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CASE NO.: Appeal (civil)  4424 of 1997

PETITIONER: Orissa Industrial Infrastructure Dev.Ltd. RESPONDENT: Supai Munda & Ors.                                       

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 05/12/2003

BENCH: S.N. VARIAVA & H.K. SEMA         

JUDGMENT: J U D G M E N T

WITH CIVIL APPEAL NO. 9564 of 2003 SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION ( C ) NO. 19869 OF 1997

SEMA,J

       Leave granted in Special Leave Petition (C) No. 19869 of 1997.  

       These two appeals have been preferred against the judgment and order  dated 19th February, 1997 passed by the High Court.  Civil Appeal No. 4424  of 1997 has been preferred by Orissa Industrial Infrastructure Development  Corporation and the appeal arising out of SLP) 19869 of 1997 has been  preferred by the State of Orissa.  Since both the appeals arise out of the  common judgment of the High Court, they are being disposed of by this  common order.           Facts of this case illustrate a classic example as to how the concerned  authority subjugated and suppressed the rights of the illiterate rustic tribal  villagers of far flung area from the madding crowd and coerced them to  accept the price fixed by the concerned authority despite their protest.           The facts of the cases may be briefly recited.  For brevity we are  taking the facts from Civil Appeal No. 4424 of 1997.          The State Government acquired private land in village Gadpur under  Sukinanda Tehsil in the District of Jajpur, Orissa for development of an  integrated industrial complex.  Notification under Sections 4(1) and 17(4) of  the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’) was  issued on 13.7.90.  In the said Notification land comprising Acre 0.65/5   Kadi belonging to respondent No. 1 (contesting respondent) was also  acquired along with other land owners.   Declaration under Section 6 of the  Act was issued on 12.6.91.  The Award under Section 11 of the Act was  passed on 25.7.92.  Notice under Section 12(2) of the Act was issued to the  respondent-claimant on 27.7.92.  An agreement was allegedly entered into  between the State and the land owners on 6.8.92 on the basis of which the  payment of compensation was made on that date, allegedly on the agreed  terms.          From the record it appears that the 1st respondent orally protested as to  the sufficiency of the amount of compensation awarded and wanted to have  his protest recorded but the authority reprimanded him that if any protest or  objection was recorded the amount of compensation would not be paid and  the same would be deposited in the Treasury.  It is alleged that the 1st  respondent being an illiterate tribal person was coerced to receive the  compensation amount without having recorded any protest.  It is also alleged  that the notice under Section 12(2) of the Act was not received by the  respondent.  The 1st respondent, thereafter, preferred an application under  Section 18 of the Act for reference for determining higher compensation by  regd. A.D. on 17.9.92 to the authority and the same was received on 18.9.92.   On 8.12.92, the Land Acquisition Officer declined to refer the application

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under Section 18 of the Act to the competent civil court.  Aggrieved by the  said order, the respondent filed civil revision petition before the High Court.   By  order dated 11.9.95, the High Court disposed of the revision petition by  setting aside the order dated 8.12.92 and directed the Land Acquisition  Officer to re-hear the question of maintainability of the application under  Section 18 of the Act after affording an opportunity of hearing to the 1st  respondent by adducing evidence.  The Land Acquisition Officer, thereafter,  heard the matter afresh and rejected the application by order dated 15.12.95  which has been again set aside by the High Court on revision being preferred  by the respondent herein.           By the impugned order, the High Court directed the authority to send  the reference to the appropriate civil court within a period of one month  from the date of receipt of the order.           We have heard learned counsel for the parties at length.  Two main  contentions have been raised before us: -  (a)     Reference under Section 18 is not maintainable being barred by  limitation; and  (b)     When an Award is made under Section 11(2) of the Act, no  reference can be made under Section 18 of the Act as the same is  barred by proviso to Sub-section 2 of Section 31 of the Act.   Limitation It is undisputed that the Award was made on 25.7.92.  The alleged  agreement was entered into between the authority and the respondent herein  on 6.8.92 and the compensation amount was also paid on 6.8.92.  As already  noticed the application for reference under Section 18 of the Act was sent by  registered post on 17.9.92 and the authority received the same on 18.9.92.   Notice under sub-section 2 of Section 12 of the Act was sent on 27.7.92.   The High Court has dealt with this question elaborately and arrived at the  conclusion that if the period is reckoned from the date of posting of the  application i.e. 17.9.92, the application was filed within 42 days of the  receipt of payment.  It is undisputed that the application was received on  18.9.92.  Therefore, there was only one day’s delay.  Section 18 of the Act prescribes the procedure for reference to court  and provides that every application for reference shall be made -- (a) if the  person making it was present or represented before the Collector at the time  when he made his award, within six weeks from the date of the Collector’s  award; and (b) in other cases, within six weeks of the receipt of the notice  from the Collector under sub-section 2 of Section 12 or within six months  from the date of the Collector’s award, whichever period shall first expire.   In the present case clause (b) is attracted because the 1st respondent was not  present, or represented before the Collector at the time he made his award.  Therefore, notice under sub-section 2 of Section 12 was sent to the  respondent herein on 27.7.92.  It was returned on 29.7.92, said to be after  proper service.  The evidence on record shows that one Supai Gagrai had put  his signatures on the bottom of the notice and received the notice.  The name  of the respondent herein is Supai Munda.  The respondent has denied to have  received the notice.  It is his say that he is an illiterate person and cannot put  his signatures.  This will clearly demonstrate that the respondent herein has  not received the notice under Section 12(2) of the Act personally.  If that is  so, the notice upon the respondent was not duly served.  The contention of  the appellants on this ground, therefore, fails.    Whether reference can be made under Section 18 of the Act when the  Award is allegedly made under Section 11(2) of the Act?   

To answer this question first it will be relevant to consider whether the  Award was made under Section 11 or under Section 11(2) of the Act.  Pursuant to an order of 4th September, 2003 passed by this Court, the  State Government filed a translated copy of the Award dated 25.7.1992  (shown as 25.8.1992 through inadvertence which has been subsequently  corrected as 25.7.1992).  Even otherwise the Award was made on 25.7.1992  is not disputed.  The copy of the Award dated 25.7.1992 is accompanied by  an affidavit dated 12.11.2003 sworn in by Mr.J.K.Das, Advocate on behalf  of the appellants in Civil Appeal arising out of SLP) No. 19869 of 1997.   The Award of 25.7.1992 was clearly passed in a proceeding under Section  11 of the Act.  At the time of the hearing learned counsel for the State,     

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Mr. J.K. Das, also produced an English version of the Award dated 6.8.1992  said to have been passed pursuant to the agreement dated 6.8.1992.  The  subsequent Award dated 6.8.1992 is shown to have been passed under  Section 11(2) of the Act.  We are surprised to note as to how the subsequent  Award dated 6.8.1992 was made pursuant to the alleged agreement made on  6.8.1992.  We smell the rats.  When the Award is made by the Collector  under Section 11 of the Act, the proceedings before him stand terminated as  soon as the Award is made.  The provision of sub-section 2 of Section 11 is  attracted only at any stage of the proceedings before the Collector, that is to  say, if the Collector has not passed the Award under Section 11 of the Act  and the proceedings before him were still subsisting.  In the present case, it  clearly appears from the Award dated 25.7.1992 itself that it was made  under Section 11 of the Act.  The claimant Shri Supai Munda (respondent  herein) has categorically stated that he received the compensation amount  pursuant to the notice under Section 12(2) of the Act, which was issued on  27.7.1992.  That statement remains uncontroverted.  In our view, therefore,  there was no occasion for the learned Collector to have recourse to sub- section (2) of Section 11 of the Act.  There can never be two awards - one  under Section 11 of the Act and another under Section 11(2) of the Act over  the same land acquired.   Before the Land Acquisition Officer, the respondent herein examined  himself as witness No. 1;  Gourang Ch. Jamuda (co-villager) as witness No.  2; and Ramai Munda as witness No. 3.  The respondent-claimant deposed  that he received the compensation amount for his land measuring an area  Acre 0.65/5 Kadi in Mouza Gadpur by putting his thumb impression on the  relevant papers, the contents of which were not explained to him.  He further  stated that the officer told him that unless he put his thumb impression, the  compensation amount would not be paid and the same would be deposited  into the treasury.  The officer further told him that the compensation amount  would not be paid to him if he put objections.  Witness No. 2 has deposed  that he was present at the camp when the claimant received the  compensation amount.  He further deposed that the officer did not explain  about the contents of the paper when the claimant put his thumb impression  on the same.   The officer also said that the compensation amount would not  be paid to the claimant if he would raise objection.  He further deposed that  the claimant then put his thumb impression on the paper out of fear.  The  same is the deposition of witness No. 3.  The appellant has not rebutted the  statements of witness Nos. 1, 2 and 3 by adducing evidence.  The deposition  of witness Nos. 1, 2 and 3, therefore, remain uncontroverted.  Therefore, the  fact that the State Authority coerced the claimant to accept the amount of  compensation fixed by them is established by convincing evidence.  It is also  evidently apparent that the claimant made oral protest as to the sufficiency  of the amount of compensation, which has been cowed down by resorting to  coercive method.   Learned counsel for the appellants stressed to press the proviso to  Section 31(2) of the Act, which provides that the reference under Section 18  of the Act is incapable unless a person has received the compensation  amount under protest.  This benefit will not be available to the appellants in  the present case because, as already noticed, the claimant has received the  compensation under duress.   Learned counsel for the appellants has drawn our attention to the  observations made by the learned Land Acquisition Officer in his order  dated 8.12.92 to the effect that he explained to the respondent the actual  market value of the land on the basis of sale statistics.  He also observed that  the claimant had received the compensation amount without protest.  No  reliance can be placed on the observations made in the judgment and order  dated 8.12.92 inasmuch as the same has been set aside by the High Court by  its order dated 11.9.95.    In the facts and circumstances as alluded above, the judgments in  State of Gujarat & Ors. v. Daya Shamji Bhai & Ors. (1995) 5 SCC 746;  and Ishwarlal Premchand Shah & Ors. v. State of Gujarat & Ors. (1996) 4  SCC 174; relied on by the counsel for the appellants have no relevance on  the facts of this case.  Consequently, the appeals are dismissed.   The court below is directed to proceed to hear the reference  application and dispose it of as quickly as possible, preferably within six

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months from the date of receipt of this order as the matter is pending since  1992.  It is open to the appellants to urge any grounds as are available to  them under law.   Subject to the aforesaid observations, the appeals are dismissed.  No  order as to costs.