M S SUBRAMANIA AIYAR Vs. COLLECTOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Two points have been raised in this appeal: (I) that interest at 6 per cent should have been awarded under Section 28 of the Land Acquisition Act, and (2) that compensation for Survey No. 791 should have been fixed at Rs. 16-8-0 per cent instead of Rs. 15

(2.) As regards the first point we have been referred to the case in Rangaswami Chelty V/s. The Collector of Coimbatore (1909) 7 M.L.T. 78 in which it was stated that the claimants were entitled to interest at 6 per cent per annum and also to a judgment of the Privy Council in Narsingh Das V/s. Secretary of State for India (1924) L.R. 52 I.A. 133 : 48 M.L.J. 386 (P.C.) where at the very end of the judgment, their Lordships state: A small matter of the judgment was the omission of the right to interest to which the appellant is entitled at the rate of 6 per cent....

(3.) In neither of these cases is the question whether the Court is bound to award interest under Section 28 discussed and that point is not altogether free from doubt. However, in the present case it appears that the claimants did not put forward any extravagant claims but claims which were allowed to a considerable extent. This being so, we think, to use the words in Rangaswami Chatty V/s. The Collector of Coimbatore (1909) 7 M.L.T. 78 that they were entitled to interest at 6 per cent., but in coming to this conclusion we must not be held to express any opinion as to whether Section 28 is mandatory or not. The claim to interest will be allowed on the merits of the case from the date of taking possession of the land, namely, 9 March, 1922, to the date of payment.