The main legal point established in the judgment is the entitlement of the appellants to additional compensation at specified rates and the exclusion of interest on the enhanced compensation for the period of delay.

JUDGMENT :

NIKHIL S. KARIEL, J.

1. Heard learned Advocate Mr. Utsav P. Parikh for the appellants and learned AGP Ms. Roshni Patel for the respondent-State.

2. ADMIT. Learned AGP Ms. Patel waives service of notice of admission on behalf of the respondent-State.

3. With consent of learned Advocates for the parties, the present first appeal is taken up for final disposal.

4. By way of this appeal, the appellants challenge judgment and order passed by the learned Principal Senior Civil Judge, Amreli, dated 30.01.2018 in Land Reference Case No. 159 of 1999.

5. Learned Advocate Mr. Parikh for the appellants, at the outset, refers to a decision of a learned Co-ordinate Bench of this Court (Coram: Mr. Justice J.B. Pardiwala, as His Lordship then was) dated 08.10.2018 in First Appeal No. 3828 of 2018 and allied matters and would submit that for lands situated in the very same village as the land in question which had been acquired for the very same project, the learned Co-ordinate Bench, relying upon decision of the Hon'ble Division Bench of this Court in case of land acquired for the very same Vadi Irrigation Project, had modified the award by granting additional compensation in favour of the claimants therein.

6. This Court has perused the order dated 08.10.2018 and whereas it would appear that the land had been acquired for the very same Irrigation Project and whereas even the dates of Notification under Section 4 and Notification under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act are near about dates. Having regard to the same, this Court is of the opinion that the law laid down by the Hon'ble Division Bench and followed by the learned Coordinate Bench of this Court, would be binding on this Court. As it is, this Court had requested learned AGP Ms. Patel to make any submission as regards the decision being relied upon by learned Advocate for the appellants, not being relatable to the facts of the present case and whereas learned AGP could not controvert the submissions that the judgment of this Court is of the same village and whereas the land had been acquired for the very selfsame purpose.

7. Having regard to such a situation, this Court proposes to refer to and rely upon reasoning by the learned Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in order dated 08.10.2018 for the purpose of present appeal also which reads as thus:

“1. As the issues raised in all the captioned appeals are the same, and the challenge is also to a selfsame judgment and award passed by the Reference Court, those were heard analogously and are being disposed of by this common judgment and order.

2. These first appeals arise from a judgment and order passed by the Principal Senior Civil Judge, Amreli in the Land Reference Cases Nos. 9 of 2005 to 18 of 2005 dated 17th March, 2018. The court below partly allowed the references. The Reference Court has determined the compensation at Rs.30 per square meter for the irrigated (Bagayat) land and Rs.20 per square meter for the non-irrigated (Jirayat) land with the statutory benefit of 30% solation, 12% increase under section 23(1)(A) of the Land Acquisition Act and interest at the rate of Rs.9% for the first year and 15% for the remaining years from the date of taking over of the possession. The land of the appellants is situated at village Venivadar, Taluka: Amreli, District: Amreli. The lands were acquired for the purpose of the Vadi Irrigation Project.

3. On 8.8.1996, a notification under section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act was published in the Gujarat Government Gazette.

4. On 24.6.1997, declaration was published in the Gujarat Government Gazette, Part-1-B on pages 246 to 247 under section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act.

5. On 18.3.1998, the land acquisition office declared the award under section 11 of the Land Acquisition Act.

Compensation was offered at the rate of Rs.7/- per square meter for Jiyarat land and Rs.10.50 paise for Bagayat l