R.F.A. No. 1984 of 1990 [Page numbers]
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA
AT CHANDIGARH
Date of decision: November 03, 2008
(1) R.F.A. No. 1984 of 1990
Balwinder Singh
.. Appellant
v.
State of Haryana
.. Respondent
(2) R.F.A. No. 1985 of 1990
Harbhajan Singh
.. Appellant
v.
State of Haryana
.. Respondent
(3) R.F.A. No. 1986 of 1990
Gurbhajan Singh
.. Appellant
v.
State of Haryana
.. Respondent
(4) R.F.A. No. 1987 of 1990
Prit Pal Singh @ Prithi Pal Singh
.. Appellant
v.
State of Haryana
.. Respondent
(5) R.F.A. No. 1988 of 1990
Sobha Chand
.. Appellant
v.
State of Haryana
.. Respondent
(6) R.F.A. No. 1989 of 1990
Banwari
.. Appellant
v.
State of Haryana
.. Respondent
R.F.A. No. 1984 of 1990 [Page numbers]
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH BINDAL
Present: Mr. C.B. Goel, Advocate for the appellants.
Mr. Lokesh Sinhal, Additional Advocate General, Haryana
for the State.
Rajesh Bindal J.
This order will dispose of a bunch of six appeals bearing R.F.A. Nos.
1984 to 1989 of 1990, as the same arise out of a common acquisition.
The facts have been extracted from R.F.A. No. 1984 of 1990.
The land owners are in appeal before this Court against the award of
the learned Court below seeking further enhancement of the compensation for the
acquired land.
Briefly, the facts are that land measuring 47 acres, 4 kanals and 16
marlas of land, situated in village Bishanpura, Tehsil and District Jind, was
acquired vide notification dated 6.3.1986, issued under Section 4 of the Land
Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, `the Act’) for the purpose of construction of new
Grain Market, Jind. The Land Acquisition Collector (for short, `the Collector’)
vide his award dated 9.2.1987 determined the market value of the acquired land @
Rs. 56,925/- per acre. Dissatisfied with the award, the land owners filed
objections which were referred to the learned Court below for consideration, who
considering the material placed on record by the parties, assessed the market value
of the acquired land @ Rs. 90,000/- per acre.
Learned counsel for the appellants submitted that while assessing the
value of the acquired land, the learned Court below had failed to take into
consideration its future potential. The area was fast developing and the pressure
for urbanisation was on Jind-Rohtak road on which the land in question was
situated. He relied upon a judgment of this Court in R.F.A. No. 222 of 1984–
Smt. Chameli Devi and others v. State of Haryana, decided on 28.8.2008, where
for acquisition carried out in the year 1976, the value of the acquired land was
assessed at Rs. 40/- to Rs. 50/- per square yard. The submission is that the land in
question is situated about 1-1/2 kilometers from the City and considering the
aforesaid judgment to be an appropriate judicial precedent, the value of the land
which was acquired vide notification 6.3.1986, be assessed accordingly.
Learned counsel for the State submitted that before the Court below,
reliance of the appellants was on an earlier award dated 5.2.1987 (Ex. PA)
delivered by the Court below with reference to acquisition of land for LPG
Bottling Plant, where for acquisition carried out on 30.4.1985, the value of the land
R.F.A. No. 1984 of 1990 [Page numbers]
was assessed at Rs. 80,000/- per acre. A portion of the land in the aforesaid award
was situated just across the road. Relying thereupon, the value of the acquired land
in the present case was assessed at Rs. 90,000/- per acre, keeping in view the fact
that acquisition is vide notification dated 6.3.1986. He further submitted that
learned counsel for the appellants has not pointed out as to whether the land
owners preferred any appeal against award (Ex. PA) or the same attained finality.
As far as reliance on the judgment of this Court in Smt. Chameli
Devi’s case (supra) is concerned, the submission is that the same cannot be
considered at all for the purpose of determination of fair value of the land. It is for
the reason that the land forming part therein was situated, way back in 1976 at the
time of acquisition, within the municipal limits, which was already urbanised. He
further submitted that there is no evidence on record, either oral or documentary, to
show the location of the land dealt with in Smt. Chameli Devi’s case (supra) vis-a-
vis the land in the present case. In the absence thereof, reliance thereon will not
be appropriate. Mere oral statement of learned counsel for the appellants to submit
that the land in question is located 1-1/2 kilometers from the city of Jind cannot be
accepted as such on its face value for the simple reason that in 10 years, i.e., upto
the time when the land in question was acquired or upto the time when the oral
evidence of the parties was recorded, the city might have grown and on that
account, the distance may have reduced. Referring to the statement of RW-1, the
submission is that the distance was not less than three kilometers.
Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.
While determining the fair value of the land, the learned court below
relied upon award (Ex. PA) pertaining to acquisition of land vide notification
dated 30.4.1985, which was situated just opposite the land in question across the
road. As there was difference in the two acquisitions of about a year, the value in
the present case was assessed at Rs. 90,000/- per acre. In addition to this, the
appellants produced on record four sale deeds ( Ex. P6 to Ex. P9) pertaining to the
sale transactions in the area. A perusal of sale deed (Ex. P6) dated 5.5.1983 shows
that one kanal of land was sold for Rs. 12,000/- at an average price of Rs. 96,000/-
per acre. The location thereof is merely three killas away from the acquired land.
Another sale deed (Ex. P9) dated 29.10.1980 was produced vide which land
measuring 5 kanals 7 marlas was sold for Rs. 49,000/- at an average price of Rs.
70,000/- per acre. This portion of land is also located just one killa away from the
acquired land. As far as sale deed (Ex. P7) dated 1.6.1988, pertaining to the land in
the revenue estate of Bishanpura, is concerned, land measuring 18 marlas was
sold for Rs. 16,500/- at an average price of Rs. 1,46,000/- per acre. Sale deed (Ex.
R.F.A. No. 1984 of 1990 [Page numbers]
P8) is pertaining to the land of revenue estate of Jind which may not be relevant.
A perusal of award (Ex. PA), on which reliance was placed upon by
the learned court below for the purpose of determination of fair value of the land
in the present case, shows that the land owners therein produced six sale deeds, out
of which three pertained to Village Kishanpura and one to village Bishanpura,
whereas two sale deeds (Ex. P6 and Ex. P7) pertained to revenue estate of Jind.
The location of the land forming part of four sale deeds (Ex. P8 to Ex. P11) was
just close to the land acquired for LPG Bottling Plant. The latest transaction
entered into was on 16.8.1985, where 21 kanals 8 marlas of land was sold at an
average price of Rs. 65,000/- per acre. In addition to this, for smaller plots,
consideration of the transactions in the sale deeds was upto Rs. 96,000/- per acre.
The acquisition in the present case is for a large chunk of land measuring 47 acres,
4 kanals and 16 marlas. The trend of prices in the area is evident from sale deed
(Ex. P7), where two years and five months after the acquisition, a plot of 18 marlas
in the revenue estate of Bishanpura was sold at an average price of Rs. 1,46,000/-
per acre.
As far as reliance of learned counsel for the appellants on the
judgment of this Court in Smt. Chameli Devi’s case (supra) is concerned, I do not
find that the same can be made basis for determination of fair value of the land in
the present case in the absence of any oral or documentary evidence on record to
show the location of that land, vis-a-vis, the acquired land. The best piece of
evidence in the form of final determination of value of the land acquired for LPG
Bottling Plant, which is situated just opposite the acquired land, is not available as
it is only the award of the learned Court below which is there on record, which was
rightly relied upon by the Court below.
Considering the entire material on record in the form of sale deeds
produced by the appellants showing the value ranging from Rs. 70,000/- to Rs.
96,000/- per acre for the transactions entered into before the acquisition in the
years 1980 and 1983 and further @ Rs. 1,46,000/- per acre for the transaction
entered into nearly two years and five months after the date of acquisition. In my
considered opinion, if the appreciation in value for the older sale deeds and the cut,
which is to be applied for them being of small plots, is set off, the value in the
present case can be assessed at the most @ Rs. 1,00,000/- per acre. Ordered
accordingly.
R.F.A. No. 1984 of 1990 [Page numbers]
The appellants shall also be entitled to all statutory benefits as are
available under the Act. The appeals are partly allowed.
(Rajesh Bindal)
Judge
November 03 , 2008
mk