: 1 : 598-02-FA=.sxw USJ IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION FIRST APPEAL NO. 598 OF 2002 Nagubai Vithu Patil & Anr. .. Appellants v/s. The State of Maharashtra, through the Special Land Acquisition Officer V.H.E.P. Nashik .. Respondent ......... Mr. A.J. Ahuja i/b Mr. J.H. Ahuja for the applicants Mr. P.G. Sawant, ‘B’ panel Consel for respondent State ......... CORAM : A.V. NIRGUDE, J DATE : 16th NOVEMBER,2011. P.C. : 1. This appeal is filed against the judgment and award passed by the learned Joint District Judge, Nashik on 18th December, 2000 in Land Acquisition Reference No.214 of 1996. The scope of the appeal is quite limited. The appellant is not challenging the amount of compensation given to him by the learned Judge of the lower Court. He challenges only a fractional part of the judgment which awarded interest on the compensation amount. The learned Judge observed in paragraph 16 of the judgment as under. “16. With the aforesaid clear data before me, it is easy to compute the compensation in this land reference as under: : 2 : 598-02-FA=.sxw 1. Land gat No. 261. 2. Area acquired 2 hectares 23 ares + 0.01 ares pot-kharaba (22,440 square meters). 3. Rate awarded by the Court Rs.12.75 per square meter i.e. Rs.1,27,500/- per hectare. 4. Land value comes to Rs.2,85,600/-. 5. Solatium at the rate of 30 per cent on the land value Rs.85,680/-. 6. Component at the rate of 12 per cent per annum on the land value for 80 months 27 days Rs.2,31,050/-. 7. Total enhanced compensation (4+5+6) Rs.6,02,330/-. 8. Amount awarded by the Special Land Acquisition Officer Rs.27,098/-. 9. Total amount due (7-8) Rs.5,75,232/- 10.Land value awarded by the Special Land Acquisition Officer Rs.16,727/-. 11.Excess land value (4-10) Rs.2,68,873/-.” 2. The learned Judge as per the law then prevailed awarded interest under Section 28 on the sum mentioned in paragraph 11 above mentioned above. The learned Counsel appearing for the appellant challenges this aspect of the case. According to him, the learned Judge ought to have awarded interest on the amount mentioned in paragraph 9. The learned Counsel appearing for the appellant placed reliance on the judgments of Supreme Court in the case of Sunder Vs. Union of India, 2001(4) Mh.L.J. P-859 and Patel Joitaram Kalidas & Ors. Vs. Spl. Land Acquisition Officer & Anr. (2007) 2 SCC 341. In view of these judgments, the law is now settled. The Supreme Court has clearly held that the claimant would be entitled to interest on the aggregate sum calculated as market value, under Section 23(1), soleitum under Section 23(2) and on the amoutn payable under Section 23(1-A). Probably when the impugned judgment was delivered in 2000, the Court could award interest only on the excess land value : 3 : 598-02-FA=.sxw but having regard to the settled law, the claimants is entitled to 9% on Rs. 5,75,232/- from 01.11.1981 to 31.10.1982 and further interest @ 15% per annum on Rs.5,75,232/- from 1st November, 1982 till realization of the amount. The appeal to that extent should succeed. The rest of the impugned judgment shall remain undisturbed. 3. In addition to this, the appellant is also entitled to interest on Rs.27,098/-. The figure mentioned in paragraph 8 and not on the amount mentioned in the operative part of the judgment of Rs.16,727/-. As discussed above, the judgment of Supreme Court in Sunder Vs. Union of India would apply even to the amount awarded by the Special Land Acquisition Officer. The amount mentioned above represented the land value as well as solatium etc. The entire amount awarded by the Special Land Acquisition Officer should carry interest under Section 34. The appeal is accordingly allowed. The final order shall read as under. ORDER (i) The land reference is hereby allowed with costs. (ii) The opponent-Government do pay to the claimants amount of Rs. 5,75,232/- towards enhanced compensation in this reference. (iii) The opponent-Government do also pay to the claimants interest @ 9% per annum on the excess land value of Rs.27,098/- from 1st November, : 4 : 598-02-FA=.sxw 1981 to 31st October, 1982 and further interest at the rate of 15% per annum on the said amount from 1st November, 1982 till realization of the entire amount. (iv)The opponent-Government shall also pay to the claimants interest on the land value awarded by the Special Land Acquisition Officer i.e. on the amount of Rs.27,098/- at the rate of 9% per annum from 1st November, 1981 to 31st October, 1982 and further interest @ 15% per annum on the said amount of land value awarded by the Special Land Acquisition Officer from 1st November, 1982 to the date of payment i.e. 20th September, 1988. (v) The opponent-Government do bear its own costs and shall pay the costs of this reference to the claimants. (vi)The claimants shall pay the deficit Court-fee stamp on the enhanced compensation awarded to them. (vii) Award be drawn up accordingly. (A.V. NIRGUDE, J.)