Gujarat High Court
Patel Nagarbhai Bhudarbhai vs State Of Gujarat on 29 July, 2025
Author: Sunita Agarwal
Bench: Sunita Agarwal
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/10314/2025 ORDER DATED: 29/07/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 10314 of 2025
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PATEL NAGARBHAI BHUDARBHAI
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.
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Appearance:
MR RAKESH R PATEL(3239) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
MR SANJAY UDHWANI, ASSISTANT GOVERNMENT PLEADER for the
Respondent(s) No. 1,2
MR. ALKESH N SHAH(3749) for the Respondent(s) No. 3,4
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CORAM:HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS.
JUSTICE SUNITA AGARWAL
and
HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE D.N.RAY
Date : 29/07/2025
ORAL ORDER
(PER : HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS. JUSTICE SUNITA AGARWAL)
1. The petitioner herein is challenging the computation
made under the award dated 19.02.2025 towards statutory
interest under Section 80 of the Right to Fair Compensation
and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and
Resettlement Act, 2013 (in short "the Act' 2013') which was
denied in the original award passed on 12.02.2021. On a writ
petition namely Special Civil Application No.17568 of 2024
filed by the petitioner, vide judgment and order dated
03.01.2025, directions were issued to the competent authority
to make the recomputation of interest under Section 80 on the
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/10314/2025 ORDER DATED: 29/07/2025
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amount of compensation determined under the award dated
12.02.2021. The writ petition was disposed of with the
direction as follows:
"[8] Taking note of the above, we dispose of the
present batch of writ petitions with the directions that
the competent Land Acquisition Officers shall make
recomputation by applying the benefit of statutory
interest of 09% and 15% prescribed under Section 80
of the Act' 2013, in each individual cases of the writ
petitioners herein by passing separate orders. The
statutory interest under Section 80 of the Act' 2013 is
to be recomputed on the total amount of
compensation, which includes the market value,
solatium as well as additional interest and all other
elements of compensation as provided under the Act'
2013. The recomputation of benefits as per the
directions given above shall be made by the
concerned authority within a period of two months
from today."
2. It is submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner
that the determination made under the additional award
passed on 19.02.2025 is about the interest leviable on the
compensation amount under Section 80, which was to be
computed from the date of taking possession till the date of
making payment of compensation. There was a shortfall in the
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/10314/2025 ORDER DATED: 29/07/2025
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determination made under the original award dated
12.02.2021, inasmuch as, the interest amount was not
computed at that relevant point of time. The payment under
the original award, however, had been made on 15.07.2021.
The competent authority, thus, computed the shortfall of
statutory interest under Section 80 from the date of taking
possession, i.e.27.03.2015 till the date of payment of
compensation under the original award, on 15.07.2021.
However, the computed amount towards shortfall under
Section 80 under the award dated 19.02.2025 has been
paid/disbursed to the land holder on 28.03.2025. The
contention, thus, is that the difference of the amount of
interest between 15.07.2021 and 28.03.2025, till the date of
payment of the statutory interest payable under the award
dated 12.02.2021 is liable to be paid to the petitioner.
3. Considering the submissions made by the learned
counsel for the petitioner we may note that that Section 80 of
the Act' 2013 provides for the payment of interest on the
compensation which has not been deposited on or before
taking possession of the land. For the first year from the date
of taking possession, the interest on the amount awarded is to
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C/SCA/10314/2025 ORDER DATED: 29/07/2025
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be levied at the rate of 9% per annum from the date of taking
possession until the same has been paid or deposited. Proviso
to Section 80 further provides that if compensation or any
part thereof is not paid or deposited within the period of 01
year from the date on which the possession is taken, interest
at the rate of 15% per annum shall be payable from the date
of expiry of the period of 01 year on the amount of
compensation or part thereof, which has not been paid or
deposited before the date of such expiry.
4. In the instant case, there is no dispute about the fact
that the possession of the land in question has been taken
prior to making of the award and hence interest under Section
80 was payable on the amount awarded by the Collector. In
the original award dated 12.02.2021, the said amount of
interest at the rate of 9% and 15% under Section 80 was not
included. The result is that the petitioner had to approach this
Court for grant of statutory interest which has been awarded
vide judgment and order dated 03.01.2025. However, the
competent authority has committed an error in making
computation towards interest under Section 80 which was
leviable at the rate of 15% per annum after one year from the
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/10314/2025 ORDER DATED: 29/07/2025
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date of payment or deposit of the compensation amount. As
there was a shortfall in the initial payments made to the
petitioner under the award dated 12.02.2021, computation of
interest at the rate of 15% on the awarded amount is required
to be made from the date when the payments were made
under the award dated 12.02.2021 till the date when the
payments are made under the amended award dated
19.02.2025, namely the interest at the rate of 15% on the
shortfall is to be computed from the period from 15.07.2021
to 28.03.2025 and is to be paid to the petitioner without any
further delay, as it would further cause prejudice to the
acquiring body.
5. The process of determination of the shortfall towards
interest under Section 15 shall be completed as expeditiously
as possible within the period of two weeks from today, failing
which the interest would continue to accrue uptil the date of
payment of compensation. The petition stands disposed of,
accordingly.
(SUNITA AGARWAL, CJ )
(D.N.RAY,J)
A. B. VAGHELA
