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M/S Periyar and Pareekanni Rubbers Ltd. v. The State of Kerala

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal Nos. 7034-7037 of 2015)Decided 14 Sept 2015
Civil Appeal Nos. 7034-7037 of 2015
Justice V. Gopala Gowda · Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel

Background

This is a split decision, not a final judgment. M/s Periyar and Pareekanni Rubbers Ltd. claimed interest on enhanced solatium for land acquired for the Periyar Valley Irrigation Project. The claim arose in execution proceedings against the State of Kerala.

Decision Breakdown

This is a split decision, not a final judgment. Justice V. Gopala Gowda held the appellant entitled to interest on solatium from the date of dispossession. Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel held that, under binding precedent as it then stood, such interest could run only from 19 September 2001, the date of the Sunder judgment, and that only a larger bench could take a contrary view. By a common order dated 14 September 2015, the judges directed the Registry to place the papers before the Chief Justice of India so that the appeals could be assigned to an appropriate bench.

Lesson Learnt

There is no final ruling yet on the date from which interest on solatium is payable to this appellant. The question will be decided by a differently constituted bench.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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