Summary
For about 58 acres at village Kherki Majra notified on 13 January 2010, the Reference Court raised compensation from Rs. 60 lakhs to Rs. 1,56,24,000 per acre, and the Punjab and Haryana High Court, on the landowners' appeals, took the Rs. 2,38,00,000 per acre fixed by the Supreme Court for the same village's January 2008 notification and added a 12 per cent cumulative increase to reach Rs. 2,98,54,720. The Supreme Court partly allowed Haryana's appeals: although the earlier decision was declared not to be a precedent, it had accepted sale instances of 2007 and 2008 on merits and could serve as a base, and an annual increase of 8 to 15 per cent is permissible under Pehlad Ram and Ramrao Shankar Tapase; but because acquisitions in the same village began in 2008 a 12 per cent cumulative rise was not safe, and a 10 per cent increase yielding Rs. 2,87,98,000 per acre was just compensation.
Issues
- Whether the High Court could adopt as a base the compensation fixed by the Supreme Court for an earlier notification in the same village, expressly declared not to be a precedent, and what rate of annual increase was appropriate for land notified two years later.
Provisions considered
- Sections 18 and 23, Land Acquisition Act, 1894Market value for a later notification may be determined by applying a reasonable annual escalation to a reliable base value for comparable land in the same village; following Pehlad Ram and Ramrao Shankar Tapase, an increase of 8 to 15 per cent a year is permissible depending on the evidence of price movement. (¶¶ 6, 7)
Held
- The determination of Rs. 2,38,00,000 per acre for the notification of 25.01.2008 rested on acceptance of sale instances from 2007 and 2008 and could be treated as the base notwithstanding the observation that it would not be a precedent; however, since acquisition proceedings in the village had begun in January 2008, it would not be prudent to grant a cumulative increase of 12 per cent, and a 10 per cent increase meets the ends of justice. (¶¶ 6, 7, 8)
Result
Appeals partly allowed without costs; Punjab and Haryana High Court common judgment dated 18.10.2019 in RFA No. 1100 of 2013 and connected appeals modified to fix compensation for lands acquired under the notification dated 13.01.2010 at Rs. 2,87,98,000 per acre with all statutory benefits under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894; State of Haryana to pay the compensation, less amounts already paid, within six weeks.