance of the petitioners, in the prayer portion of the petition, the relief sought on that score was not quite explicit, and so the petitioners learned counsel was allowed, at the time of hearing, to clearly state the relief prayed for.

2. It may be noted at the outset that if a Collector declines to make a reference under S. 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, there is no provision in the Act to compel him to do so, and so the petitioners are entitled to any appropriate remedy in a writ petition. It was held in Samanta Radha v. Province of Orissa, AIR 1952 Orissa 98 :

"It is fairly well settled now that an order passed by the Collector, while acting under the Land Acquisition Act is not an order of a Court subordinate to this High Court and that his order is not open to revision under S. 115, C.P.C. Under Art. 227 of the Constitution, however, the High Court has got the power of superintendence over all Courts and Tribunals within its jurisdiction and the Collector, exercising his powers under the Land Acquisition Act, is such a Tribunal. Where, therefore, an order of the Collector refusing to make a reference to the Court of district Judge under S. 18(1) of the Land Acquisition Act is manifestly opposed to law and results in great injustice to a party, it is incumbent on the High Court to rectify the mistake and to afford relief to the party under Art. 227 of the Constitution."

3. Now coming to the merits of the case, S. 18 of the Land Acquisition Act provides that 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 compensation, the persons to whom it is payable, or the apportionment of the compensation among the persons interested. Section 18 further provides that the application so made shall state the