IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PIUS C.KURIAKOSE WEDNESDAY, THE 11TH JUNE 2008 / 21ST JYAISHTA 1930 WP(C).No. 35079 of 2007(A) -------------------------- PETITIONER: ------------ 1. MUNDAYATTU VEETIL AMMALU AMMA, AGED 67 YEARS, D/O.K.V.CHINDAN, P.V.HOUSE, CHALAKODE P.O., PAYYANNUR, KANNUR DT. 2. MUNDAYATTU VEETIL VIJAYAN, AGED 58 YEARS S/O.K.V.CHINDAN, P.M.C. 24/88A, THEMPADOLI ROAD, PAYYANNUR, KANNUR DISTRICT. 3. MUNDAYATTU VEETIL GANGADHARAN, AGED 56 YEARS, S/O.K.V.CHINDAN, KOMBAMKULAM HOUSE, NEAR THERU, PAYYANNUR P.O. KANNUR DT-670307 (LEGAL HEIRS OF MUNDAYATTU VEETIL LAKSHMI AMMA) BY ADV. SRI.P.R.SREEJITH RESPONDENTS: ------------- THE SPECIAL TAHSILDAR (L.A) EZHIMALA NAVAL ACADAMY, PAYYANNUR, KANNUR DT. BY GOVERNMENT PLEADER SMT.LATHA THANKAPPAN THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 11/06/2008, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: APPENDIX EXT.P1 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 29-3-2001 OF THE RESPONDENT. //TRUE COPY// PS TO JUDGE. PIUS C. KURIAKOSE, J. ----------------------------------------------- W.P.(C)No. 35079 OF 2007 ----------------------------------------------- Dated this the 11th day of June, 2008 J U D G M E N T This writ petition has been filed with three prayers. Prayer Nos. 2 and 3 are that the land acquisition officer should be directed to make a reference under section 28A(3) to a competent civil court of the question whether the compensation payable for their acquired property which is covered by Ext.P1 application under section 28A is liable to be redetermined on the basis of the court judgment relied on. As for these two prayers land acquisition officer has filed a statement in this court wherein it is stated that in the application for reference under section 28A(3) the survey number of these properties were not mentioned. I am inclined to accept the statement which means that it is not possible to grant prayers 2 and 3. Prayer No.1 is the reasoning in Ext.P1 order. Ext.P1 is the order by which the application submitted by one Lakshmy is said to be the petitioners predecessor in interest under section 28A was dismissed on the reason that the original compensation awarded by the land acquisition officer was received by Smt. Lakshmy without any protest . In Ext.P1 the land acquisition officer has relied on the judgment of this court in State of Kerala v. Kumaran Nair, 2001(1) K.L.J. 343. The ratio in that decision WP(C)N0.35079/07 -2- is that an application under section 28A can be maintained only by a person who has received the compensation awarded by the land acquisition officer with protest. The above reasoning cannot any longer be good since it is by now settled that to maintain an application under section 28A what is necessary is only that there should not have been any reference under section 18 at the instance of the awardee and that the awardee's case and the case which is subject matter of the court judgment relied on should be covered by the very same 4(1) notification. It is settled that whether or not the awardee had received the amount under protest is irrelevant. This being the position I am inclined to grant relief No.1. I quash Ext.P1 and direct the land acquisition officer to take a fresh decision subject to the condition that the petitioner will forfeit (even if Ext.P1 finally allowed) interest on the redetermined compensation at the statutory rates provided under section 34 for the period up to date of filing of the writ petition. 2. Learned Government Pleader submitted that it is not clear whether the petitioners are legal heirs of Smt.Lakshmy who had filed Ext.P1. Under this circumstance I direct the petitioners to seek their impleadment before the land acquisition officer by producing WP(C)N0.35079/07 -3- documents which will show that they are the legal heirs of the deceased Lakshmy and the land acquisition officer need comply with the directions contained herein above only if they are complied on the basis of the documents produced that the petitioners are legal heirs of Smt. Lakshmy. (PIUS C.KURIAKOSE, JUDGE) ksv/