1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY, APPELLATE SIDE NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR FIRST APPEAL NO. 925 OF 2009 1. STATE OF MAH & ANOTHER. .. PETITIONER/S VERSUS 1. RAMCHANDRA JANBA KATARKAR & 2 OTHERS. .. RESPONDENT/S Office Notes, Office Memoranda of Coram, appearances, Court orders or directions and Registrar's orders Court's or Judge's orders Shri Khubalkar AGP for appellant/State. CORAM: C. L. PANGARKAR J. Dated: 13 th AUGUST, 2009. This First Appeal is preferred against the award passed by 2 the reference Court in Land Acquisition Case No. 143 of 1992. Government of Maharashtra has come up in appeal. 2. Government of Maharashtra had decided to acquire the land for Niljai Open Cast Mining Development Project of Coal at Ukani village. Land belonging to the respondent measuring 1.35 Hectare of Gat No. 505 of village Ukani was also acquired by the Notification under Section 4. The Notification is dated 18.08.90. Land Acquisition Officer awarded compensation at the rate of Rs. 20,500/- per hectare. Respondent felt aggrieved by the same and sought a reference under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act. The said reference was heard by the learned Civil Judge Senior Division. He awarded compensation at the rate of Rs. 45,000/- per hectare and the Government feels aggrieved. 3. Learned counsel for the appellant submits that in fact there was no evidence before the Court to determine the compensation at the rate of Rs. 45,000/- and the compensation as awarded by the Land Acquisition Officer was correct. After having gone through the judgment of the learned Judge of the reference Court I find that he has rightly ignored the sale instances that were placed before him because most of the sale instances were in respect of the lands sold after Notification. Some of the instances 3 were in respect of lands in the adjoining villages. Learned Judge has however relied upon the award passed by the Civil Court in respect of a land acquired by the Government for the same project under the same Notification and of the same village. Civil Court has awarded compensation at the rate of Rs. 45,000/- in the said land acquisition case. Since that was the evidence that was available same has been rightly appreciated by the Court below. The said reliance put by the learned Judge on the said determination of compensation by the Civil Court cannot be said to be perverse. On the other hand that was the best evidence available and that has been considered. I therefore see no merit in the appeal. The same is dismissed in limine. JUDGE svk 4 5 6