SBCMA NO.893/2009– STATE OF RAJASTHAN V/S OAK DAN AND ORS. : JUDGMENT DTD.4.2.2010 1/11 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR. 1. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.893/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Oak Dan 2. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.579/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Mungiya 3. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.676/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Virad Dan and anr. 4. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.678/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Mungiya and ors. 5. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.680/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Jepa and anr. 6. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.739/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Aashiya and ors. 7. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.740/2009 State of Rajasthan SBCMA NO.893/2009– STATE OF RAJASTHAN V/S OAK DAN AND ORS. : JUDGMENT DTD.4.2.2010 2/11 Versus Keshardan and ors. 8. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.741/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Oak Dan and ors. 9. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.742/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Soniya and anr. 10. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.743/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Virad Dan and anr. 11. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.858/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Sati Dan 12. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.877/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Kalia 13. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.894/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Kana and ors. 14 S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.895/2009 SBCMA NO.893/2009– STATE OF RAJASTHAN V/S OAK DAN AND ORS. : JUDGMENT DTD.4.2.2010 3/11 State of Rajasthan Versus Jetha Ram and ors. 15. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.896/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Lala 16. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.897/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Ashiya and ors. 17 S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.1033/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Keshar Dan 18. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.1466/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Dungariya and ors. 19. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.1475/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Joriya and ors. 20. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.05946/2007 State of Rajasthan Versus Keshar Dan and anr. SBCMA NO.893/2009– STATE OF RAJASTHAN V/S OAK DAN AND ORS. : JUDGMENT DTD.4.2.2010 4/11 21. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.05947/2007 State of Rajasthan Versus Shanker and anr. 22. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.05948/2007 State of Rajasthan Versus Veerka and ors. 23. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.05949/2007 State of Rajasthan Versus Kaliya and ors. 24. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.05957/2007 State of Rajasthan Versus Ashiya and anr. 25. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.05963/2007 State of Rajasthan Versus Man Dan 26. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.06313/2007 State of Rajasthan Versus Bhawani Dan and anr. 27. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.06314/2007 State of Rajasthan Versus Jeta and ors. SBCMA NO.893/2009– STATE OF RAJASTHAN V/S OAK DAN AND ORS. : JUDGMENT DTD.4.2.2010 5/11 28. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.06315/2007 State of Rajasthan Versus Varad and anr. 29. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.06317/2007 State of Rajasthan Versus Chamniya 30. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.06318/2007 State of Rajasthan Versus Jeevan Dan 31. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.06325/2007 State of Rajasthan Versus Chamna 32. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.07022/2007 State of Rajasthan Versus Kesiya @ Jera and anr. 33. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.07023/2007 State of Rajasthan Versus Ganga Singh and ors. 34. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.07026/2007 State of Rajasthan Versus Moraardan SBCMA NO.893/2009– STATE OF RAJASTHAN V/S OAK DAN AND ORS. : JUDGMENT DTD.4.2.2010 6/11 35. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.07027/2007 State of Rajasthan Versus Parkha and anr. 36. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.07033/2007 State of Rajasthan Versus Bhepa and ors. 37. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.07038/2007 State of Rajasthan Versus Maandan and ors. 38. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.679/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Jujar and ors. 39. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.876/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Badra and ors. 40. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.878/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Moola Ram and ors. 41. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.905/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Nimba and anr. SBCMA NO.893/2009– STATE OF RAJASTHAN V/S OAK DAN AND ORS. : JUDGMENT DTD.4.2.2010 7/11 42. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.923/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Joriya and ors. 43. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.1029/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Bhawani Dan 44. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.1030/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Achla and ors. 45. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.1031/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Keshiya and ors. 46. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.1032/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Kuiya and ors. 47. S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.927/2009 State of Rajasthan Versus Lala SBCMA NO.893/2009– STATE OF RAJASTHAN V/S OAK DAN AND ORS. : JUDGMENT DTD.4.2.2010 8/11 PRESENT HON'BLE Dr.JUSTICE VINEET KOTHARI Mr.L.K. Purohit,for the appellant Mr.Vijay Purohit, for the respondents. DATE OF JUDGMENT : 4th February, 2010. JUDGMENT 1. These appeals are being disposed of by this common order. The state has come up in the appeals against the order of the Reference Court under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. The reference court decided the market value of the land acquired for Bandi Sindhari Irrigation Project vide notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act dtd.30.9.1998. The award in question was made on 6.6.2001 by the Land Acquisition Officer. The land owners approached the reference Court by way of applications under section 18 of the Act and the said reference applications were decided on different dates. The said orders under Section 18 are under challenge in the present appeals. 2. The only ground raised by the learned counsel for the State in the present appeals is that the interest awarded by the learned Reference Court has been compounded in computation part of the SBCMA NO.893/2009– STATE OF RAJASTHAN V/S OAK DAN AND ORS. : JUDGMENT DTD.4.2.2010 9/11 reference order though only simple interest could be awarded by the Land Acquisition Officer under the provisions of the Act especially with reference to Section 23(1)(a), Section 28 and Section 34 of the Act. He referred to para 6 of the reference order in which 12% per annum interest rate is referred. There is no mention of compound rate of interest in the said order. However, the computation part in the said reference order shows that the interest has been computed on compound basis e.g. taking facts from SBCMA 676/2009, the State of Rajasthan through the Land Acquisition Officer V/s Virad Dan and anr. it is seen that for the period of 32 months @12% per annum from the date of notification under Section 4 of the Act i.e. 30.9.1998 to the date of award i.e. 6.6.2001 approximately 32 months, interest for first 12 months was computed at Rs.38710.68/-, whereas interest for next 12 months is computed at Rs.43,355.96/-, whereas had it been taken simple interest, the same interest for 12 months i.e. Rs.38710.68/- ought to have been taken. Similarly under Item No.3 of the computation part while deciding issue No.10 of the relief, the learned Reference Court appears to have computed interest for the period from 6.6.2001, the date of award till March, 2003/June, 2003 (the date of actual payment of compensation to the land owners) at Rs.39332.53 for first 12 months @9% per annum and thereafter interest @15% per annum for 9 months at Rs.53590.59/-. The said amount of interest appears to have been computed at the respective rate of 9% and 15% on the aforesaid sum of Rs.4,37,028.12, which is SBCMA NO.893/2009– STATE OF RAJASTHAN V/S OAK DAN AND ORS. : JUDGMENT DTD.4.2.2010 10/11 inclusive of market value of land and interest @1,14,439.12/- for the previous period of 32 months. This is also apparently computational error as interest on interest is neither envisaged under the provisions of the Act nor has specifically been directed to be paid either by the Land Acquisition Officer or the Reference Court in the impugned order. 3. Having heard the learned counsels, it appears to the Court that though interest in question was awarded upto the date of judgment rightly in accordance with the provisions of Section 23(1) (a) of the Act and Section 34 of the Act, which permits or rather mandates payment of interest to the land owners upto the date of actual payment of compensation. However, the computation part has gone wrong and it appears to be arithmetic error in the same and the State could have very well brought this fact to the notice of reference Court by filing appropriate application under Section 18 of the Act itself read with Section 152 C.P.C. However, the State has chosen to approach this Court by way of present appeals. 4. This Court does not find any merit in the contentions of the learned counsel for the State that the interest could not have been awarded by the Reference Court from the date of award till the date of payment of compensation to the land owners. However, in view of the computational error in the reference Court's order impugned in the SBCMA NO.893/2009– STATE OF RAJASTHAN V/S OAK DAN AND ORS. : JUDGMENT DTD.4.2.2010 11/11 present appeal, the matter is liable to be remitted back to the said reference Court for limited purpose of determination of interest part of the compensation correctly in accordance with the directions of the Land Acquisition Officer and the Reference Court itself, namely that interest of 12% simple interest has to be paid from the date of notification under Section 4 i.e. 30.9.1998 till the date of award i.e. 6.6.2001 and further interest @9% & 15% respectively from the date of award i.e. 6.6.2001 till the actual date of payment of compensation i.e. March, 2003/June, 2003 as per the said order of the Reference Court. 5. Accordingly these appeals are partly allowed and the matter is remanded back to the learned Reference Court of Civil Judge (Sr. Division), Jalore for recomputing the amount of interest at simple rate as given in the impugned order and arrive at final figure of compensation and the said order be implemented expeditiously. No orders as to costs. (Dr.VINEET KOTHARI)J. Item No.44-62, C1 to C27 and SC1 Ss/-