IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD WEDNESDAY, THE TWENTY SECOND DAY OF DECEMBER TWO THOUSAND AND TEN HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE G. BHAVANI PRASAD and HON’BLE SRI JUSTSICE K.G. SHANKAR Appeal Suit No.2914 of 2000 Between: The Land Acquisition Officer and Special deputy Collector, Y.R.P. Unit.III, Peddapuram .. Appellant AND Neeli Appalaswamy .. Respondent JUDGMENT: (Per G. Bhavani Prasad,J) This appeal is directed against the award in O.P. No.457 of 1990 on the file of the Senior Civil Judge’s Court, Peddapuram, dated 28-10-1999 by which the reference Court fixed the market value per acre at Rs.50,000/- treating it as dry land in respect of Ac.0-30 cents in S.No.693/6 of Neelipakalu, which is the subject of acquisition. The award was in pursuance of the common judgment rendered by the reference Court in O.P. Nos.457 and 410 of 1990 and the award in O.P. No.410 of 1990 is the subject of A.S. No.1015 of 2001 on the file of this Court, which was disposed of by the judgment of a Division Bench, dated 27-12-2006. The Division Bench was convinced that the market value adopted by the reference Court on the basis of such value fixed by the High Court in respect of the lands acquired for the same purpose in an adjacent village, was right and reasonable and having found no improbabilities in awarding the compensation, the Division Bench dismissed the appeal without costs. The reasoning of the Division Bench squarely applies to the facts of the present case also, except that the reference Court did not award any interest on the solatium and additional market value. The claimants are entitled to such interest on solatium and additional market value in terms of the precedential law in vogue as of now and it has to be, therefore, clarified that the claimants are entitled to such statutory benefits though they did not prefer any separate cross-objections or cross-appeal in respect of the same, as the same is a matter of statutory entitlement. Therefore, the appeal is dismissed without costs and it is clarified that on the solatium and additional market value, the claimants will be entitled to interest in accordance with law. _____________________ G. BHAVANI PRASAD, J _______________ K.G. SHANKAR, J Date: 22-12-2010 Svv