LAW FOR ALL

Section 34 of the Land Acquisition Act - whether, after entering into an agreement under the Rules of 1997 and accepting the agreed amount without any protest or demand for further interest, the appellant can claim interest on the ground of Section 34 of the Act for the period that had already lapsed between taking of possession and signing of the agreement/payment of compensation. = analysis of Section 11 as well as Section 23 = Section 23 is for guidance of the court which gets jurisdiction to determine compensation afresh only if there is a protest against the award and the payment is received with protest. This section does not control the determination of just compensation by the Collector under Section 11 which requires the Collector to enquire into objections (if any) on different issues such as measurement and interests of the person claiming compensation and then further requires the collector to make an award which is required to reflect, interalia, “the compensation which in his opinion should be allowed for the land.” But it is more appropriate and relevant to notice sub-section 2 of Section 11 which is as follows: “Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), if at any stage of the proceedings, the Collector is satisfied that all the persons interested in the land who appeared before him have agreed in writing on the matters to be included in the award of the Collector in the form prescribed by rules made by the appropriate Government, he may, without making further enquiry, make an award according to the terms of such agreement.” This sub-section begins with a non-obstante clause which makes it free of the requirements of sub-section (1) if all the persons interested in the land agree in writing as to what matters should be included in the award of the Collector. Thereupon the Collector is competent to make an award as per agreement without making further enquiry. In view of such clear provision that permits agreement to determine all the matters to be included in the award, all the inclusions and omissions in the consent award must be treated as based upon agreement of the parties and the final amount determined by way of agreement must be taken as a completely just compensation inclusive of the statutory interest payable to the claimant for the concerned land at least on the date of agreement. Since the agreed compensation amount is accepted without protest with a clear stipulation not to claim any additional amount, it has to be deemed that the compensation reflected in the consent award has taken into account all relevant factors including interest till the date of agreement. Moreover the right to seek reference for enhancement itself gets lost by accepting the compensation without protest especially when there is an agreement that the land owner shall not claim any amount in addition to the amount agreed upon as compensation and shall accept the compensation without any protest. In such circumstances agreed amount has to be treated as a just compensation permitting no addition or substitution whatsoever. In other words, not only the remedy under the Act of seeking enhancement is lost but the substantive cause of action also vanishes when the land owner agrees for a consent award and the amount of compensation is accepted without any protest.Equitable considerations also cannot help the appellant because the agreed amount was paid without any delay, on the date of agreement itself. Notably, the award passed on the basis of agreement with the appellant stipulates the amount of compensation at Rs. 329.76 per Sq.Yd. However, in the case of other claimants under the same Notification who had not entered into such agreement, the rate was fixed at Rs. 50.57 per Sq.Yd. with 30% solatium and 12% interest from the date of taking possession. Thus, the agreement with the appellant was a package with regard to the compensation amount voluntarily accepted by the appellant without any demur. The argument of equitable consideration is, therefore, misplaced and ill- advised. In view of aforesaid discussion and particularly in view of judgments of this Court in the case of Daya Shamji Bhai and in Sangappa Dyavappa Biradar, we find no error in the order of the High Court rejecting the claim of the appellant. As a result the appeal must fail. It is therefore dismissed but without costs.