Interest on compensation is payable only from the date of taking possession, not from the date of notification.

The appellant’s land was acquired by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways under the National Highways Act, 1956, via a notification issued under Section 3(D) on August 11, 2017.

The appellant filed a writ petition claiming interest on the compensation amount, which a Single Judge dismissed on September 6, 2024.

The Single Judge found that the appellant provided no evidence of when possession was actually taken, noting only a notice dated August 22, 2024, requesting police assistance to secure possession.

The appellant challenged this dismissal via an intra-court appeal, asserting entitlement to interest from the date of the Section 3(D) notification.

1. Whether a landowner is entitled to interest on compensation from the date of a Section 3(D) notification under the National Highways Act, 1956, rather than the date of actual possession.

2. Whether the appellant met the statutory criteria for the grant of interest under Section 80 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

The Court applied Section 80 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, which mandates the payment of interest at 9% per annum (increasing to 15% after one year) from the time of "taking possession" of the land until the compensation is paid or deposited.

It also considered the scheme of the National Highways Act, 1956, specifically Section 3(D) regarding the vesting of land in the Central Government and Section 3(H)(1) regarding the deposit of compensation prior to taking physical possession.

The Court rejected the appellant's contention that interest should accrue from the date of the Section 3(D) notification.

It reasoned that while Section 3(D) vests the land in the Government, the statutory right to interest under Section 80 of the 2013 Act is explicitly triggered only by the act of "taking possession".

The Court observed that the appellant failed to plead or prove the specific date on which physical possession was surrendered.

Evidence showed that as late as August 22, 2024, the Competent Authority was still seeking police help to acquire possession, whereas the compensation had already been deposited prior to that date.

Consequently, because the deposit preceded the government's attempt to take physical possession, the legal requirement for interest was not triggered.

Since the compensation was deposited before the authorities even secured possession of the land, the appellant was not entitled to interest.

The Special Appeal was dismissed, and the order of the Single Judge was upheld.