The main legal point established in the judgment is that under the Land Acquisition Act and Section 8, Court-fees Act, the appellant is required to include 15 per cent of the market value in the valuation of the appeal and pay court fees on the total amount claimed.

Anantakirshna Ayyar, J.

1. The question that has been referred to me is whether an appellant whose lands were acquired under the Land Acquisition Act (1 of 1894), but who, being dissatisfied with the amount of compensation awarded to him by the Court on a reference made to it under Section 18 of the Act, appeals to the High Court, is bound to include in the valuation of his appeal the amount of 15 per cent of the excess market value, and pay court-fee thereon, or whether he is entitled to value his appeal only at the excess market value claimed by him and pay court-fee on that amount only, while insisting in case of success in the appeal that he should be decreed not only the excess market value claimed by him but also 15 per cent on the same.

2. The answer to this question turns on the proper construction to be placed on Section 8, Court-fees Act. Section 8 runs in these terms:

The amount of fee payable under this Act on a memorandum of appeal against an order relating to compensation under any Act for the time being in force for the acquisition of land for public purposes shall be computed according to the difference-between the amount awarded and the amount claimed by the appellant.

3. It was argued on behalf of the appellant that under Section 23, Sub-section (1), Land Acquisition Act, the amount of compensation to be awarded is determined by the considerations mentioned in Clauses 1 to 11 of the section and that in construing Section 8, Court-fees Act, the expression "the amount awarded" should be taken to cover only the amount awarded having regard to the considerations mentioned in Clauses 1 to 6 only of Section 23 and that the expression, amount claimed" in Section 8 should also receive a similar construction, I am unable to accede to that contention. Under the Land Acquisition Act, it is the amount of compensation that should be allowed for the land that has to be determined; and in determining the amount of compensation the Court has to take into consideration not only the provisions of Clauses 1 to 6, Section 23, Sub-section 1, but also the provisions of Sub-section 2 of that section. Sub-section 2, Section 23 expressly enacts:

In addition to the market value of the land as above provided, the Court shall in every case award a sum of 15 per centum on such market value in consideration of the compulsory nature of the acquisition,

4. As I understand the Act, the amount of compensation to be awarded includes not only the market value but also the 15 per cent on such market value. A reference to the other sections of the Land Acquisition Act, in my opinion, makes this clear. Under Section 11, the Collector shall make an award of the compensation which in his opinion should be allowed for the land, and also "the apportionment of the said compensation among the claimants." Again under Section 31the Collector shall tender payment of the compensation awarded by him to the persons interested; and if they did not consent to receive it, the Collector shall deposit the amount of compensation in the Court to which a reference under Section 18 would be submitted.

5. It is clear that the expression "amount of compensation awarded by the Collector," in Section 31 includes not only the market value but also the 15 per cent thereon, since it is clear that the Collector is bound to tender to the claimants the said 15 per cent also and to deposit the same in Court if the claimants did not consent to receive the same. Again Section 15 of the Act enacts that in determining the amount of compensation, the Collector shall be guided by the provisions contained in Sections 23 and 24, that is, not only by the provisions of Sub-section 1, Clauses 1 to 6, Section 23, but also by Sub-section 2, Section 23.

6. It seems to me to be clear that the extra amount of compensation claimed by the appellant in an appeal should under Section 8, Court-fees Act, include also the 15 per cent of the market value and that he should pay court-fees on the total a