Court Registrar Lacks Adjudicatory Power to Reject Land Reference Applications on Grounds of Limitation

The petitioners (9 landholders) sought enhancement of compensation under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, following an award dated 29.03.2010

The Special Land Acquisition Officer (Respondent No. 2) referred the matters to the District Court.

However, on 29.01.2011, the Registrar of the District Court, Bharuch, unilaterally returned the reference papers without notice to the petitioners, asserting the references were delayed and non-compliant with Section 18

The petitioners claimed they only discovered this through an RTI inquiry in 2016, leading to the present writ petition challenging the Registrar's authority

1. Whether the Registrar of a District Court possesses the legal authority or jurisdiction to unilaterally return a reference made under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, on grounds of limitation or procedural non-compliance

2. Whether the inquiry into the timeline prescribed under the proviso to Section 18(2) is a judicial or administrative function

The Court applied Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, which grants interested persons the right to object to an award and move the Collector to refer the matter for judicial determination

The court established that a Reference Court acts as an adjudicatory body akin to a Civil Court. Consequently, determining whether an application meets the limitation period prescribed in the proviso to Section 18(2) is a "judicial function" requiring factual inquiry, which cannot be delegated to an administrative officer like a Registrar

The Court reasoned that the power to decide on the validity of a reference—specifically regarding the question of limitation—is inherently adjudicatory

Since the Registrar is merely an administrative officer of the Court, they lack the jurisdiction to pass orders returning references forwarded by the Collector

The Court found that such an action must be backed by a "judicial order" of the concerned Court after providing notice to the parties. Because the Registrar acted "on his own" without power or authority, the communication was deemed void and "wholly without jurisdiction"

The Court quashed the Registrar’s communication dated 29.01.2011 and the consequential order dated 16.10.2018. The Court directed the Special Land Acquisition Officer to forward all reference applications to the District Court within one week. The District Court is directed to register the references and decide them on merits/limitation in accordance with law within six months, ensuring notice is provided to the land owners