Summary
In appeals over compensation for a 2005 acquisition, the High Court had mechanically escalated an earlier award by 15 per cent cumulatively. The Court held that an award concerning other land is comparable evidence, not binding valuation precedent, and requires scrutiny of its basis, similarity and development deductions. It reduced compensation to Rs. 95 lakh per acre with statutory benefits.
Issues
- How earlier awards and sale transactions should be used to determine market value.
- Whether cumulative escalation and development deductions supported the High Court’s valuation.
- What consequence followed the unreasoned dismissal of an SLP concerning the earlier award.
Held
- Previous awards not inter partes are evidence comparable to sale exemplars, not binding determinations of another parcel’s price. Similarity in location, size, nature, time and other advantages must be established, and the underlying transaction and any mistake or inadequate deduction examined. Current comparable sale evidence cannot be ignored in favour of mechanical parity. (¶¶ 14–18, 24–26)
- An award not part of the reference evidence must be properly introduced on appeal under Order XLI Rule 27, with opportunity for the opponent to rebut it. It cannot simply be cited at arguments as proof of market value. (¶ 19)
- An unreasoned dismissal of special leave did not turn the earlier High Court valuation into a binding Supreme Court precedent or merits approval. (¶ 25)
- The High Court’s 15 per cent cumulative annual increase was unjustified on this record. Considering the nearby award and subsequent transactions, a flat increase of about 12–13 per cent yielded approximately Rs. 1.10 crore per acre; an additional Rs. 15 lakh development deduction produced Rs. 95 lakh per acre. These adjustments were fact-specific rather than fixed valuation rules for all acquisitions. (¶ 27–32)
Result
State’s appeals partly allowed; landowners’ appeals dismissed. Compensation reduced from Rs. 1,46,09,000 to Rs. 95,00,000 per acre, with statutory benefits. No costs.