Once the Award is made after the approval, the same becomes final and the said Award cannot be touched by the Collector, or even by the appropriate Government.
Correction of clerical errors-Limitation -The Collector has no power to correct the clerical error after the expiry of six months.

1. This judgement shall dispose of the aforesaid 13 writ petitions, which have been filed by the various land-owners, whose land was acquired by the State of Punjab vide notification dated 18-6-1991, issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (hereinafter referred to as the Act ). In all the petitions, the following common question of law has been raised :

"Whether the Land Acquisition Collector has the power/jurisdiction to modify the Award made by him under Section 11 of the Act by reducing the amount of compensation awarded by making a fresh /supplementary Award after the period of two years prescribed under Section 11-A of the Act?

2. The State of Punjab, vide notification dated 18-6-1991 issued under Section 4 of the Act, had acquired 567 Kanals 1 Marla of land of village Malikpur, which was owned by various land owners including the petitioners, for the purpose of construction of Hydel Channel of S. Y. L. Ropar Power House. On the acquired land, various super-structures and fruit trees were existing. On 3-7-1992, notification under Section 6 of the Act was issued. Thereafter, notices under Section 9 of the Act were issued by the Land Acquisition Collector-respondent No.3 to the various land owners, including the petitioners. Pursuant to the said notice, the petitioners and other land-owners submitted their respective claim for the land, super-structures and fruit trees standing on the acquired land.

3. The Land Acquisition Collector, after holding an enquiry and after obtaining the assessment from the Horticulture Department regarding the fruit trees, submitted the draft Award to the appropriate Government for approval under Section 11 of the Act. In the said draft Award, value of the fruit bearing trees standing on the acquired land of all the land owners was assessed as Rs. 21,15,763.30, on the basis of the report of the Director, Horticulture, Punjab. The Financial Commissioner approved the draft Award vide his office letter No. 1/84/94/LR-1/4316, dated 4-7-1994, in which it was specifically stated that "the price assessed by the technical Department for Tubewells, structures, trees are approved."

4. After the receipt of the letter approving the draft Award, the Land Acquisition Collector made Award No. 1 dated 4-7-1994, copy of which has been annexed with the petition as Annexure P-1. This Award was pronounced within the period of two years as envisaged under Section 11-A of the Act. This prescribed period was going to expire on 6-7-1994. The assessment of the fruit trees was made as Rs. 21,15,763.30. In the final Award, Annexure P-1, a clause was added that the amount assessed on account of fruit trees will be made to the land owners after spot verification. If the number of fruit trees is found less than the number of assessed fruit trees, then proportionate value of compensation will be reduced.

5. When the petitioners went to collect the amount of compensation as per the Award Annexure P-1, they were disbursed the amount of compensation only on account of the cost of the land and super-structures, but no compensation was disbursed to them on account of cost of the fruit trees. Subsequently, on 19-10-1995, after the expiry of more than one year of the making of the Award, Annexure P-1, the Land Acquisition Collector issued a modified Award, copy of which has been annexed with the petition as Annexure P-3. In this modified Award, the compensation on account of fruit trees was reduced from Rs. 21,15,763.30 to Rs. 14,25,153.26, while stating that in Award No.1 dated 4-7-1994, the assessment of Rs. 21,15,763.30 for fruit trees standing on the acquired land was made on the basis of the report of Director, Horticulture, Punjab dated 9-6-1994 and in the said Award, it was specifically stated that payment of compensation on account of fruit trees will be made after spot verification of the trees, and if the number of fruit trees is found less than the number of assessed fruit trees, then proportionat