Land Acquisition Act, 1894 | Reference Court Can't Set Aside Collector's Award Or Order Fresh Determination: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that the Reference Court under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 is not empowered to set aside the award of compensation by the Collector or order for fresh determination to be made by the Collector. It held that the same can only be done by an appellate Court. Observing that the Land Acquisition Act 1894 is a complete code in itself, Justice Sandeep Jain held,“The Land Acquisition Act only mentions that if the land owner is not satisfied with the amount of compensation awarded by the Collector, then it can get the matter referred by the Collector to the Reference Court, which will then determine the compensation in accordance with law. The Act does not vest the Reference Court with the power to set aside the award of the Collector and remand back the matter for determining the compensation afresh. It is apparent that the power of remand is only exercised by an appellate court, but it is well settled that the Reference Court is not an appellate court and is only an original court for determining the compensation in land acquisition cases.”Appellant approached the High Court in appeal against the order of the Presiding Officer, Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Authority, who acting as the Reference Court under the Act partly set aside the award by the Collector and remanded the matter for redetermination of compensation. The Reference Court had allowed the reference on grounds that the Collector should have determined the compensation under the 2013 Act instead of the 1894 Act. The Court observed that the Land Acquisition Act 1894, being a complete code, provided for the powers of the Collector and how such award by the Collector could be challenged. It held that the Reference Court had the power to redetermine the award but not the power to set it aside and remand it to the Collector to decide afresh. It held that even under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, the Reference Court was not empowered to set aside the award of compensation. “It is apparent that the Reference Court has acted beyond its jurisdiction by setting aside the award of the Collector and remanding the matter to it for deciding it afresh, which is contrary to the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 as well as the Act of 2013. In no circumstances whatsoever, the Reference Court could have passed the impugned order, which is unsustainable in law.”Accordingly, the appeal was allowed with a direction to the Reference Court to decide the reference on merits. Case Title: State Of Up And 2 Others v. Iftekhar Ahmad And Another 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 229Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 229Click Here To Read/Download Order

Land Acquisition Act, 1894 | Reference Court Can't Set Aside Collector's Award Or Order Fresh Determination: Allahabad High Court

Upasna Agrawal

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