The appellant's land was utilized for road construction in 1990, but the Section 4 notification under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 was issued only in 2007. The Reference Court enhanced compensation to Rs.15,000 per biswa for all land categories and awarded interest from the Collector's award date. The appellant challenged the denial of damages for the 1990-2007 period and the interest computation.
Relying on Madishetti Bala Ramul (2007) 9 SCC 650, Tahera Khatoon (2014) 13 SCC 613, and Balwan Singh (2016) 13 SCC 412, the Court held that where the State takes possession before issuing a notification, the landowner is entitled to additional interest at 15% per annum as damages from the date of dispossession to the notification date. The Court also followed its own coordinate bench decisions in State of H.P. vs. Lekh Ram (2018), Principal Secretary (PWD) vs. Jai Gopal (RFA 307/2012), and Tribhuwan vs. State of H.P. (RFA 283/2013).
The Court found that the State did not specifically deny the appellant's pleadings about 1990 dispossession, and witness evidence confirmed possession was taken in 1990. Accordingly, the award was modified to grant: (1) additional interest at 15% per annum as damages from 1990 to 17.05.2007; (2) interest at 9% per annum from 17.05.2007 for one year, then 15% per annum until actual payment/deposit. The balance of the Reference Court's award remained intact. The compensation was directed to be calculated and deposited within three months.