R.F.A. No. 3039 of 1989 [1] IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH R.F.A. No. 3039 of 1989 (O&M) Date of decision: 27.1.2011 Shri Bajo Ram .. Appellant v. The State of Punjab and others .. Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH BINDAL Present: Ms. Sukhpreet Kaur, Advocate for the appellant. Mr. Yatinder Sharma, Deputy Advocate General, Punjab. Mr. Rajiv Joshi, Advocate for respondent No. 3. ... Rajesh Bindal J. The land owner is in appeal seeking further enhancement of compensation for the acquired land awarded by the learned court below. Briefly, the facts of the case are that vide notification dated 22.7.1980, issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, `the Act'), State of Punjab acquired 4 kanals of land in the revenue estate of village Bhadroya, H. B. No. 333, Tehsil Pathankot for construction of Over Head Service Reservoir at Bhadroya. The same was followed by notification dated 22.7.1980, issued under Section 6 of the Act. The Land Acquisition Collector (for short, `the Collector'), vide his award dated 29.4.1982, assessed the market value of the acquired land @ ` 1,700/- per marla. Dissatisfied with the award of the Collector, the land owners filed objections. On reference under Section 18 of the Act, the learned court below assessed the market value of the aquired land @ ` 2,200/- per marla. Learned counsel for the appellant-land owner argued that the R.F.A. No. 3039 of 1989 [2] amount of compensation, as assessed by the learned court below is not in terms of the evidence produced by him on record. Sale deed (Ex. A3) produced on record has not been given its due weightage. It was located quite close to the acquired land. The average consideration paid therein was ` 4,100/- per marla, whereas the learned court below has awarded merely ` 2,200/- per marla. On the other hand, learned counsel for the respondents submitted that the amount of compensation, as assessed by the learned court below, is already on higher side. The sale deeds produced by the State were showing average price in the range of ` 500/- to ` 666/- per marla. The award of the Collector was already more than that, namely, ` 1,700/- per marla, hence, there was no reason to have increased the value thereof any further. After hearing learned counsel for the parties, I do not find any merit in the present appeal. The land owner placed reliance upon sale deed (Ex. A3) dated 26.2.1970, whereas the notification under Section 4 of the Act in the present case was issued on 22.7.1980. The average sale consideration in the aforesaid sale deed was ` 4,100/- per marla. There are sale deeds produced on record by the State pertaining to small plots of land, where the average sale consideration paid is merely ` 500/- to ` 666/- per marla. Moreover, the land owner in his claim before the Collector had demanded merely ` 2,500/- per marla as the amount of compensation. Considering the totality of circumstances and also the comparative location, the learned court below by applying a thumb rule had assessed the value of the acquired land @ ` 2,200/- per marla, which does not call for any interference. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed. ( Rajesh Bindal ) Judge 27.1.2011 mk