( 1 ) THIS is a reference under Section 113 of the Civil Procedure Code made by the Improvement trust Tribunal, Banaras. The circumstances in which the reference is made can be stated shortly.

( 2 ) UNDER Section 3 of the U. P. Town Improvement Act, 1919, a statutory body known as The banaras Improvement Trust was created for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of that act. The Trust was authorised to frame improvement schemes to provide for a number of matters, including schemes known as street schemes for the purpose, inter alia, of improving existing means of communication and facilities of traffic. Under Section 56 of the Act the Trust was further empowered, with the previous sanction of the State Government, to acquire land under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, as modified by the Town Improvement act for the purpose of giving effect to an improvement scheme. Section 57 required a Tribunal to be constituted for the purpose of performing the functions of the court in reference to the acquisition of land for the Trust under the Land Acquisition Act, and the Tribunal which has made the present reference was a Tribunal so constituted.

( 3 ) IN May 1951 the State Government sanctioned an improvement scheme which had been prepared by the Banaras Improvement Trust. This scheme involved the widening of a road in varanasi, and for the purpose of carrying the scheme into eltect the Trust, with the previous sanction of the State Government, acquired a number of pieces of land and certain buildings which abutted on the existing road. Included among such properties was a strip of land averaging 76 feet wide covering an area of 1. 41 acres which belonged to the applicants. By an order dated 25-9-1952 the Land Acquisition Officer awarded the applicants the sum of Rs. 21,349-6-7 as compensation for the strip of land acquired from them and for a building standing on part thereof. The applicants did not accept this award and required a reference to be made to the tribunal under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act,

( 4 ) THE compensation awarded by the Land acquisition Officer to the applicants had been determined in accordance with the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act as modified by the schedule to the Town Improvement Act. For our purpose the important modification is that made by Sub-clause (3) of Clause 10 of the Schedule which, so far as is material, provides that at the end of Section 23 of the Land Acquisition Act the following shall be deemed to be added, namely: " (3) For the purposes of clause first of Subsection (1) of this section (a) the market value of the land shall be the market value according to the use to which the land was put at the date with reference to which the market value is to be determined under that clause. " the effect of this amendment is to exclude the potential value of the land acquired when determining its market value which is calculated with reference only to the use to which the land is put on the relevant date.

( 5 ) IT was contended by the applicants before the Tribunal that this sub-clause contravened the provisions of Article 14 of the Constitution and was invalid. The Tribunal was of opinion that this contention ought to be upheld and it has accordingly made this reference.

( 6 ) A preliminary objection had been taken to the hearing of this reference. It is that the Tribunal is not a court within the meaning of the Code of Civil Procedure and was accordingly not competent to state a case under Section 113 of that Code. We think there is no force in this objection, Section 57 of the Town Improvement Act provides that a Tribunal shall be constituted for the purpose ot performing the functions of the court in reference to the acquisition of land for the Trust under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and Clause (a) of Section 58 provides that the tribunal shall, except for the purposes of Section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act with which we are not concerned, be deemed to

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