0.09396406608710295 IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 2434 of 2026 [Reasoned Order]

With R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 2743 of 2026 ======================================

PATEL RAMILA @ SHANTA KALIDAS & ORS.

Versus PRANT OFFICER,DABHOI & ORS.

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Appearance:

MR MAULIK NANAVATI, ADVOCATE with MS MANVI DAMLE, ADVOCATE for NANAVATI & CO.(7105) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1,10,11,12,13,14,15,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 MS MAITHILI MEHTA, ASSISTANT GOVERNMENT PLEADER for the Respondent(s) No. 1 MS PRUTHA BHAVSAR, ADVOCATE for MR ANKIT SHAH(6371) for the Respondent(s) No. 3 ======================================

CORAM:HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS.

JUSTICE SUNITA AGARWAL and HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE D.N.RAY Date : 17/03/2026 ORAL JUDGMENT (PER : HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS.

JUSTICE SUNITA AGARWAL)

1. As both the above noted writ petitions raise a common legal and factual issues and hence they have been heard together and are being decided by this common judgment with the consent of the learned Counsel for the parties.

2. The facts in brief are that the above noted two writ petitions have been filed raising common legal issues with regard to the validity of two separate awards dated 29.09.2025 in Land Acquisition Case No.2 of 2025 and in Land

0.09396406608710295 Acquisition Case No.13 of 2025, which have been termed as review awards in the matters of acquisition of agricultural lands in Village Tarsana, Taluka Dabhoi, District Vadodara for “Special Railway Project” by the Central Government.

3. The petitioners in the aforesaid two writ petitions claim to be owners / landholders of the lands which were subject to acquisitions by two separate notifications dated 24.10.2023 and 28.11.2024 published under Section 20A of the Railways Act, 1989 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’ 1989’), acquiring the lands-in-question for completion of “Gauge Conversion of Dabhoi Samalaya (46.45 kms) including Samalaya Railway flyover bridge (8.40 kms) and Lotana bypass line (7.55 kms).

4. It is submitted that by the notification dated 28.02.2023 of the Central Government, published in the official gazette on 01.03.2023, the aforesaid project has been declared “Special Railway Project”, leading to conducting acquisition proceedings under the Railways Act’ 1989. The acquisitions for the land of Village Tarsana, Taluka Dabhoi, District Vadodara were made in two phases by the aforesaid notifications, which were finalised with the notifications dated 18.10.2024 and 20.03.2025 published under Section 20E of the Act’ 1989. With the said declaration, the lands in question vested with the Central Government.

5. The competent authority determined the compensation payable for the lands in question vide awards dated

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21.07.2025 and 31.07.2025 with regard to the aforesaid two acquisition notifications. However, the awards dated 21.07.2025 and 31.07.2025 have been revised by making new awards dated 29.09.2025. The revised awards dated 29.09.2025 are subject matter of challenge in the present set of writ petitions on the ground that revision of the land acquisition award by the competent authority is impermissible in law, inasmuch as, with the declaration of the awards, the competent authority became functus officio and has been left with no power or authority to make any changes in the award on the premise that the computation of the market value with respect to the lands covered under the award was wrong.

6. To substantiate this argument, reliance is placed upon the decisions of this Court in Special Civil Application No.14679 of 2018 [Angan Villa Cooperative Housing Society Vs. State of Gujarat] and Special Civil Application No. 6034 of 2015 [Jyoti Warehousing Vs. State of Gujarat]. Placing the Division Bench judgments of this Court in the aforesaid matters, it was vehemently argued by Mr. Maulik G. Nanavati, learned Counsel for the petitioners in the abovenoted writ petitions that review is a cr