IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) MONDAY, THE SIXTEENTH DAY OF FEBRUARY TWO THOUSAND AND NINE PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION No.24951 of 2001 Between: A.Kistaiah and others ..... PETITIONER AND The Land Acquisition Officer cum the Revenue Divisional Officer, Adilabad .....RESPONDENTS Counsel for the Petitioners:MR.S.CHANDRASEKHAR Counsel for the Respondent:GP FOR LAND ACQUISITION The Court made the following : ORDER: This writ petition is filed for a writ of mandamus to direct the respondent to refer the award passed in respect of the petitioners’ lands to a civil Court under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short ‘the Act’). The lands of the petitioners were admittedly acquired for excavation of Sathnala Project left channel in Yapalguda Mandal, Adilabad District. Award, dated 16.01.1996 was passed by the respondent. Notices under Section 12(2) of the Act were served on the petitioners on 05.02.1996. The learned Government Pleader for Land Acquisition on the basis of the record available with him submitted that on 07.02.1996 itself, the petitioners sent requests in writing for reference of the disputes to civil Court under Section 18 of the Act. The petitioners having waited for nearly five years, claimed to have made representations by way of reminders, the last of which was dated 27.12.2000. As no action was taken by the respondent, they filed the present writ petition. Under Section 18(1) of the Act, a valuable right is conferred on the land owners to seek reference of the dispute for determination of compensation, to the Court, if they dispute the quantum of compensation fixed by the Collector, subject to their making an application within the time prescribed under Section 18(2) of the Act. On the admitted facts of the case, the petitioners made such applications well within the time prescribed by the Act. The respondent has neither responded to the said applications or the reminders nor filed any counter-affidavit explaining the reasons for his indifferent attitude in acting on the requests of the petitioners. This Court takes a serious exception to the attitude of the respondent in discharging his statutory obligation, resulting in not only driving the petitioners to approach this Court, but also in delaying adjudication of the dispute raised by them for nearly 12 years. The writ petition is, therefore, allowed with the direction to the respondent to forthwith refer the disputes to the civil Court under Section 18 of the Act. The respondent is mulcted with the costs of Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand only) payable to the petitioners in equal proportion. The District Collector, Adilabad shall recover these costs from the Officer, who is responsible for failure to discharge his statutory obligation of reference of the dispute to the civil Court, by initiating appropriate proceedings in law. He is also directed to initiate appropriate disciplinary proceedings against all the officers concerned and recover the loss ultimately caused to the State on account of the delayed reference, from them. C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY, J 16th FEBRUARY, 2009. kvni