The court must decide land acquisition reference applications on merits, with limitation issues addressed only after proper issue framing.

ORDER :

1. This civil revision has been preferred by the petitioners/claimants/land owners challenging the order dated 15.12.2023 passed by Additional Judge to the Court of First District Judge, Begamganj, District Raisen in MJC No.51/2023 whereby reference made by the Collector/Land Acquisition Officer, Raisen has been dismissed by the District Judge under Order VII Rule 11 CPC holding it to be barred by limitation.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that award was passed by Land Acquisition Officer (in short ‘LAO’) on 31.12.2013 and after passing of the award by LAO, no notice as required under Section 12(2) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (in short ‘the Act’) was served on the petitioners, therefore, they were not aware of the contents of the award and when the cheques were delivered to the petitioners on 21/25.08.2014, then only they became aware of the award passed by LAO, thereafter they applied for certified copy of the award passed by LAO and made application to the Collector on 28.01.2015 within a period of six months, which was rightly referred by the Collector to the District Judge vide order dated 09.09.2019, with the request to the District Judge to decide the reference.

3. Learned counsel submits that after making reference by the Collector, the Court was bound to decide the reference on merits and not on the question of limitation under Order VII Rule 11(d) CPC, which even otherwise is a mixed question of law and facts, that is beyond the scope of order VII Rule 11 CPC. He submits that District Judge has committed illegality in dismissing the reference as barred by limitation, which was clearly within limitation. With these submissions he prays for allowing the civil revision and for setting aside the impugned order with the further direction to the District Judge to decide the reference application on merits.

4. Learned counsel appearing for respondents/State supports the impugned order and prays for dismissal of the civil revision.

5. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.

6. From the record it is clear that the Collector made reference vide order dated 09.09.2019, thereafter District Judge proceeded to decide the reference by fixing the case for reply and lastly on 28.06.2023 directed the respondents to file reply, but instead of filing reply, the respondents/State on 19.07.2023 filed an application under Order VII Rule 11 CPC read with Section 18(2) of the Act with the prayer of dismissing the reference application as barred by limitation, which was opposed by the petitioners by filing reply to the application. Thereafter, District Judge summoned the original record of LAO and after hearing arguments of the parties, allowed the application under Order VII Rule 11 CPC read with Section 18(2) of the Act by the impugned order dtd.15.12.2023 and dismissed the reference application holding it to be barred by limitation.

7. Relevant provisions regarding making of reference by Collector to the Court and passing of award by the Court, are as under:-

“18. Reference to Court.

(1) 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 the compensation, the persons to whom it is payable, or the apportionment of the compensation among the persons interested.

(2) The application shall state the grounds on which objection to the award is taken:

Provided that every such application shall be made—

(a) if the person making it was present or represented before the Collector at the time when he made his award, within six weeks from the date of the Collector's award;

(b) in other cases, within six weeks of the receipt of the notice from the Collector under section 12, sub-section (2), or within six months from the date of the Collector's award, whichever period shall first expire.

19. Collector's statement