ORDER :

1) By this writ application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the writ applicant has prayed for the following reliefs;

“(A) To issue a writ of certiorari or a writ of mandamus or any other writ or order directing the respondent to forward the reference of the petitioner made under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 to the civil court forthwith, as Annex-C.

(B) To pass any other appropriate order/direction that may be deemed just and necessary in the interest of justice.”

2) Fact, in brief, giving rise to the filing of the present writ application may be summarized as under;

2.1) The respondent initiated proceedings under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short ‘the Act’) vide LAQ Case No.03 of 2023 and acquired various parcels of land of village Padardi, Taluka: Ranavav, District: Porbandar for the public purpose of Karli Reservoir. After completing the procedure prescribed under the Act, the respondent declared a common award in respect to all acquired survey numbers under Section 11 of the Act on 28.02.2006 in the absence of the writ applicant-claimant.

2.2) Thereafter, an undated notice under Section 12(2) of the Act was issued by the respondent and sent by post to the land owners informing them about declaring the award under Section 11 of the Act by him. The said notice was duly served to the writ applicant and other land owners wherein they were informed to be present before the respondent on 11.07.2006.

2.3) The writ applicant and other land owners remained present before the respondent on 11.07.2006. As the notice did not accompany copy of the award declared by the respondent, the writ applicant asked for the copy of the award. Accordingly, the respondent on 10.08.2006, supplied copy of the award and the writ applicant received it on the same day.

2.4) As the amount awarded to the writ applicant and other land losers being meagre, the writ applicant being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the award, along with other land owners sought references under Section 18 of the Act and the same were presented in the office of the respondent on 11.09.2006, i.e, within 42 days of the receipt of the award as per the law.

2.5) Upon inquiry, it is found that the respondent has not forwarded the reference filed by the writ applicant and other land owners to the concerned civil court till even 2024. Thereafter, the writ applicant and other land owners, through their advocate, made an application dated 13.09.2024 to the respondent informing that reference filed against his award has not been forwarded to the civil court, and if any order in that respect is passed, to supply copy thereof.

2.6) Thereafter, as no reply was received, the writ applicant made an inquiry through his advocate with the Registry of the concerned civil court regarding registration of his reference, however, to the utter shock and surprise of the writ applicant, he learnt that no reference of any of the land losers is forwarded to the civil court by the respondent even after the application dated 13.09.2024.

2.7) Being aggrieved, the writ applicant is here before this Court with the present writ application.

3) Learned advocate Mr. Nitin Amin appearing for the writ applicant submits that the issue involved in the present application lies in a very narrow compass. He submits that the land of the writ applicant was acquired by the State Government along with other parcels of land of other land owners for the public purpose of Karli Reservoir. Then, arter completing due procedure, a common award was declared by the acquiring body under Section 11 of the Act in the absence of the writ applicant. Learned advocate Mr. Amin further submits that the writ applicant as well as the other land owners were informed about passing of the award vide an undated notice issued under Section 12(2) of the Act, which was duly served to the writ applicant, and accordingly, the writ applicant also remained present before the respondent-authority on 11.07.2006. He subm