REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL NOS. 246­255 OF 2020

The Executive Engineer, Nimna Dudhna Project, Selu, District Parbhani, Maharashtra …Appellant

Versus

The State of Maharashtra & Others Etc. Etc. …Respondents

J U D G M E N T

M.R. SHAH, J.

Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned

common  judgment and order  dated 17.07.2017 passed by  the

High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Bench at Aurangabad in

First Appeal Nos. 4083­4092 of 2016 whereby the High Court has

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partly  allowed the said first appeals  preferred  by the  original

claimants and has enhanced the amount of compensation for the

lands  acquired, the  acquiring  body  –  The  Executive  Engineer,

Nimna Dudhna Project has preferred the present appeals.

2. Learned Advocate appearing on behalf of the appellant has

vehemently submitted that as such there was a delay of five and

a half years in preferring the first appeals.   It is submitted that

assuming that the High Court is justified in enhancing the

amount of compensation at par with the other land

owners/claimants, as there was a huge delay of five and a half

years, the  High Court ought  not to  have saddled the interest

liability for the period of delay upon the appellants.   It is

submitted that for the delayed period the claimants shall also not

be entitled to any statutory benefits.   

2.1 It is submitted by the learned Advocate that as such there

was a huge delay of five and a half years and therefore as such

the same was not required to be condoned by the High Court.  It

is submitted that in any case the High Court is not justified in

granting the statutory benefits and the interest on the enhanced

amount of compensation for the period of delay.  In support of his

above  submission, learned counsel  appearing  on behalf  of the

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appellant has heavily relied upon the decisions of this Court in

the cases of Market Committee, Hodal v. Krishan Murari, (1996) 1

SCC 311; Collector (LA) v. Katiji, (1987) 2 SCC 107; Dhiraj Singh

(D) through LRs v. State of Haryana, (2014) 14 SCC 127; and K.

Subbarayudu v. Special Deputy Collector (LA), (2017) 12 SCC 840.

3. While opposing the present appeals, learned Advocate

appearing on behalf  of the respondents/original  claimants has

vehemently submitted that as such the original claimants

claimed the parity in compensation with other land owners.  It is

submitted that at the time when the High Court condoned the

delay, the same was not conditional, namely, to deny the

statutory benefits and the interest for the interregnum period –

delayed  period.   It is  submitted  that the  order  condoning the

delay had attained finality and therefore subsequently it is not

open for the appellant to submit that the High Court ought not to

have awarded the statutory benefits and the interest for the

delayed period.

3.1 It is further submitted by the learned Advocate appearing on

behalf of the respondents/original claimants that even otherwise

as per the settled proposition of law, all claimants/land owners

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are entitled to the same compensation for the land acquired for

the same project vide the same notification.

3.2 Making the above submissions, it is prayed to dismiss the

present appeals.

4. We have heard the learned counsel for the respective parties

at length.

At the outset, it is required to be noted that the dispute in

the present appeals  is only with respect to award of  statutory

benefits and interest for the delayed period.  It is not in dispute

that there was a huge delay of five and a half years in preferring

the appeals before the High Court challenging the judgment and

award passed by the Reference Court.  However, considering the

fact that in other  matters the delay  was condoned, the  High

Court condoned the delay and entertained the appeals and

enhanced the amount of  compensation at  par with other  land

owners/claimants whose lands were acquired for the same

project vide the same notification.   Therefore, as such, no fault

can be found with the order passed by the High Court condoning

the  delay.   It is required to  be  noted that  as  such the  order

condoning the delay has attained finality as the same was not

challenged by the appellant at the relevant time.   Be that as it

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may, the issue which is required to be considered is, whether for

the delayed period the claimants shall be entitled to the statutory

benefits and the interest under the Land Acquisition Act?

4.1 The aforesaid issue is not res integra.  In the case of Dhiraj

Singh (supra), while condoning the delay in preferring the appeal

before this Court, while enhancing the amount of compensation

at par with other similarly situated land owners, this Court has

denied the interest on the enhanced amount of compensation for

the  period  of  delay in  approaching the  High  Court  by  way  of

LPAs.  Similar view is expressed by this Court in the case of   K.

Subbarayudu (supra) and while condoning the delay in preferring

the appeal, this Court has denied the interest for the period of

delay.  Merely  because at the  time of  condoning the  delay no

such condition was imposed that the claimants shall not be

entitled to the interest on the enhanced amount of compensation

for the period of delay, the appellant who is otherwise a public

body cannot be saddled with the liability to pay the interest for

the period of delay, which is not at all attributed to them.  Under

the circumstances, the common impugned judgment and order

passed by the High Court awarding the interest on the enhanced

amount of compensation for the period of delay in preferring the

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appeals deserve to be quashed and set aside and the impugned

common judgment and order passed by the High Court is

required to be modified to the aforesaid extent.

4.2 In view of the above and for the reasons stated above, all

these appeals are allowed in part.   The common impugned

judgment and order passed by the High Court is modified to the

extent denying the interest to the respondents/original claimants

on the enhanced amount of compensation for the period of delay

in preferring the appeals.   Rest of the judgment and award

passed by the High Court is confirmed.  No costs.

………………………………J. [ASHOK BHUSHAN]

NEW DELHI; ………………………………J. JANUARY 15, 2020. [M.R. SHAH]

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