SONIBEN JESHABHAI (HEIRS OF DECEASED JESHABHAI DAYABHAI) vs THE DEPUTY COLLECTOR, SPECIAL LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER AND REHABILITATION (IRRIGATION)
- Court
- Gujarat High Court
C/FA/4522/2026 JUDGMENT DATED: 02/11/2026
(GJHC240715432026)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 4522 of 2026
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SONIBEN JESHABHAI (HEIRS OF DECEASED JESHABHAI DAYABHAI) &
ORS.
Versus
THE DEPUTY COLLECTOR, SPECIAL LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER AND
REHABILITATION (IRRIGATION) & ANR.
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Appearance:
MR KRUSHNAKANT D PATEL(10632) for the Appellant(s) No. 1,2,3,4,5
MR TEJAS P SATTA(3149) for the Appellant(s) No. 1,2,3,4,5
MS. DIXA PANDYA, LD. ASST. GOVERNMENT PLEADER for the
Defendant(s) No. 1,2
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CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DIVYESH A. JOSHI
Date : 02/11/2026
ORAL JUDGMENT
1. Heard learned advocate Mr. Tejas Satta for the appellant
and learned advocate Ms. Pandya for the respondents– State.
2. At the outset, learned advocate Mr.Satta submitetd that
issue is covered by order dated 20.10.2022 passed by the Co-
ordinate Bench in First Appeal No.4258 of 2022. It is submitted
that in the present case, impugned judgment and order
rejecting the reference proceedings by the Reference Court has
been passed only on the ground that claimants were unable to
remain present. It is submitted that last opportunity may be
granted to the claimants to adduce evidence. It is further
submitted that claimants waive interest for delayed period.
3. Per contra, learned AGP Ms. Pandya submitted that despite
ample opportunity given by the Reference Court to the
claimants, they did not remain present and did not adduce
evidence and therefore, learned Reference Court has rightly
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passed the order and discontinued the proceedings.
4. Heard learned advocates for the respective parties. Co-
ordinate Bench in First Appeal No.4258 of 2022 in para 5 has
observed as under :-
“5. The appellant has placed reliance on the order dated
29.06.2022 passed by the Coordinate Bench of this Court
in First Appeal No.862 of 2022 and allied matters, on the
similar issue, whereby the reference Court has rejected
the reference application on the ground that the
appellant- claimant did not produce any evidence despite
giving ample opportunities to them. The Coordinate
Bench of this Court has observed thus:
“6. In view of above, this Court is of the opinion that in
the land reference cases, it is the duty of the learned
reference Court to go into the issue of awarding
compensation and to assess the same for its adequacy in
the background that the claimants have lost possession
of their land. In the present case, no such exercise has
been undertaken by the learned reference Court. In the
premise, the impugned judgment and orders are hereby
set aside and the matters are remanded back to the
learned reference Court for determining the entitlement
of the land owners to just, reasonable and adequate
compensation, which can be determined only after
examining the evidence adduced by the parties. In the
interest of justice, the present appellants deserve an
opportunity to produce additional evidence in respect of
their entitlement to adequate compensation.
6.1 Accordingly, all the First Appeals are hereby allowed.
The impugned common judgment and order is hereby
quashed and set aside and the matter is remanded to the
learned reference Court for fresh consideration in
accordance with law with a liberty in favour of the parties
to adduce oral as well as documentary evidence in
support of their case.
6.2 The parties are directed to adduce their evidence
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within 6 weeks from the date of first appearance before
the learned reference Court. The reference Court is also
directed to decide the reference cases as expeditiously
as possible and not later than 31.12.2022.
6.3 It is also seen from the record that the learned
reference Court had granted number of opportunities to
the appellants with respect to production of evidence,
however, they remained negligent. Therefore, this Court
is of the opinion that if any enhancement is made by the
learned reference Court in the remand proceedings, the
appellants shall not be entitled to any interest from the
date of impugned judgment till today, i.e. from 17.3.2018
to 29.6.2022.
6.4 The parties are directed to cooperate with the learned
reference Court in early disposal of the reference cases.
Present First Appeals are allowed for the aforesaid
reasons and accordingly stand disposed of. There shall be
no order as to costs.”
5. In light of aforesaid order passed by the Co-ordinate
Bench, I am of the opinion that in reference, person who has
lost land and seeking enhancement has to be given
opportunity since it is not adversarial forum of litigation.
6. The impugned order is quashed and set aside.
Accordingly, Reference proceedings is restored before the
learned Court concerned with direction to decide the same
within period of three months from the date of receipt of
present order. The appellant – claimants are directed to remain
present before the Reference Court on each and every date of
hearing of the matter and co-operate learned Trial Court in
disposing the matter as early as possible. It is also directed
that the appellants – claimants shall not be entitled for any
interest for delayed period of 2881 days.
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7. The First appeal stands allowed in aforesaid reasons and
accordingly, disposed of
(DIVYESH A. JOSHI,J)
VAHID
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