Summary
Small landholders in Sultanpur, Gurugram, whose lands were acquired in 2005 for an expressway, obtained from the Reference Court after a Supreme Court remand a market value of Rs. 22,00,754 per acre based on a small-plot sale exemplar less 35 per cent for development, but the Punjab and Haryana High Court reduced it to Rs. 14,52,010 by applying the Collector's floor-rate circular. The Supreme Court partly allowed the landowners' appeals: the High Court could not fall back on the circular when sale evidence had been led after remand, the small urbanised plots were comparable to the small-plot exemplar rather than to large agricultural sales, no escalation was warranted for a 35-day gap, and a 25 per cent development deduction was appropriate for a new expressway, giving Rs. 25,20,000 per acre; excess amounts received are repayable in three interest-free instalments.
Issues
- Whether, after remand for fresh determination on evidence, the High Court could fix market value on the Collector's floor-rate circular rather than on the sale exemplars placed on record.
- Whether a sale exemplar of a small plot could be relied on for small urbanised holdings within a large acquisition, and what deduction for development charges was appropriate for land acquired for an expressway.
Provisions considered
- Sections 4, 6, 17(2), 18 and 23, Land Acquisition Act, 1894Market value on the date of the preliminary notification is determined on the price a willing purchaser would pay a willing seller as shown by comparable sale exemplars; following Kakhot Singhji Vaghela and Atma Singh, small-plot exemplars cannot be ignored for small holdings with non-agricultural potential, subject to appropriate deduction for development. (¶¶ 2, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16)
Held
- When the matter was remanded in Surender Singh despite the floor-rate circular being available, the parties were directed to lead evidence; the High Court's reliance on the circular alone in the face of that evidence was unjustified. The Reference Court's reason for discarding the acquiring body's large-tract exemplars, that they were below the award, was wrong, but the conclusion was right because the lands are within the Gurgaon-Manesar Urban Complex and the award itself records no standing crops, so large agricultural sale deeds were not shown to be comparable; comparability, not size alone, is the test. (¶¶ 9, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17)
- The exemplar of 07.12.2004 for five marlas at Rs. 1,05,000, equal to Rs. 33,60,000 per acre and close in time to the notification of 11.01.2005, was rightly adopted, but escalation for 35 days was unwarranted; a new expressway requires service roads, flyovers, underpasses and dividers, so a deduction for development is called for, and following Jag Mahender 25 per cent rather than 35 per cent is appropriate, yielding Rs. 25,20,000 per acre. (¶¶ 18, 19, 20, 21)
- Landowners who received higher amounts under the earlier judgments cannot be treated differently from others in the same acquisition, so the excess is recoverable, but applying actus curiae neminem gravabit the refund may be made in three half-yearly instalments free of interest, failing which it carries 9 per cent interest and is recoverable as arrears of land revenue. (¶¶ 22, 23)
Result
Appeals partly allowed; Punjab and Haryana High Court judgment dated 07.10.2021 in RFA No. 848 of 2021 and connected appeals set aside; Reference Court judgment dated 10.01.2020 restored and modified to fix the market value of the acquired land at Rs. 25,20,000 per acre, payable with statutory benefits and costs throughout; excess amounts received by any landowner repayable in three half-yearly interest-free instalments, with 9 per cent interest and recovery as arrears of land revenue on default; pending applications disposed of.