Summary
Both the acquiring authority and landowner challenged compensation based on adjacent developed-plot sales. The Court retained the Rs.6-per-square-foot valuation but increased the development deduction from one-third to 40%, considering the acquired tract’s size, undeveloped agricultural condition and the exemplars’ superior access and development. It partly allowed the authority’s appeals and dismissed the landowner’s enhancement appeals, preserving statutory benefits.
Issues
- Whether small developed-plot sales could support valuation of the large acquired agricultural tract.
- What development deduction appropriately adjusted the exemplars to the acquired land.
Held
- Small-plot transactions generally do not command the same unit value as a large tract. Nonetheless, where no better sale evidence is available, square-foot valuation using suitable exemplars can be adopted with an appropriate adjustment for development and scale. (¶ 5-6.2)
- The older small-plot transactions were properly discarded. The adjacent survey’s sales were nearer comparables, but their direct main-road access and location justified reducing the Rs.7 exemplar rate to Rs.6 for the acquired land. (¶ 5-6)
- Development deduction depends on the actual land, extent, development, potential and exemplar features; no single percentage governs every acquisition. The High Court had not adequately explained its one-third deduction. (¶ 6.1-7)
- The acquired land was a large, not fully developed agricultural tract, while the relied-on sales concerned very small developed non-agricultural plots with better access. A 40% deduction was appropriate on these facts. (¶ 7-8)
Result
Acquiring authority’s Civil Appeals 176–177 of 2022 partly allowed: compensation fixed at Rs.6 per square foot subject to 40% development deduction, with all statutory benefits. Landowner’s Civil Appeals 178–179 of 2022 dismissed. No costs.