JUDGMENT

G.S. Singhvi, J. —

1. Whether the Delhi Development Authority (for short, ‘the DDA’), at whose instance land of the respondents and others situated at Village Bahapur was acquired for Planned Development of Delhi and who was asked to release Rs.14,15,82,253/- for payment of compensation can be treated as “person interested” within the meaning of Section 3(b) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, ‘the Act’) and it was entitled to an opportunity to participate in the proceedings held before the Land Acquisition Collector and the Reference Court for determining the compensation is the question which arises for consideration in these petitions filed against the judgment of the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court whereby market value of the acquired land was fixed at Rs.2,000/- per sq. yd. and direction was issued for payment of compensation to the contesting respondents with 15 per cent solatium and 6 per cent interest.

2. Since the DDA was neither made a party to the proceedings held by the Land Acquisition Collector or the Reference Court nor it was given an opportunity to adduce evidence on the issue of determination of compensation and the High Court substantia