STATE OF RAJASTHAN Vs. OAK DAN

JUDGEMENT

(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 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(1A), 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. 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 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.) 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 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.