THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE G. BHAVANI PRASAD AND THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE K.G. SHANKAR A.S.No.1915 of 2000 Date: 28.12.2010 Between: The Land Acquisiiton Officer and Special Deputy Collector, Y.R.P. Unit, III, Peddapuram. .. Appellants/ Referring Officer AND Karri Suryakantham and 4 others .. Respondent/ Claimants THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE G. BHAVANI PRASAD AND THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE K.G. SHANKAR A.S.No.1915 of 2000 JUDGMENT (per Hon’ble Sri Justice K.G. Shankar): The Senior Civil Judge, Peddapuram, in reference under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act determined the market value of the acquired property at Rs.50,000/- per acre for wet lands and Rs.40,000/- per acre for dry lands, through the orders in O.P.No.172 of 1990. Considering that the value as determined by the reference Court was high, the State preferred the present appeal. 2. Sri S. Md. Haneef, learned Assistant Government Pleader for Appeals appearing for the appellant/State and Sri P.Raj Kumar, learned counsel appearing for the respondents/claimants are heard. 3. The lands situate in J. Annavaram were acquired for Yeleru Reservoir Project. The compensation was awarded through Award No.3 of 1990 dated 15.02.1990. The award was challenged through reference under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act. 4. Before the reference Court, the certified copies of judgments in A.S.No.972 of 1996 and batch and A.S.No.2733 of 1996 and batch delivered by a Division Bench of this Court were relied upon. On the basis of these two decisions, which were marked as Ex.R.1 and R.2 before the reference Court, in respect of the acquisition of lands situate in villages around J. Annavaram, the Division Bench of this Court fixed the compensation at Rs.50,000/- per acre for wet lands and Rs.40,000/- per acre for dry lands. 5. The learned Senior Civil Judge, Peddapuram before whom, the reference was heard, placed reliance upon these two decisions of this High Court, which were marked as Ex.R.1 and R.2 and determined the market value of the property which was acquired at Rs.50,000/- per acre for wet lands and Rs.40,000/- per acre for dry lands. As rightly submitted by the learned counsel for the respondents-claimants, where the reference Court placed reliance upon the market value of the land as determined by the judgment of the Division Bench of this Court, the same cannot be considered to be unjust. The learned Senior Civil Judge, Peddapuram was perfectly justified in determining the market value of the acquired property at Rs.50,000/- per acre for wet lands and Rs.40,000/- per acre for dry lands. 6. Added to it, another Division Bench of this Court passed orders in A.S.No.3753 of 2000 in respect of lands in J. Annavaram. Those lands were acquired for Yeleru Reservoir Project. In the present case also, the lands belonging to J. Annavaram were acquired for Yeluru Reservoir Project. Thus, the acquisition of the lands of the claimants is for the same purpose for which the lands in the cited case were acquired. The lands in both the cases are situate in J. Annavaram. The market value of the acquired lands as adopted by the Division Bench of this Court in this case, therefore, deserves to be accepted. The Division Bench of this court determined the market value of the properties at J. Annavaram at Rs.50,000/- per acre for wet lands and Rs.40,000/- per acre for dry lands. Therefore, in the present case also, the same market value of the acquired property, as adopted by the Division Bench of this Court, deserves to be adopted. 7. Accordingly, the market value of the property deserves to be at Rs.50,000/- per acre for wet lands and Rs.40,000/- per acre for dry lands. This is precisely what the reference Court has done, although they adopted the reasoning in Exs.R.1 and R.2 and did not refer to the third case of the Division Bench of this Court referred to above. The third judgment was not available to the reference Court at the time of disposal of LAOP No.172 of 1990. 8. Unfortunately, the reference Court did not award interest over the additional market value and solatium awarded to the claimants in view of the legal position as it stood by the date of the orders in LAOP No.172 of 1990. The Supreme Court specifically held in Sundar v. Union of India[1] that when the lands of the claimant are acquired, the claimant would be entitled to the market value of the acquired property together with additional market value and solatium and that the claimant would be entitled to interest over the market value as well as the additional market value and solatium. 9. Consequently, the claimants herein shall be entitled to the interest over additional market value and solatium granted to them by the reference Court. The observations of the reference Court determining the market value of the acquired property at Rs.50,000/- for wet lands and Rs.40,000/- for dry lands is perfectly justified and it does not deserve to be interfere with. The appeal consequently is found to be devoid of merits. 10. The appeal is accordingly dismissed holding that the market value of the acquired property at Rs.50,000/- per acre for wet lands and Rs.40,000/- per acre for dry lands as determined by the reference Court are correct and that the claimants further shall be entitled to interest not only over the market value, but also over additional market value and solatium. No costs. _________________ G. Bhavani Prasad, J ________________ K.G. Shankar, J Date: 28.12.2010 Isn [1] 2001 (5) ALD 136