Summary
The Supreme Court held that section 28A redetermination depends on the Reference Court’s award under Part III of the Land Acquisition Act, not a fresh three-month period from an appellate judgment under section 54. An appellate court is outside the provision’s defined reference to the original civil court. For a qualifying redetermination proceeding, however, the Collector should await pending higher-court decisions and apply the final modified compensation. The appellant’s claim founded on the High Court judgment was rejected.
Issues
- Whether the three-month application period under section 28A could run from a section 54 appellate judgment.
- How pending appeals affect determination of compensation on a qualifying section 28A application.
Provisions considered
- Section 28A(1), Land Acquisition Act, 1894The trigger is the Reference Court’s Part III award, subject to the statutory exclusion of the pronouncement day and time required to obtain a copy. A section 54 appellate judgment does not itself start a new application period. (¶¶ 2, 3, 5)
Held
- The statutory reference to an award under Part III and the definition of court as the principal civil court of original jurisdiction confined the qualifying award to the Reference Court. Section 54 appeals belong to Part VIII and do not provide an independent section 28A trigger. (¶ 3)
- Where parties have taken the compensation dispute to higher courts, the Collector considering redetermination must await the final decision and award compensation according to the modified higher-court verdict. This concerns disposal and quantum, not a fresh limitation period from that verdict. (¶ 4)
- The appellant sought redetermination based on the High Court’s appellate judgment and was not entitled to that relief. Any entitlement could arise only under section 28A on the Reference Court’s award. (¶¶ 5, 6)
Result
Appeal dismissed without costs; pending applications disposed of. No fresh section 28A entitlement or limitation period arose from the High Court’s section 54 judgment.