In Brief
In this civil appeal under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, the Supreme Court addressed whether to restore a reference application for enhanced compensation that had been dismissed for non-payment of court fee. The High Court had declined to interfere with the Reference Court's dismissal order. The Supreme Court held that the application would be restored on condition that the appellant pay the required court fee within one month, but with a crucial limitation: if any enhancement is granted, the appellant must forfeit all statutory benefits (such as interest) for the entire period from the original dismissal date in 2001 to the restoration date in 2018. This balanced procedural compliance with substantive justice while penalizing delay.
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