The question referred for decision in the two appeals is whether the Court-fee paid on them is correct.

The Court-fee that was paid on the appeals was in accordance with the provisions of the Court-fees Act of 1870 which for the sake of brevity I shall hereafter refer to as the Old Court-fees Act. It is contended on behalf of the State that the Court-fee has got to be calculated on the basis of the Court-fees Act (XIV of 1955) which came into force on 19th May, 1955. I shall refer to that Act as the New Court-fees Act. The appeals are filed under section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act claiming a higher compensation for certain lands acquired in Tondiarpet under the Town Planning Act. In respect of the lands so acquired the Land Acquisition Officer published a notification on 14th May, 1955, under section 9. Claims were filed by the appellants on 7th June, 1955, stating that they were entitled to a particular amount of compensation. The Land Acquisition Officer passed the award on 14th June, 1955. The claimants were however dissatisfied with the award and at their instance a reference was made under the provisions of section 18 of the Act on 21st July, 1955. The principal Cit