Varghese vs District Collector

Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan, J.—Petitioner''s land was acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894; hereinafter, the "Act". The second respondent Special Tahsildar, the Land Acquisition Officer for that acquisition in terms of Rule 2(iv) of the Land Acquisition (Kerala) Rules, 1990, hereinafter, the "Kerala Rules", for short, issued Ext.Pl notice dated 4.10.2007, in Form No. 10(b) under Rule 13(1) of those Rules. Ext.P2 application of the petitioner u/s 18 of the Act was addressed to the first respondent, District Collector and delivered in his office on 30.10.2007. Is that application to be entertained by the second respondent, Land Acquisition Officer ?

Section 18(1) of the Act provides that any person interested, may, by written application to the Collector, require the matter to be referred by the Collector for determination of the Court. The time limit fixed as per provisos (a) and (b) of Sub-section (2) of Section 18, are also made dependant on the actions of the Collector as stated therein. Section 3(c) of the Act provides that the expression ''Collector'' means the Collector of a District, and includes a Deputy Commissioner and any officer specifically appointed by the appropriate Government to perform the functions of a Collector under the Act.

"Land Acquisition Officer", as defined in Rule 2(iv) of the Kerala Rules, refers to the category of officers who are appointed u/s 3(c) of the Act to perform the functions of a Collector. While Rule 13(1) of the Kerala Rules and the manner in which Form No. 10(b) is couched may tend to indicate that the Land Acquisition Officer, discharging the functions of the Collector, is the appropriate authority to be approached u/s 18(1) of the Act, there is nothing under the Act or the Kerala Rules which denudes a person interested, from making his application u/s 18(1) of the Act to the Collector of a District, where the land under acquisition is situated.

Even if it may be possible to point out that propriety demands such application be filed before a Land Acquisition Officer, if there is at least one such officer, who is appointed in terms of Section 3(c) of the Act, read with Rule 2(iv) of the Kerala Rules, the law relating to land acquisition cannot be construed, in any manner, excluding the consideration of applications u/s 18(1), if they are filed before the District Collector, having regard to the definition of Collector in Section 3(c) of the Act.

For the aforesaid reasons, the impugned Ext.P6 rendered by the Land Acquisition Officer taking the view that the application u/s 18(1) of the Act ought to have reached him before the time limit fixed in the proviso to Section 18(2) of the Act is illegal and in excess of jurisdiction. That is hence liable to be set aside.

In the result, Ext.P6 is set aside and it is declared that the petitioner''s Ext.P2 application for reference u/s 18 of the Act, is within time. The second respondent is directed to act on that application and make reference accordingly. Writ Petition is thus allowed. No costs.