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Restitution of excess compensation amount with interest under Section 144 CPC. Analysis: The judgment in question pertains to a case where lands of the appellants were acquired, and compensation was awarded. Subsequently, the compensation amount was enhanced by the Addl. District Judge but later reduced on appeal. The appellants had already received the enhanced compensation amount with interest. The State filed an application for restitution of the excess amount with interest under Section 144 CPC. The District Judge allowed the restitution of the excess amount but disallowed interest. On appeal, the High Court directed the appellants to pay interest, leading to the current appeal by special leave. The key argument raised by the appellants was that the respondent was not entitled to interest in an application for restitution under Section 144 of the CPC as there was no specific direction to pay interest. However, the court found no merit in this contention, noting that the appellants had indeed received the enhanced compensation amount with interest as per the provisions of the Act. The judgment delves into the legal principles underlying the doctrine of restitution under Section 144 CPC. It explains that restitution is warranted when a decree is reversed or varied, and the party who received the benefit of the erroneous decree must make restitution to the other party for what was lost. The court emphasized that restitution aims to restore the parties to their original positions prior to the erroneous decree. In cases where a sum of money was recovered under a decree that is subsequently reversed or varied, the judgment-debtor is entitled to not only the recovered sum but also interest, damages, or compensation for the period the amount was withheld. The court further elaborated that in this case, since the compensation amount was reduced on appeal, the appellants were liable to restitute the excess amount they had received in execution, along with interest. The direction to refund the enhanced amount with interest was deemed appropriate under the powers conferred by Section 144 of the Code. The court concluded that the High Court's decision to order restitution with interest was justified, as the appellants had benefited from the excess amount until the date of return or restitution. In light of the above analysis, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and ordered no costs to be incurred.
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