Summary
The Court partly allowed the landowners’ appeals and enhanced compensation for the 1976 acquisition to Rs.28.12 per square yard, with available statutory benefits. It rejected Rs.297 per square yard based on a 1991 acquisition and earlier cases inadvertently tagged with it. Equality did not entitle the appellants to repeat that mistake. Backward deduction from a 1983 acquisition was also rejected given intervening development. Consistent awards for the same period and comparable land supported the rate granted.
Issues
- Whether parity with mistakenly grouped appeals justified Rs.297 per square yard for the 1976 acquisition.
- Whether later acquisition awards could supply a backward-depreciated valuation, and what comparable rate was justified.
Held
- The 1991 acquisition in Mangu was not comparable to the present acquisition approximately fifteen years earlier. The inclusion of four 1977-acquisition appeals in that batch without noticing their dates was an apparent mistake. The appellants could not obtain its benefit by invoking parity, regardless of the pending review applications. (¶¶ 12.1, 13, 13.1)
- The other award relied on for Rs.297 per square yard had itself been reviewed and reduced to Rs.28.12 per square yard, with that result confirmed by this Court. Consistent awards for the 1976–1977 acquisitions and the absence of distinguishing features supported the latter rate. (¶¶ 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 13.2, 13.3)
- The alternative request to deduct ten per cent annually from a 1983 acquisition award was rejected. The later land value was not a proper comparator here: development after 1980 and the later development plan materially distinguished the conditions from those prevailing in 1976. (¶ 14)
- All appeals were partly allowed by substituting compensation of Rs.28.12 per square yard, with statutory benefits available on the enhanced compensation under the Land Acquisition Act. There was no order as to costs. (¶ 15)
Result
Appeals partly allowed; compensation enhanced to Rs.28.12 per square yard with available statutory benefits on the enhanced amount. No costs.