JAI KRISHAN (D) TR. LRS.versusSTATE OF UTTARAKHAND & ORS.

                       [2014] 6 S.C.R. 996


A                     JAi KRISHAN (D) TR. LRS.
                                    v.
                 STATE OF UTTARAKHAND & ORS.
               (Civil Appeal Nos. 5889-5893 OF 2014)
                             JULY 01, 2014
B
           [SUDHANSU JYOTI MUKHOPADHAYA AND
                    DIPAK MISRA, JJ.)

         Land Acquisition Act, 1894:
c
          ss.23(1), 23(1A), 23(2), 28 -Acquisition of 36 acre of land
    in Mussorie - For extension of Lal Bahadur Shastri National
    Academy - Award of compensation - Enhanced by reference
    court - High Court applying principle of belting area held that
    land in Mussorie is sloppy and hilly and, therefore, for
0
     assessing true market value, flat rate cannot be applied for
     entire 36 acres and also rejected claim of 12% additional
     compensation u/s.23(1A) and interest @ 15% p.a. as
    provided under proviso to s.28 - Held: High Court noticed thai
     Mussoorie is an important tourist place and it is the land of
E    immense potential value, but without any basis or pleadings,
    presumed that total land in Mussoorie is sloppy and hilly -
     High Court also accepted that the market value of the land
     in question is Rs. 54, 8961- per acre as decided by the
     reference court; therefore in absence of any pleading on the
F   part of State, it was not open for the High Court to apply the
    principle of belting area - It is not disputed that the site of new
     town of the acquired land is almost at the same elevation as
     Mussoorie as it has been developed as a Hill resort and has
     immense potential value - It was adjacent to the Lal Bahadur
G    Shastri National Academy, which was the beneficiary of such
     acquisition - For the said reason, the part of the impugned
    judgment in so for as it related to the valuation of land is set
     aside and the award passed by the reference court is upheld
     - The reference court awarded enhanced compensation but
H                                 996
         JAi KRISHAN (D) TR. LRS. v. STATE OF                997
                    UTTARAKHAND

 deposited the amount in the Court after expiry of one year -        A
 In the circumstances, the appellants are also entitled to
 interest@ 15% p.a. under proviso to s.28 of the Act - High
:court failed to notice that the provisions of s.23(1A) of the Act
'are mandatory and the claimants-appellants are also entitled
 to 12% enhanced compensation for the period commencing              B
 from the date of publication of Notification uls. 4 of the Act.

     ss.23(1), 23(1A), 23(2), 28 - In the scheme of the Act, it
is seen that the award of compensation is at different stages
- The first stage occurs when the award is passed - Obviously,
the award takes in all the amounts contemplated by ss.23(1),
                                                                     c
23(1-A), 23(2) and the interest contemplated by s.34 of the
Act - The second stage occurs on a reference u/s. 18 of the
Act - When the reference court awards enhanced
compensation, it has necessarily to take note of the enhanced
amounts payable uls.23(1), s.23(1-A), s.23(2) and interest on        D
the enhanced amount as provided in s. 28 of the Act and costs
in terms of s. 27 - The Collector has the duty to deposit these
amounts pursuant to the deemed decree thus passed - This
has nothing to do with the earlier deposit made or to be made
under and after the award - If the deposit made, falls short of      E
the enhancement decreed, there can arise the question of
appropriation at that stage, in relation to the amount enhanced
on the reference.

     A Notification under Section 4 of the Land                      F
Acquisition Act, 1894 was issued on 14th September,
1977 for the purpose of acquiring land measuring 36
acres situated at Glenmire Estate, Cosycot and
Cosynook in Mussoorie. The acquisition was so made for
the purpose of extension of Lal Bahadur Shastri National             G
Academy, Mussoorie. The Special Land Acquisition
Officer determined the compensation at Rs. 4.89 Lacs.
The appellant-claimants filed reference under Section 18
of the Act.
     The reference court enhanced the amount of                      H
    998      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [2014] 6 S.C.R.


A compensation of land from Rs.1.80 lacs to Rs.19.76 lacs
  and that of trees from Rs.1.05 lacs to Rs.4 lacs. Aggrieved,
  the State filed appeal before the High Court. The High
  Court applied the principle of Belting area and held that
  the land in Mussorie is sloppy and hilly and, therefore, for
B assessing true market value, flat rate cannot be applied
  for entire land of 36 acres. The High Court also rejected
  the claim of 12% additional compensation under Section
  23(1A) and interest @ 15% per annum as provided under
  proviso to Section 28 of the Act. The instant appeal was
c filed challenging the order of the High Court.
          Partly allowing the appeal, the Court

         HELD: 1. The High Court noticed that Mussoorie is
    an important tourist place and it is the land of immense
o   potential value. But without any basis or pleadings, the
    High Court presumed that total land in Mussoorie is
    sloppy and hilly. The High Court though noticed the
    exemplar sale-deed dated 31.3.1977 which showed the
    market value of the land at Rs. 54,896/- per acre and the
E   said sale-deed pertained to the land nearer to the Lal
    Bahadur Sastri National Academy, but without any basis,
    observed that the rate mentioned in the sale-deed cannot
    be applied as exemplar for entire land acquired. The value
    of the land cannot be said to be same for all the 36 acres
F   acquired as part of the land would be nearer to it and part
    of it would be a far. The said observation made by the
    High Court was not based on any evidence but on
    presumption and surmises. It cannot be a ground that the
    Mussoorie is a hilly place and therefore the principle of
    Belting area is to be applied. It was not the case of the
G   State of U.P. that in all land acquisition proceedings in
    Mussoorie, the principle of .Belting area is applied. In this
    background, on mere presumption it was not open to the
    High Court to apply principle of belting area for
    determination of compensation. The High Court also
H   accepted that the market value of the land in question was
        JAi KRISHAN (0) TR. LRS. v. STATE OF             999
                   UTIARAKHAND

Rs. 54,896/- per acre as decided by the reference court;        A
therefore in absence of any pleading on the part of State
of U.P., it was not open for the High Court to apply the
principle of belting area. It was not disputed that the site
of new town of the acquired land was almost at the same
elevation as Mussoorie as it was developed as a Hill            B
resort and had immense potential value. It was adjacent
to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy, which was
the beneficiary of such acquisition. For the said reason,
the part of the impugned judgment passed by the High
Court in so for as it related to the valuation of land is set   c
aside and the award passed by the reference court under
Section 18 is upheld. [Paras 10, 11 and 12] [1004-G-H;
1005-A-H]

     2. In the scheme of the Act, it is seen that the award
of compensation is at different stages. The first stage         D
occurs when the award is passed. Obviously, the award
takes in all the amounts contemplated by Section 23(1),
Section 23(1-A), Section 23(2) and the interest
contemplated by Section 34 of the Act. The whole of that
amount is paid or deposited by the Col Ir ctor in terms of      E
Seclion 31 of the Act. At this stage, no shortfall in deposit
is contemplated, since the Collector has to pay or deposit
the amount awarded by him. If a shortfall is pointed out,
it may have to be made up at that stage and the ·principle
of appropriation may apply, though it is difficult to           F
contemplate a partial deposit at that stage. On the deposit
by the Collector under Section 31 of the Act, the first
stage comes to an end subject to the right of the claimant
to notice of the deposit and withdrawal or acceptance of
the amount with or without protest. The second stage            G
occurs on a reference under Section 18 of the Act. When
the reference court awards enhanced compensation, it
has necessarily to take note of the enhanced amounts
 payable under Section 23(1 ), Section 23(1-A), Section
23(2) and interest on the enhanced amount as provided           H
    1000    SUPREME COURT REPORTS             [2014] 6 S.C.R.


A in Section 28 of the Act and costs in terms of Section 27.
  The Collector has the duty to deposit these amounts
  pursuant to the deemed decree thus passed. This has
  nothing to do with the earlier deposit made or to be made
  under and after the award. If the deposit made, falls short
B of the enhancement decreed, there can arise the question
  of appropriation at that stage, in relation to the amount
  enhanced on the reference. The claimants are entitled to
  additional compensation @ 12% per annum as provided
  u/s 23(1A) of the L.A. Act. [Para 14) [1007-E-H; 1008-A-D]
c       Gurpreet Singh vs. Union of India (2006) 8 SCC 457:
    2006 (7) Suppl. SCR 422 - relied on.

         3.The reference court awarded enhanced
    compensation but such amount was deposited in the
D   Court after the date of expiry of period of one year. In the
    circumstances, the appellants are also entitled to interest
    @ 15% per annum under proviso to Section 28 of the L.A.
    Act. The High Court failed to notice that the provisions
    of Section 23(1A) of the L.A. Act are mandatory and the ·
E   claimants-appellants are entitled to 12% enhanced
    compensation for the period commencing from the date
    of publication of Notification under Section 4 of the L.A.
    Act. The High Court also failed to appreciate that the
    appellants are entitled to interest@ 15% per annum as
F   contemplated under proviso to Section 28 of the L.A. Act
    as the compensation was paid after the expiry of period
    of one year. The High Court instead of dismissing the
    review petition ought to have condoned the delay, reason
    of which was sufficiently explained by appellant and
G   ought to have allowed the revision application in favour
    of the appellant. The part of the impugned judgment is
    set aside so far as it related to payment of compensation
    for the land and the award passed by the reference court
    to the extent above and the respondents are directed to
    pay 12% enhanced compensation in terms of Section
H
        JAi KRISHAN (D) TR. LRS. v. STATE OF                1001
                   UTTARAKHAND

23(1A) and another 15% interest in terms of proviso to              A·
Section 28 of the L.A. Act. [Paras 17 to 20) [1010-E-H;
1011-A-C]

     Sunder vs. Union of India (2001) 7 SCC 211: 2001 (3)
Suppl. SCR 176 ; Chhanga Singh and Anr. vs. Union of                B
India and Anr. (2012) 5 sec 763: 2012 (4) SCR 275- relied
on.

                       Case Law Reference

      2006 (7) Suppl. SCR 422 Relied on               Para 14       c
     2001 (3) Suppl. SCR 176 Relied on                Para 16
     2012 (4) SCR 275              Relied on          Para 16

    CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION                  Civil Appeal      D
Nos.5889-5893 of 2014

    From the Judgment and Order dated 16.07.2005 in FA
No.325/1995, FA No. 56/2001 dated 04/07/2008 in RA No. 87/
2005, DCA No.7478/2005 dated 26/02/2010 in RA No. 35/
2010, DCA No: 636/2010 of the High Court of Uttarakhand at          E
Nainital.

     Mohit D. Ram, for the Appellants.

    Saurabh Trivedi, Ashutosh Kr. Sharma, Anil Katiyar, Rahul
Narayan for the respondents.                                        F

     The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

     SUDHANSU JYOTI MUKHOPADHAYA, J 1. Leave
gran~d.                                                             G
      2. These appeals are directed against the judgment and
'order dated 16th July, 2005 passed by the High Court of
 Uttaranchal (now Uttarakhand) at Nainital in first Appeal No. 56
 of 2001 (Old No.325/1995). By the impugned judgment, the
 Division Bench of the High Court partly allowed the appeal         n
    1002       SUPREME COURT REPORTS              [2014] 6 S.C.R.


A
           .
    preferred by the State of U.P., set aside part of the judgment
    and award dated 23rd March, 1995 passed by the Reference
    Court.

        3. The factual matrix of the case is as follows:
B      A Notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act,
  1894 was issued on 14th September, 1977 for the purpose of
  acquiring land measuring 36 acres situated at Glenmire Estate,
  cosycot and cosynook in Mussoorie. The acquisition was so
  made for the purpose of extension of Lal Bahadur Shastri
C National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie. Thereafter
  follow up Notification under Section 6 of the LA.Act was issued
  on 30th January, 1978 which was also published. The
  possession of the land was taken over on 3rd July, 1986. The
  Special Land Acquisition Officer, after hearing the parties
D passed the award on 27th November, 1984 determining the
  amount of compensation at Rs.4,89,615.75.

         4. Col. Jai Krishan (since deceased) represented by Lrs.
    (appellant herein) and Mahesh Chandra- respondent no.8, got
E   filed reference under Section 18 of the L.A. Act. The said
    reference No. L.A.154 of 1985 heard by the Additional District
    Judge, Dehradun. The aforesaid claimants alleged before the
    Reference Court that considering the fact that Mussoorie is a
    famous tourist place, its land is of immense potential value, the
    market value of the land in question is Rs.25 lakh per acre. As
F   such they claimed compensation for 36 acres of acquired land.
    They further claimed that the value of the constructed building
    cannot be assessed less than Rs. 100/- per sq. feet and,
    therefore, considering the plinth area of 3786 sq. feet of
    Glenmire building, 2528 sq. ft. of Cosynook building and other
G   construction, the valuation should be Rs.6,31,400/- and after
    deducting the amount on account of depreciation factor the
    value of building is Rs. 4,73,550/-. There were 6990 trees on (
    the aforesaid 36 acres of land. The claimants also submitted
    before the reference court that considering the fact that value
H   of the trees which has been assessed @ Rs.15/- per tree,
      JAi KRISHAN (D) TR. LRS. v. STATE OF    1003
UTTARAKHAND [SUDHANSU JYOTI MUKHOPADHAYA, J.]

should have been at least Rs.50/- per tree. In reply, the stand     A
of the State of U .P. was that the claimants have already claimed
Rs.7,50,000/- as compensation for the acquired land and as
such they are not entitled to claim any amount more than that.
It was further pleaded that the land being sloppy a_nd uneven
as such it cannot be assessed more than Rs.5,000/- per acre.        B
The respondents based their claim on the basis of the rate
shown in exemplar sale deed dated 26th December, 1976.

     5. The Reference Court after framing necessary issues,
taking into consideration the evidence and hearing the parties      C
enhanced the amount of compensation of land from
Rs.1,80,000/- to Rs.19,76,000/- and that of trees from
Rs.1,05, 155.50 to Rs.4,00,000/-. Aggrieved by the order
passed by the Reference Court the State and Union of India
preferred the appeal.
                                                                    D
    6. The Division Bench of Uttarakhand High Court by the
impugned judgment dated 16th July, 2005 applied the principle
of Belting area on following presumption:

     "No doubt that Mussoorie is an important tourist place         E
     and its land is of immense potential value but
     simultaneously it is also true that the land in Mussoorie
     is sloppy and hilly. As such for assessing a true market
     value that flat rate, for entire land of 36 acres, cannot be
     applied."
                                                                    F
      7. The claimants also claimed 12% additional
compensation u/s 23(1A) of the L.A. Act, which the Court below
had not granted. The claimants also claimed that they were
entitled to receive a sum of Rs. 7,01,875/- towards Fuel value/
Timber value of the tree standing on the acquired land as           G
approved by the retired Forest Ranger. They also pleaded that
the compensation having been paid after more than one year
from the date on which possession was taken, they are entitled
for interest @ 15% per annum as provided under proviso to
Section 28 of the L.A. Act. Such claim was made by the              H
    1004    SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  [2014) 6 S.C.R.


A appellant and another by means of cross-objections. However,
  the High Court without deliberating on such issues as raised
  in the cross objections passed the impugned judgment. In the
  circumstances, the appellant and another preferred Review
  Petition No. 87 of 2005 before the High Court with a petition
B for condonation of delay.

        8. The impugned judgment was delivered on 16th July,
  2005 and a review petition was filed on 15th September, 2005
  i.e. after 30 days delay. The appellant and another took specific
C plea that their lawyer used to come from Allahabad to Nainital
  who when came to know about the judgment, applied for the
  certified copy of it on 4th August, 2005 which was delivered
  on 9th August, 2005. Thereafter sometime was taken to file the
  review petition. The High Court dismissed the petition for
  condonation of delay and review petition on the ground of non-
D prosecution. The restoration petition filed by the appellant was
  also dismissed.

        9. Learned counsel for the appellants submitted that the
  High Court wrongly applied the principle of belting area. The
E 36 acres of land is adjacent to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National
  Academy of Administration. Mussoorie and is located at tourist
  spot. He further contended that the appellants were entitled for
  12% additional compensation u/s 23(1A) in addition 15%
  solatium u/s 28 of the L.A.Act in view of delayed payment of
F compensation after more than one year. The stand of the
  learned counsel for the respondent-State is that the High Court
  rightly applied the principle of belting area as the land is sloppy
  and uneven.

       10. As noticed above, the High Court noticed that
G Mussoorie is an important tourist place and it is the land of
  immense potential value. But without any basis or pleadings,
  the High Court presumed that total land in Mussoorie is sloppy
  and hilly. The High Court though noticed the exemplar sale-deed
  dated 31..3.1977 (paper no. 17-C) which shows the market
H value of the land at Rs. 54,896/- per acre and the said sale-
      JAi KR ISHAN (D) TR. LRS. v. STATE OF   1005
UTIARAKHAND [SUDHANSU JYOTI MUKHOPADHAYA, J.]

deed pertains to the land nearer to the Lal Bahadur Sastri            A
National Academy. But without any basis, the High Court
observed as under:

    'We are of the view that the rate mentioned in this sale-
    deed cannot be applied as ·exemplar for entire land               B
    acquired. Value of the land cannot be said to be same
    for all the 36 acres acquired as part of the land would be
    nearer to it and part of it would be a far. "

     The aforesaid observation made by the Division Bench of
the High Court is not based on any evidence but on                    C
presumption and surmises. It cannot be a ground that the
Mussoorie is a hilly place and therefore the principle of Belting
area is to be applied. It was not the case of the State of U.P.
that in all land acquisition proceedings in Mussoorie the
principle of Belting area is applied. In this background on mere      D
presumption it was not open to the High Court to apply principle
of belting area for determination of compensation. The High
Court has also accepted that the market value of the land in
question is Rs. 54,896/- per acre as decided by the Reference
Court; therefore in absence of any pleading on the part of State      E
of U.P. it was not open for the High Court to apply the principle
of belting area.

     11. It has not been disputed that the site of new town of
the acquired land is almost at the same elevation as Mussoorie
                                                                      F
as it has been developed as a Hill resort and has immense
potential value. It is adjacent to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National
Academy, which is the beneficiary of such acquisition.

     12. For the reason aforesaid, the part of the impugned
judgment dated 16th July, 2005 passed by the High Court in            G
so for as it relates to the valuation of land is set aside and the
award passed by the Revisional Court under Section 18 is
upheld.

                                                                      H
    1006        SUPREME COURT REPORTS             [2014] 6 S.C.R.


A      13: The provisions of Section 23(1A) of the L.A. Act
    mandate as follows:

        "23 Matters to be considered in determining '
        compensation. - (1) In determining the amount of
        compensation to be awarded for land acquired under this
B
        Act, the Court shall take into consideration

        first, the market value of the land at the date of the
        publication of the notification under section 4, sub-section
        (1 );
c
        secondly, the damage sustained by the person
        interested, by reason of the taking of any standing crops
        or trees which may be on the land at the time of the
        Collector's taking possession thereof,·
D       thirdly, the damage (if any}, sustained by the person
        interested, at the time of the Collector's taking possession
        of the land, by reason of severing such land from his
        other land;

E       fourthly, the damage (if any), sustained by the person
        interested, at the time of the Collector's taking possession
        of the land, by reason of the acquisition injuriously
        affecting his other property, movable or immovable, in
        any other manner, or his earnings;
F
        fifthly, if, in consequence of the acquisition of the land by
        the Collector, the person interested is compelled to
        change his residence or place of business, the
        reasonable expenses (if any) incidental to such change;
        and
G
        sixthly, the damage (if any) bona fide resulting from
        diminution of the profits of the land between the time of
        the publication of the declaration under section 6 and the
        time of the Collector's taking possession of the land.
H
      JAi KRISHAN (D) TR. LRS. v. STATE OF   1007
UTTARAKHAND [SUDHANSU JYOTI MUKHOPADHAYA, J.]

    [(1 A) In addition to the market-value of the land, as above   A
    provided, the Court shall in every case award an amount
    calculated at the rate of twelve per cent per annum on
    such market value for the period commencing on and
    from the date of the publication of the notification under
    Section 4, sub-Section (1 ), in respect of such land to the    B
    date of award to the Collector or the date of taking
    possession of the land, whichever is earlier."

    Explanation- In computing the period referred to in this
    sub-section, any period or periods during which the
    proceedings for the acquisition of the land were held up       C
    on account of any stay or injunction by the order of any
    Court shall be excluded.]"

     14: In Gurpreet Singh vs. Uni<;m of India, (2006) 8 SCC
457 this Court noticed the claim which envisages award of          D
:::ompensation at different stages. In all the stages, it is
necessary to take note of the provisions of Sections 23(1) and
23(1-Af In Gurpreet Singh (supra) this Court held as under:

    "32. In the scheme of the Act, it is seen that the award of E
    compensation is at different stages. The first stage occurs
    when the award is passed. Obviously, the award takes in
    all the amounts contemplated by Section 23(1), Section
    23(1-A), Section 23(2) and the interest contemplated by
    Section 34 of the Act. The whole of that amount is paid
    or deposited by the Collector in terms of Section 31 of F
    the Act. At this stage, no shortfall in deposit is
    contemplated, since the Collector has to pay or deposit
    the amount awarded by him. If a shortfall is pointed out,
    it may have to be made up at that stage and the principle
    of appropriation may apply, though it is difficult to G
    contemplate a partial deposit at that stage. On the
    deposit by the Collector under Section 31 of the Act, the
    first stage comes to an end subject to the right of the
    claimant to notice of the deposit and withdrawal or
    acceptance of the amount with or without protest.           H
    1008    SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [2014) 6 S.C.R.

A       33. The second stage occurs on a reference under
        Section 18 of the Act. When the Reference Court awards
        enhanced compensation, it has necessarily to take note
        of the enhanced amounts payable under Section 23(1),
        Section 23(1-A), Section 23(2) and interest on the
s       enhanced amount as provided in Section 28 of the Act
        and costs in terms of Section 27. The Collector has the
        duty to deposit these amounts pursuant to the deemed
        decree thus passed. This has nothing to do with the
        earlier deposit made or to be made under and after the
c       award. If the deposit made, falls short of the enhancement
        decreed, there can arise the question of appropriation at
        that stage, in relation to the amount enhanced on the
        reference. "

       In view of the decision in Gurpreet Singh(Supra), we hold
D that the claimants are entitled to additional compensation @
  12% per annum as provided u/s 23(1A) of the L.A. Act.

        15. Section 28 of the L.A. Act deals with interest payable
    on excess compensation which reads as under:
E
        "28. Collector may be directed to pay interest on excess
        compensation.- -If the sum which, in the opinion of the
        Court, the Collector ought to have awarded as
        compensation is in excess of the sum which the Collector
        did award as compensation, the award of the Court may
F       direct that the Collector shall pay interest on such excess
        at the rate of 67 [nine per centum] per annum from the
        date on which he took possession of the land to the date
        of payment of such excess into Court:

G       [Provided that the award of the Court may also direct that
        where such excess or any part thereof is paid into Court
        after the date of expiry of a period of one year from the
        date on which possession is taken, interest at the rate of
        fifteen per centum per annum shall be payable from the
H       date of expiry of the said period of one year on the
      JAi KRISHAN (D) TR. LRS. v. STATE OF   1009
UTIARAKHAND [SUDHANSU JYOTI MUKHOPADHAYA, J.]

    amount of such excess or part thereof which has not been      A
    paid into Court before the date of such expiry.]."

    16. In Sunder vs. Union of India, (2001) 7 SCC 211 this
Court held that the interested pecsons are also interested on
amount of solatium. The Court further observed as under:          B
    "15. When the court is of the opinion that the Collector
    should have awarded a larger sum as compensation the
    court has to direct the Collector to pay interest on such
    excess amount. The rate of interest is on a par with the
    rate indicated in Section 34. This is so provided in          C
    Section 28 of the Act. xx xx xx"

    In Gurpreet Singh (supra) the reasons in this regard was
explained as under:

    "54. One other question also was sought to be raised and      D
    answered by this Bench though not referred to it.
    Considering ·that the question arises in various cases
    pending in courts all over the country, we permitted the
    counsel to address us on that question. That question is
    whether in the light of the decision in Sunder(supra) the     E
    awardeeldecree-holder would be entitled to claim interest
    on solatium in execution though it is not specifically
    granted by the decree. It is well settled that an execution
    court cannot go behind the decree. If, therefore, the claim
    for interest on solatium had been made and the same           F
    has been negatived either expressly or by necessary
    implication by the judgment or decree of the Reference
    Court or of the appellate court, the execution court will
    have necessarily to reject the claim for interest on
    solatium .based on Sunder(Supra) on the ground that the       G
    execution court cannot go behind the decree. But if the
    award of the Reference Court or that of the appellate court
    does not specifically refer to the question of interest on
    solatium or in cases where claim had not been made and
    rejected either expressly or impliedly by the Reference       H
     1010     SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  [2014] 6 S.C.R.


A         Court or the appellate cow}, and merely interest on
          compensation is awarded, then it would be open to the
          execution court to apply the ratio of Sunder(supra) and
          say that the compensation awarded includes solatium
          and in such an event interest on the amount could be
B         directed to be deposited in execution. Otherwise, not. We
          also clarify that such interest on solatium can be claimed
          only in pending executions ' and not in closed executions
          and the execution court will be entitled to permit its
          recovery from the date of the judgment in Sunder
c         (Supra)(19-9-2001) and not for any prior period. We also
          clarify that this will not entail any reappropriation or fresh
          appropriation by the decree-holder. This we have
          indicated by way of clarification also in exercise of our
          power under Articles 141 and 142 of the Constitution of
          India with a view to avoid multiplicity of litigation on this
D
          question."

          The aforesaid principle has also been followed by this
    ' Court in Chhanga Singh and Another vs. Union of India and
      Another (2012) 5 SCC 763.
E
          17. The Reference Court awarded enhanced
     compensation but such amount was deposited in the Court
     after the date of expiry of period of one year. In the
     circumstances, we hold that the appellants are also entitled to
F    interest @ 15% per annum under proviso to Section 28 of the
     L.A. Act.
        18. The High Court failed to notice that the provisions of
  Section 23(1A) of the L.A. Act are mandatory and the
  claimants-appellants are entitled to 12% enhanced
G compensation for the period commencing from the date of
  publication of Notification under Section 4 of the L.A. Act. The
  High Court also failed to appreciate that the appellants are
  entitled to interest @ 15% per annum as contemplated under
  proviso to Section 28 of the_ L.A. Act as the compensation was
H paid after the expiry of period of one year.
      JAi KRISHAN (D) TR. LRS. v. STATE OF    1011
UTIARAKHAND [SUDHANSU JYOTI MUKHOPADHAYA, J.]
      19. The High Court instead of dismissing the review A
petition ought to have condoned the delay, reason of which was
sufficiently explained by appellant and ought to have allcwed
the revision application in favour of the appellant.

     20. In view of the findings recorded above, we set aside
                                                                  8
the part of the impugned judgment dated 16th July, 2005 so
far as it relates to payment of compensation for the land, uphold
the award passed by the Reference Court to the extent above
and direct the respondents to pay 12% enhanced
compensation in terms of Section 23(1A) and another 15%
interest in terms of proviso to Section 28 of the L.A. Act as C
ordered above within three months ..

    21. The appeals are allowed with the aforesaid
observations and directions. There shall be no order as to
costs.                                                               D
pevika Gujral                              Appeals partly allowed.