Judgment

CHINNAPPA REDDY, J. :- In respect of acquisition of land pursuant to notifications issued under sec. 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act on November 28, 1957, compensation of Rs. 5250/- for the land in S. No. 83 and compensation at the rate of Rs. 800/- per acre for the land in S. No. 74 was awarded by the Land Acquisition Officer. On a reference under S. 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, the Civil Judge enhanced the compensation to Rs. 18,000/- for the land in S. No. 83 and Rs. 14,250/- for the land in S. No. 74. The High Court, on appeal, further enhanced the compensation to Rs. 8000/- per acre for the land in S. No. 83 and Rs. 2500/- per acre for the land in S. No. 74. The claimant has filed Civil Appeal No. 2196 of 1970 to enhance the compensation and the State of Karnataka has preferred Civil Appeal Nos. 2713 and 2714 of 1972 to reduce the same. We are unable to find any question of principle involved in any of the appeals and accordingly we have no option but to dismiss them.

2. However, in the appeal filed by the claimant, Shri K. N. Bhat, learned counsel, urged that in view of the Land Acquisition Amendment Act, 1984, his client is entitled to be paid solatum of 30% of the compensation instead of the 15% to which he had been held entitled by the lower courts under the unamended Act. He relied upon sec. 15(b) and sec. 30(2) of the 1984 Amendment Act which are in the following terms :-

"15. In Section 23 of the principal Act,-

(a)...............

(b) in sub-section (2) for the words "fifteen per centum", the words "thirty per centum" shall be substituted."

... ..............

"30. (1) ...............

(2) The provisions of sub-section (2) of section 23 and section 28 of the principal Act as amended by clause (b) of section 15 and section 18 of this Act respectively, shall apply, and shall be deemed to have applied, also to, and in relation to, any award made by the Collector or Court or to any order, passed by the High Court or SC in appeal against any such award under the provisions of the Principal Act after the 30th day of April, 1982 (the date of introduction of the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill, 1982, in the House of the People) and before the commencement of this Act."

Shri Bhats submission was that S. 30(2) of the Amendment Act made the amended S. 23(2) which increased the solatium to thirty per centum applicable to all proceedings in regard to compensation which had not become final whether they be pending before the Collector, Court, High Court or SC. We are unable to agree with Shri Bhats submission. It is worth while remembering at this juncture that awards made by the Collector under S. 11 and by the Court on reference under S. 18 only are described as awards in the Land Acquisition Act, while further appeals are provided to the High Court and the SC. The new S. 23(2), of course, necessarily applies to awards made by the Collector or Court after the commencement of the Act, that is, after September 9, 1984 which was the date on which the Act received the assent of the President. The Bill which ultimately became the Amendment Act was introduced into Parliament on April 30, 1982. Parliament obviously desired to give effect to the amended S. 23(2) from the date of introduction of the Bill. So the amended provision was expressly made applicable by S. 30(2) to awards made by the Collector or Court between April 30, 1982 and September 24, 1984 also. A natural corollary was that the new provision should apply to orders made by the High Court or by the SC in appeals against such. awards, that is awards made between April 30, 1982 and September 24, 1984. Parliament did not intend and could not have intended that whatever be the date of the award, however ancient it may be, solatium would stand enhanced to thirty per centum if an appeal happened by chance or accident to be pending on April 30, 1982. Surely it was not the intention of Parliament to reward those who kept alive the litigation even after several years. If it