IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) FRIDAY, THE EIGHTEENTH DAY OF JULY, TWO THOUSAND EIGHT ONLY PRESENT: THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION No.12725 of 2000 Between: Hazarath Nazurullah Sha Saheb Darga Managing Committee, (Regd. No.234/76) D.No.9/653, Mydukur Road, Proddatur, reptd., by Haji T.S.Mahaboob Hussain, H.No.23/352, Muslimpura Mosque Street, Proddatur, Cuddapah District. … Petitioner And The District Collector, Cuddapah District and another. … Respondents Counsel for the petitioners: Sri Khasim Khan. Counsel for respondents: AGP for Land Acquisition. This Court made the following: ORDER: This Writ Petition is filed for a Writ of Mandamus to declare the action of the respondents in not paying enhanced compensation for the lands admeasuring Ac.0.43 cents and Ac.0.57 cents comprised in Survey No.561/2 and 561/3A of Proddatur village, Cuddapah District, as illegal and arbitrary. The petitioner is the owner of the above mentioned property, which was acquired in the year 1982 by the respondents and Award No.1/82 dated 5- 11-1982 was passed fixing Rs.375/- per cent as compensation. The petitioner received the compensation amount of Rs.43,125/- under demand draft dated 8-12-1992. Some of the landowners covered by the said Award approached the Court of the Subordinate Judge, Proddatur by way of references, which were registered as O.P.Nos.58 and 86 of 1988. The said O.Ps., were disposed of by the said Court on 26-10-1992 by enhancing the compensation to Rs.1.00 lakh per acre. Appeal No.1236 of 1993 filed against the said Award of the Civil Court was disposed of by this Court on 23-2-1999 by reducing the amount of compensation to Rs.65,000/- per acre. The petitioner made a representation on 25-1-2000 to the respondents and also a reminder on 14-3-2000 to pay the enhanced compensation by applying the provisions of Section 28A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short “the Act”). Heard Sri Khasim Saheb, counsel representing the learned counsel for the petitioner, and the learned Assistant Government Pleader for Land Acquisition. No counter-affidavit is filed by the respondents. Under Section 28A of the Act, the person, who is aggrieved by the Award of the Collector, may, notwithstanding that he had not made an application to the Collector under Section 18, make a written application to him within three months from the date of the award of the Court to re-determine the amount of compensation awarded by the Court in respect of other lands covered by the same notification. According to the facts furnished by the petitioner himself, the Civil Court passed the Award on 26-10- 1992 and this Court disposed of the appeal filed challenging the said Award on 23-2-1999 and the petitioner, for the first time, made a representation for payment of enhanced compensation on 25-1-2000. A careful analysis of the provisions of Section 28-A suggests that the person shall apply under the said provision within three months from the ‘Award of the Court’. The word ‘Court’ defined in Section 3(d) of the Act, means a principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction, unless the appropriate Government has appointed a special judicial officer within any specified local limits to perform functions of the Court under the Act. Therefore, to claim the benefit under Section 28A, the petitioner ought to have filed its application within three months from 26-10-1992 after excluding the period taken for applying the certified copy of the Court’s Award. Admittedly, the petitioner filed its application more than seven years after passing of the Civil Court’s Award and after the disposal of the appeal by this Court. The petitioner cannot wait till the appeal is disposed of by this Court, because, the period of three months shall be reckoned from the date of the award by the Civil Court. I am fortified in this view of mine by the judgment of the Supreme Court in Smt.Bhagti (Deceased) through her L.Rs., Jagdish Ram Sharma Vs. State of Haryana1.. At any rate, the petitioner failed to file its application within the time computed even from the date of judgment of this Court in the civil appeal. For the reasons mentioned above, the Writ Petition is dismissed. --------------------------------------- - C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY, J Date: 18-07-2008 MNR 1. AIR 1997 SC 1793