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" .... If the award is treated as an admin- istrative decision taken by the Collector in the matter of the valuation of the property sought to be acquired it is clear that the said decision ultimately affects the rights of the owner of the property and in that sense, like all decisions which affect persons, it is essentially fair and just that the said decision should be communi- cated to the said party. The knowledge of the party affected by such a decision, either actual or constructive, is an essential element which must be satisfied before the decision can be brought into force. Thus considered the making of the award cannot consist merely in the physical act of writ- ing the award or signing it or even filing it in the office of the Collector; it must involve the communication of the said award to the party con- cerned either actually or constructively. If the award is. pronounced in the presence of the party whose rights are affected by it it can be said to be made when pronounced. If the date for the pro- nouncement of the award is communicated to the party and it is accordingly pronounced on the date previously announced the award is said to be commu- nicated to the said party even if the said party is not actually present on the date of its pronounce- ment. Similarly if without notice of the date of its pronouncement an award is pronounced and a party is not present the award can be said to be made when it is communicated to the party later. The knowledge of the party affected by the award, either actual or constructive, being an essential requirement of fair-play and natural justice the expression 'the date of award' used in the proviso must mean the date when the award is either commu- nicated to the party or is known by him either actually or constructively. In our opinion, there- fore, it would be unreasonable to construe the words from the date of the Collector's award used in the proviso to s. 18 in a literal or mechanical way."