STATE OF KERALA Vs. V KRISHNAN NAIR FB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The question referred is whether a landowner is entitled to the benefit of S.23(1A) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (the Central Act) when the award of the Collector had been passed before April 30,1982 and the matter was pending in reference in court on that date. A Division Bench of this Court had in L.A.A. No.119 of 1986 and related cases held that the amount under S.23(1A) was not payable in cases where the award of the Collector was passed before April 30, 1982, though subsequent proceedings by way of reference were pending on that date. The Division Bench before whom this case came up felt that various aspects relating to the statutory scheme of S.23(1A) had not been adequately considered in the said decision and that the matter required further scrutiny. The case was therefore referred for consideration by a Full Bench.

(2.) 3.93.82 hectares of land situated in Anchamada village of Thiruvananthapuram District belonging to the respondents were acquired for a public purpose. The notification under S.3(1) of the Kerala Land Acquisition Act, 1962 was published on May 18, 1976. The award was made on January 3, 1979. The respondents landowners were not satisfied with the amount of compensation awarded by the Collector, and on the matter being referred to court under S.20 of the Kerala Act, the lower court passed the impugned judgment on January 31, 1983 enhancing the compensation by Rs.350/- per cent. The State has challenged the enhancement in this appeal. Pending appeal, the (Central) Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act 68 of 1984 (hereinafter referred to as the Amendment Act) came into force on September 24,1984, replacing the Kerala Land Acquisition Act, 1962.

(3.) The Amendment Act brought about far reaching changes in the Central Act, one of which was the introduction of S.23(1A), providing that, in addition to the market value of the land, the court shall in every case award an amount calculated at the rate of 12% per annum on the market value, for the period commencing on and from the date of publication of the notification under S.4 sub-s.(1) in respect of the land, to the date of the award of the Collector or the date of taking possession of the land, whichever was earlier. S.30 of the Amendment Act contained the transitional provisions which provided limited retrospectively for some of the provisions contained in the amendment. The respondents staked a claim for payment of the amount under S.23(1A), taking advantage of the State's appeal and that has resulted in this reference as mentioned earlier.