JUDGMENT

Choor Singh (Commissioner of Appeals) J:

This is an interlocutory application made by the appellants under regulation 8 of the Land Acquisition (Appeals Board) Regulations 1967 for "permission to proceed with the appeal herein by virtue of s. 23(3) of the Act notwithstanding that the notice of appeal was not lodged within the time limited therefor."

The facts of this case are simple and are not in dispute but in order to fully appreciate the merits of this application which is in the nature of a test case it is necessary to set out the facts in some detail. The appellants are the legal personal representatives of the late Tan Chwee Boon who was the registered owner of Lot 100-10 pt. of Mukim III containing an area of 7,875 square feet (hereinafter referred to as "the land"). On the 12th November, 1965, there was published in the Government Gazette a declaration made under s. 5 of the Land Acquisition Ordinance (Cap. 248) to the effect that the land was required by Government for a public purpose. Proceedings for the acquisition of the land were taken in due course and the Collector of Land Revenue held the usual inquiry in compliance with the provisions of s. 10 of the La