- (1.) This judgment shall dispose of the aforesaid 13 writ petitions, which have been filed by the various land-owners, whose land was acquired by the State of Punjab vide notification dated 18-6-1991, issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'). In all the petitions, the following common question of law has been raised : "Whether the Land Acquisition Collector has the power/jurisdiction to modify the Award made by him under Section 11 of the Act by reducing the amount of compensation awarded by making a fresh /supplementary Award after the period of two years prescribed under Section 11 -A of the Act?
(2.) The State of Punjab, vide notification dated 18-6-1991 issued under Section 4 of the Act, had acquired 567 Kanals 1 Maria of land of village Malikpur, which was owned by various land owners including the petitioners, for the purpose of construction of Hydel Channel of S. Y. L. Ropar Power House. On the acquired land, various super-structures and fruit trees were existing. On 3-7-1992, notification under Section 6 of the Act was issued. Thereafter, notices under Section 9 of the Act were issued by the Land Acquisition Collector-respondent No.3 to the various land owners, including the petitioners. Pursuant to the said notice, the petitioners and other land-owners submitted their respective claim for the land, super-structures and fruit trees standing on the acquired land.
(3.) The Land Acquisition Collector, after holding an enquiry and after obtaining the assessment from the Horticulture Department regarding the fruit trees, submitted the draft Award to the appropriate Government for approval under Section 11 of the Act. In the said draft Award, value of the fruit bearing trees standing on the acquired land of all the land owners was assessed as Rs. 21, 15,763.30, on the basis of the report of the Director, Horticulture, Punjab. The Financial Commissioner approved the draft Award vide his office letter No. 1/84/94/ LR-1/4316, dated 4-7-1994, in which it was specifically stated that "the price assessed by the technical Department for Tubewells, structures, trees are approved.";