STATE OF PUNJAB vs MST. QAISAR JEHAN BEGUM AND ANR.

The Supreme Court held that under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, the limitation period for filing a reference application begins only after the parties have knowledge of the essential contents of the award. In this case, the respondents, who were evacuees and did not receive notice under Section 12(2), were deemed to have knowledge of the award only on July 22, 1955, making their application timely. The Court upheld the High Court's decision to allow the reference on merits, emphasizing the necessity of proper notice for the limitation period to apply.