$-Be t( o/o + IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI LA.APP. 1035/2008 NIMANT RANA Through: UOI AND ANR. Through: .....Appellant Mr.B.P.Gupta and Mr.Rajesh Gupta, Advocates. VCTSUS Respondents Mr.Sanjay Poddar, Advocate Mr.Ramesh Ray, Advocate and Mr.Ashish Tanwar, Advocate for UOl. Mr.Ajay Verma, Advocate for DDA. COMM: HON,BLE MR. JUSTTCE PRADEEP NANDRAJOG 1. whether the Reporters of rocar papers may be allowed to see the judgment? 2. To be referred to Reporter or not? 3. whether the judgment shourd be reported in the Digest? PRADEEP NANDMIOG, J. For orders see LA.App. No.59/2007 -^.:11 (PRADEEP NANDRAJOG) JUDGE JUNE 07,20LL dk ' 'aament Delivered On: 7.' 20iI Digitally Signed By:AMULYA Certify that the digital file and physical file have been compared and the digital data is as per the physical file and no page is missing. Signature Not Verified IN a Tt-tE|-|lGI-lCoUR-r0FDELi-!l/\I['nE\^/DE!-t-trN % lLttlutrcU aeaerus{@-ltrn e 2 o U i ;,a;;;mCEtiuerc4-en : 7" / un e' z o t t LA APP.NA.59|2OAV 'APPellant : Mr.B.P.Gupta, 'Mr'Deepal< l(hosla - u.ng Mr.L.C.Chec.lri, Mr'R'B.Singh, Mr'Satislr; l(.Vernra and Mr.Rajesh Gupta, Advocates' BED RAM -ftrrbugh: uor & oRS. Tlrrouglr: LA.APP.59 /2007 & connected . nnO +LA,APP.4U2007 & cM /2011 (9!qs5 obiectio:qs],-LA'APP' ' s .npp' o9lz 0o7 ' LA'NP-P-9L12007 ' ; m.npp.oz'-ooz LR.Rpp.oi72oroz - A -Cvt tt:gs/zorr,' )to'gqZlZott' - ta'npp-'- --ASIZ-007 " q'zlzorr, - lA'Rpp'z:/zo-o-z- s' cvl ' , Ln'npp'eglzooz' l-4'4ff'gu20oz' ' Ln'nPP'zaelzqog-= g...^9Y' No.94s -011. - LA'APP' 1gZB/2008' /zooe,- LA'RpP'-r9: Z/Z OOs ' o/zorr' - LA'npRrr0/zoog' 09' LA'APP'559/2009-- 6' Clvl *o.nzglzorr. IV gtO/2011'LA'/-\P-B'2/2010' & cM rye ?1{1?91.1, oro' - LA'APp'9?Ul20r0' on, ta'aPP'sqlzott s' cu g?Q-q/2oI1-' 'fSOlZOrf So CPt rr:00/Zorr' . Versus ResPondents Mr.Sarrjay iPoddar, Standing Counsel (LA), GI\CT Delhi witlr Mr'R.C.Ra1r, Advocate for R-1. Mr.Ajay l(umar Verma, S[andirrg Counsel' D DA; Page l ol'32 .-_-.L*--_-- t-^.^pp.$stz}rr, LA.APP.2sL/49+r, l\'l?-l'+0t2007 ' ffi, ra.aii:illzdfl ' ra.AP-P-.44t2007, o? '- LA'apl '!+gtttzooB ' , LA'A?!'J 197/2oo8' m.npp,o+zlzo LA'A!!'ll1/2010' tR.Rpp.:tq -0. , t-R'RpP'310/zoro' t9 La n!! ?lor?919' rQ,- - - LA'nPP'93qlzoro' o lzott' ta'np-p'37-Z',ZOOl' e - CVt trto' 14r51/2008' - LA'APP'565/2Q9-B-- & clvl ooe l-R'npp'o:uzooe' O0g ' & Cn4 Nq-f549 -Otf ' zooe, Ln'Aqp-'gzo/zooe' orr' - Ln'App'ggzl?99e s' ctvl e Ct{ - . t'lo'SZ:IZOP-9' Ln'aPP' ooq/?nne r n app qqGDOOg & CM No.1035/2009, l-A.APP' 6t2008 P. 1035/2008 008 036120 LA.APP. O2I2OOB, LA.APP., BSr No. 2017, LA.APP r236t2008 P, 1 200 LA.AP 0t2009 & N L/{. 96tCM; r. 102 P.'r204 4t2008 t'r397 t2 LA.APP,55 09&CM 11386l20 LA,APP CM 679 LA.APP.6 N0.96 o.11383 sB0/20c PP. 2 O. LA .APP. 20l. LA.APP .911 LA.APP. 60712 1139512011, LA.AI_P, LA.APP.6 BI/2OIO 7l,393120l-l-, LA.APE :No.11364|2OII 6t20 PP, 94 P. 94912010, LA.A 010, LA, 2t20t PP. 14. 11 6t LA.APP.560/2009 CORAM: lloN'BLE MR,. JUSTICE PRADEEP DIAIDRAJOG 1. Wlretlrer the Reporters of local pap'ers rnay be allowed to see tlre judgment? 2. To be reterred to Reporter or not? ' 3. Wliether- Llre judgnrent should be reported irr the Digest? LA.APP.59 /2007 & connected Page 7 ol 32 PRADEEP NAI\DRAIOG' I. i 1.Un-numberedCTossobjectionsandcivilrrrisce|laneous. appIicatiorrs whiclr are in the natur'e o.[ cross objections, if any' lyirrguntrumbered.intlreabovecaptionedappeaIsn.laybe nutnbered Lry tlre Registry : als ancl 2'.Theinstantc|ecisiorrc|ecides.aforenotedappe cross objections in s'uch appe?ls where cl-oss objectiol-ls are I'iled' 3.1-lreriverYamunaisnoton|yanimportarrL.|'eatureo1' tlre city of Delhi, but is also. a nrajOr'source ol'water supply to the city. lt clraws its water '[rom tfie Yamunotri Glacier in tlre upper reaclres of tlre Himalayas ancl on the way to the plains' is enriclred by tlrg r-iver Tons and needless to state, llulTlerous sLreams and rivulets enrich tlre river- in its onward jourrrey. It travels a distatrce of a5out 400 km irr the plains bel'ore joining river Ganga at I I Allalrabad. 4, |t enters t|re city of Dellri ,.tronr tlre Nortlr an,d.f|ows Southwarcl ancl covers a lerrgtlr ol' nearly 50 km while flowing ,' tlrrouglr Delhi, of wlriclr altout 22 lcm is within the urban stretclr anc|t|reba|ance28|<rnirrtheruralstretc|r.. 5.overtlrelastcenturyt|requa|ityo|.tlrewaterinthe river lras cleteriorated'due to increased waste water discharqe' not only witlrirr the city of Delhi, but even upstreatrl,'whetr flowing tlrrouglr the city of Yarnuna Nagar arrcl the city ol Panipat' both in , tlre State of Haryana, where rapicl incJr-rstrialization [ras resulted in irrclustrial effluenL beirrg clisclrargetJ into.,tlre river water' The eco- . system supportirrg migratory avifauna ancl the ground waler lras ' LA. AP P .59 /7oo7 &- con n ected , Page 3o132 continLtously clegraclecl, 'requiring irnnrecliate atl-entiorr [ot' conseTVatiotr' 6.Variouslr|atrstolrarnessthepol-entialo|.t|reriverhave been cliscussed since early 1980 witlr rel'erence to the navigational poterrtial ottlre rivet-; tlre aesthetics ol= the rivet- ancl requiretnent o'l' i, Ou'ng blerrclecl witlr tlre city of Dellri, as is t-he r-ivet-'-l-lrantes'itt Errglancl ancl tlre river '5eine' irr France' 1. Boclies suclr as tlre 'Mi.rristr-y of Etrvirotrrnent and Forlests', 'CentTal Water Power Researclr Stat-ion' atrd 'National Envir-otrmental Errgineering Research.,. Institute' have been suggesting remedial nteasures in various leports, submitted frort ti;ne to time, proposirrg plansfof integratiorr ol'riverYamuna in the planning, for tlre cleveloprnent of tlre National capital Region' and of necessit-y whiclr inclutcles the National Capital Tei-ritory of Delhi' 8.o.|=thevariousp'roposa|s.,made,e|Tlp|rasizingtlre eCOlogical role of the 'Floocl Plain5', aUuttirrg tlre river bed of'the riVer Yamuna ancj its .conservation imperatives, clrannelizatiorr ol' river Yarnuna lras been proposed, lrbt only for the purposes o1' l'loocj control but even clrainage impt'ovepetrt and reductiotr irr banl< erosiotr. Of necessi[y, tlre p,roposals envisage modificatiorr of the river chatrnel, lceepirrg inLo account the conventional tnethods for clrannelizatiorr, involving enlargement of the chaT:nel by rrvidenin!) and/or deeperring,'to increase the clratrnel capacity to carry water tlrat wot-tld have otlrerwise spreacl on to tlre'l'lood plain' 9. Tlre Nodal Authority for- the Platrned Development of Dell-ri, the much rr-raligneci Delhi Development Authority, whiclt is accusecl by many of having created ut-ban chaos irr Delhi' had evolved tlre .Environmental Manage'nerrt plan' r=or tlre stret-ch oI LA.APP.59 /2007 & connected Page 4 of32 river ya'tuna i' tlre National Capital Territory oF Dellri, with the overall objective of rejuvenating the river. The plan delineates tlre requirenrent oF tlre city and malces recommendatiorrs after lnitial Environnrental E><atninatiorr of tlre proposed activities itr the 'River Front' DeveloPmen t Plan.'' 1r\ .I \J. Briel=ly, the rePort delineates guidelirres I'or ,city of Dellri loY clevelopment of river Yamuna as it I'lows in tlre clividirrg the san'le into variogs stretches' ll.,onesuclrstretchisbetweent|re|ToBarrageLi||the ILFS-NOIDA Linl< Bridge.in the soutlr ancl 'l=ul-tlrer beyond', in tlre soutlrer-rr direction, as the river flows past the city of Delhi and ente;s tlre State of Uttar Pradesh'in t[e Soutlrern 'bourrdary oI the city of Dellr i . L2. The stretch witlr wtlich we are concet-ned in the itrstant Land Acquisitiorr Appeals, is tlre stt-etclr ol= tlre river as it crosses Nl-l-24. (at the popular Iridge called l-tre Nizarrruddin Bridge o\/eT tlre river Yanruna) arrd proceeds'.towards tlre Soutlr, crossing larrds o.f village Belrlolpr.rr l([acJar, l(ilolcari, l(hizrabad,. Jogabai, olcltla' Jasola and Madanpur l(lradar, all of wlriclr lie orr Llre Western banl< of tlre river ancl Narrgli Rajapur arrcl chucl< chilla,,wlriclr lie on the Eastern banl< of tlre r-iver. Graplrically reproduced the plan prepared by tlre learrrecl Reference.Court orr inspqction cat"ried otr 2'L.I7.2006, and to be fourrcl in the recorcl of LAC No'2/1998 Ell7f2Al Slnolt Vs, UOl & Anr. (in respect otvillage Nangli Rajapur) would lre as undeT:- LA.APP.59 /2007 & cottnected Page 5 o[ 32 'l .l !,' .; iir .l I l4rrL *{]I \,,rt1 i" th';h' 1 r.l,rl ;--f- ;' d'1''''J' -l 'l \tttt' tB!l;!j!q'. L F^o,#!(lit'vi '311"' q,...* "(rA"1u't 'ih.iu ' .Tn{.i.r 't.: I \ li,t* iu ln,. r,./,'it, /ir'n l! ?ru'tt..o^ af v'R.s' :;,. ,i 't .),xt i ,,.fr!.14,' \ \ ,r'::l.,\r'' .:^A\ i t...:.jd.?.t:F. \ ( -ltt t" i ' l. 'l i,t .l;r 'r' "'i- i ,'7'-'- ' 'trl LA. APP .59 I ?-007 & co nn'ected t d Page 6 of 32 IJ. .'RiverBed'isdefinedasthearea'overwhiclrtheriver flows and denotes the area wlriclr, in tlre orclinary ol- regular course of nature, is covet-ed by the.waters of the river' 'Flood Plairr' is tlre land adjacerrt to a rivei, whiclr because ol' its level topograpl"ty' floocls when tlre river overflows' :. 4. Tlre lands wlriclr are subject patter of acquisition in the ' ipstant. appeals, lie in, tlre Floocl Plairr. area oj' river YamUna' and rtostly in tlre wes'tertr banl< ancl except for a '[ew patclres' wlrere i agriculLural activit-ies can be . uncleTtalcen, tlre land is rrrostly grasslancl, buslry ancl slrrub vegetation. Tlre aquatic vegetation is very poor in this stretclr due to degracled water quality o'f river Ya ntu na. 15. Tlre lands are comprised in tlre revenue estate ot vi||agel(i|ol<ari,l(lrizrabadandNangliRajapur' 16. FIoocl disclrarge and leve[s, at differerrt gauging, stations in river Yamuna, .indicai:e flooding of the at-ea whenever n'ror-rsoon is normal or in excess. As would be evicJent from the plan of tlre area prepared L7. by t5e learned Reference CourL, and as extracteci'hereirrabove by me, the lands witlr wlriclr Iam concernecl is between tlre rivet- banl< and tlre Forward Buncl. lt has been graphically narrated by the learned Reterence Cout-t in its'report clated 22'II'2006, relevant extr-act whereof wourld read as under:- "l-he spot inspection has been condurcted in terrns oF orcler datecl 13.11.06 irr tlre []resence ol= ol'l'icials I'rom DDA (Slr. M.M. Rao, Director L.M.), slr. s.l(. Singlr (LAC' . soutlr), 5lr. Raj shelclrar (p.c. south), 5lt. Atutl l(utrrar (Ex. Engin'eer-, lrrigation & rlood cotrtrol Departn-rent) . wlro are acconlparried witlr other tearr oF oft'icials frort LA.APP.59 /2007 & connected Page7 of32 resllective clepart-ments. 'counsel tor the petitioners as well as respondents are also present' Tlre ol'ficials lecJ to etrrbanlcnrent ol'River'/arnttlta in uiltug" Narrgli Rajapur via Marginal Bcrnd Road tlrrough ,pantoon Road'. A rouqlr slietch (i.e. Site plan bv 6ppl-oxirnationt p"reper-ecl gv-orficials of DDA to qive a b villaqss has been lranded qyell'-rlre safu and clearly qgpicts l-he t,r*rion ol= villages nehlolpur l(hadar, Nangli Rajapu.r, l(ilolcari, Clruck inilla, KSizi-abad, Jogabai, Olclrla, Jaso.la arrd Madanpur l(haclar. A copv o asra no'5 ol'villaqe rrolira r lras ha rr officials ol' LA lainecl at site tlrat. s.olTle of the rcnaFa no's which are sub-merged or lilcely .to be sub- merged and are adjacentto water streanr lras been de- potif]ed wlrile tlre others 5ad been acquired., Tlre sanre are reflected in different slrades in tlre ' site plan (Anrrexure ll). Tlre official's informed tlrat- the acquired iancl extended upto 500 nretres arrd nray be morefrom tlrd,strearn of 'weiter wlrich was flowing currerrtly. The lancl or-t both sides at the 'site'.spot' appeared to be under cultivation. However, it is pertinent to note tlrat icials 1' lrrioatiotr and Flo Contr-ol DePa inl=ormed t as and when t ater level in river 4.83, tlre' land gel-s Co"er-ecl with water, depending on afflount of disclrarge o't watet- in tlre river. lt was also pointed out that owirrg to aforesaid reasons. no developmrent lras. been permittecJ 'trorn 'Mat-ginal Bund Road' till ernbanlcrnent of l-{iver Yalnuna (As depicted in Anne><ure - l). lt tryas observecl that there was no surbstarrtial developmetrt except that larrd appears to be utilized near the site I'or agricultural purPose. Tlrereafter tlre o'l=ficials lecl to 'show tlre approxitnate location o'l'land of villa.ge l(ilolcari, Behlolpurr and l(hizrabacJ fronr Rirrg Roacl arrcl D.N.D. Road. The officials showecl tlrat no activity/cJeveloptnenl on tlre land neal- to tlre embanlcment could loe ltndertalcen except for agricultttral activity. T[e spot ilspection I.A.APP.59 /2007 &. cottnected Page B o[32 18. corTnnenced at about 2.40 p'ln.and has been completecl at about fi'45 P'nl' sd- . (AI\OOP I(UMAR MENDiI-{ATT'',q) ADDL D|srR|cr J r:r?f;?5ji,l Itmaybelrighiiglrt-eclt|ratt|reForwardBund,ast|re , Page 9 of 32 very name suggests, is tlre raisecl embanlcnrent to cotrtain tlre l,loodecl river as ancl wherr it overtlows, so tlrat thr: city ot'Dellri is not inunclated with water, during nlonsooll' lt is obvious tlrat'due to tlris,,there is lrardly any construction activity in the area irr question, for tlre reasort tnost of it is low lyirrg area and is flood prone. In the words of the learned Reference Court, 'tlre topology' nature ancl potential for utilizatiorr of tlre subjecL lands''rnay be reproduced by me. lt reads as under:- ,.AS per notification dated 23.6.89 placed orl record about 3500 lJectares of lancl starting fronr a point l lcm' upstream,WaZirabac|Barrageroac|tilli!outstlre boundary'otUnionTerritoryWaspropg:udtobeacqLrired t=or channelization of river Yamulla. The puirpose.of tlre , project itself suggests tlre land in tlre river bed adjacent to tlre existipg itieanr of water was to be acquired' The acquired lancl being in river becl on forward bund as suclr catr be safely irrferr-ed to be covered durirrg solTle parts of tlre year wi[lr water and may be cultivaQle For otlrer parts of ttre yeat" No evidence lras been led by tlre petitioners to tlrow that tlre la.nd was.not situated itr tlre 'f--orwarcl buncl area. Consideririg tlr'e situation oI the larrd in tlre river becl it may not be c5pable of beirrg utilized'as a lrornrat agriculturai larrd or buildirrg site despite tlre village bein6 urbanized and cannot be conrpared with lancl other tharr situaLed irr river bed in village l(ilol<ari' Tlre developmerrt nray have tal<etr place in and around village l(ilol<ari but tl're - sarne cattnol- clrange t-lre lranclicaps of land situatecJ in a forward bund area ovvitrg LA.APP.59 /2007 & connected .toitstypica||ocationandIil<eIihoocJoffloodirrgduring tl.lemon5oo|..u'-_|rnayaIsoo|rsenrethatamere construction of an isolaied bor.lrrdary wall or a solit-ary i"'-t pf " witlrout indicatirrg the nature ol' construction cannot|eadtoaninfe'rencethattlre|atldcouldbeused as a bui|cli,.g ua" or could be compared to |and.|'a||ing outside tlre forward bund area' The value ol' land as suclr neecrs to tr" assessed-by this cor-rrt conside.ing the aforesaid factors." 19. Tlre quo-te lrereinabove extracted by me is from the reference order dated 18.10 .2006 irr l-AC No'1/2003 titled Bed Rant Vs. UOl & Anr. 20. By virtue of a notil'ication cJate d 23'6'7989 issued utrder Section 4 of tlre Land Acquisitiorr Act lBg4' a vast traclc oI land ad- measuring 3500 hectares was proposecl to be acqLlired ert putrlic expense, for a public purpose, namely, 'chanrrelization'of Yamuna River,. Lands oF various villages were coverecl by tlre said notification ancl neeclless to state included larrds corrrprised in thr: revenue estate of village l(lrizrabad, l(ilolcari and Nangli Rajapur' lt may be clari.l=ied tlrat not all agricultr-rial larrds in tlre l-evenue estate of saicl 3 villages were rrotified for tlre proposed acquisition' only tlre lancJs wlriclr wet-e between.the Forwarcl Burrd atrd the r-iver Yamuna ancl'as starrd graplricalty. described by tlre learned Judge and as extracted hereinabove inlpara 17, were the ones lvhiclr were proposed to be acquired. 2I'Tlrenol-ificatiorrinquestionWaS|.o||owedbya cJeclaration issuecl under Section 6 of tlre Lancl Acquisitiorr Act IBg4.on 22.05.1990 whereirr the,area arrd tlre l(lrasra nulrlber in each village in respect wlrereof tlre notification was issued were detailed. n.trP P .sg /2007 & cotrnected Parge 10 ol'32 22. Pertaining to tlre revenue estate o.|= vi||age |(lrizrabac|, sr-rl5ject..tnatter of the present ap.peals' the Land Acquisition Collector announced an Award bearing No'18/1992-93' Pertairting to village I(ilolcari tlre Award No'14/1992-93 was anlrounced ol'l 19.6 .Igg2 ancl pertaining to village Nangli Rajapur tlre Award No.16/19g?--g3 was announced on L9'6'1992' 23,rrr.ailtheawarcis,trreLancrAcquisitioncollector assessecl the fair marlcet value of tlre subject lands l=or all 3 villages @ <27,334.1- per- biglra alrd treedless to state helcj tlrat l-lre larrd owneTs would be errtitled to tlre interest.arrd such other statutory benefits as were to. be paid orr tlre conrpensation assessed as per tlre Larrcl Acquisition Act 1894 Wlrile assessirrg tlrefair- rnarlcet value o1'tlre lands as on 24. ?3,6,1989 i.e. tlre da[e of the notification issued under Section 4 oF tlr.e Larrcj Acquisition Act 1894, tire Land Acquisitiorr Collector: tool< into consideration various registerecl sale deecJs rel'lectirrg tlre statecJ price ancl tlrerefrom compurted that tlre average price ol' the land woulcl come Lo {18,736l- per bigha' But' noting tlrat vide OFI'ice Order dated 3.5.1g90 tlre Governrnent o1' Delhi lrad noti'l'ied lre mininrunr pr-ice of agriccrltural land in'tlre Uniorr Ter-ritory ol' Dellri lravipg 2 rates; t4.,50,000/- per acre for agricultural lands anc| {1,50,000/- per acre for |ancl sil-uated in t|re rivet. bed, sitlce ilre notiticatiorr under Section 4--witlr wlriclr he was conqerned was cJatecl 23.6.1989, depressed, by cliscourrtirrg the price by 15a/" per annunr and conclucled by holding tlrat|he fair marlcet price as oF 23.6.1989 woulcl be <27,344'l- per biglra''Tlris price determined for the larrd in village l(ilol<ar-i was lreld to be price payable l"or tlre acquired lancl in tlre otlrer 2 villages as well for the reasolr tlre Land LA.APP.59 /2007 & connected Page 1.1of 32 Acquisitiorr Collector assessed. tlre conlPensation on tlre tnitritttulttr price notifled by tlre Governmelrt itself as on 3'5'1990 I'orthe larrds situatecl in the river bed. 25. Dissatisfiecl with the assessntent made by tlre Land Acquisitiorr Collector, the appellants her-ein souglrt re'l'erence ltnder Section 18 ol'tl're LancJ Acquisition Act IBg4, wlriclr was referr-ed to tlre Reference court as per section 1B of the Act. Tlre learned tleference'Court, aFter framing tlre issues 26. 28, in tlre reference beFore it apcl af'ter perlnitting tlre parties. to lead evidence in supllort of tlreir claim, disposed of the references ntacle, by aricl uncler various orders fixilig the fair rnar-lcet price at t89,600/- per bigha for tlre acquired lands' 27. I note tlrat the rbasoning of tlre learned Reference Courrt is pari-rnateria in each order. The recorcJ oF the learned Re'l'erelrce Court shows tlrat- betore malcing the assessment, vide ord.er dated 13'II'2006, it recordecl tlrat the Cour-t would inspect tlre site arrcl notice wlrereof was deenred to be giverr to. the p'brties as per tlre order' Tlrereafter, itl tlre preseltce of the le'arrred counsel for such parLies wlro cSose Lo be present at tlre inspectiotr alrd irr tlre pl-esellce ol' tlre represelttative of' the LancJ Acquisition Collector- arrd DDA the learnecj Judge nracle a site visit on 22.7,J..2006 ancl prepat-ecj a spot- inspecLion report ancJ a site plan,. botlr of wlricl-r lrave beetr extracted by me hereiiratrove in para.I2 and 17 above. 29. It may be trotecl that the learned Jucige tool< various plrol-ograplrs Wlriclr are placecl irr' LAC No.2/199 B bhopal Sinqlt VS' UOl 6( Artr, and the salle slrow tlrat the larrds are low lying lands LA.APP .59 /7007. & connected Page 1"2 0f 37 ancl are, as describecJ by the learnecl'Judge in tlre report which I lrave exl-racted in pa ra 17 hereinabove: 30. Itisnotificlisputetlratt|re.Iarrc|irrquestion,faIlsinan area, which is between tlre river Yamuna arrd Fling Road' sirrce I atTt, witlr consent of learned counsel for- tlre parties treatirrg LA App.No'5gl2ooTastlreIeaclmatter,itwou|dbe,re|evanttotrote tlrat tlre appellant thereof Bed Rant, a'ppeared in the witness box as PW-7 before the Reference CourL'' atrcl adtnitted in lris cl-oss- examination that excepl- for a petrol pump arrd the two sltops' theie is no abacli arourrcl the lancl. It is glso adrnitted ttrat there is a naa/a (drairr) irr village l(ilolcari' He adnitted that since constfuction WaS llot allowed by tire Governrtlent' no otlrer constructiorr could cotne uP. : .. 31'\lariousdocutnentsweieprovec|beforetlreIearned ReFeretrce Court by various parties:arrd find a rnention in'tlre vat-ious orders passed try tlre learnecl Rel=erence CouTt' but I need not note tlre same because, bel'ore me, wlrile argUing tlre appeals learnecl counsel for the parties pressed i;rto aicj only olre sale deed cJated l_7.3.1988, Ex.PW-3/1 in the rqference souglrt by Bed Ram' Besicles, learned counsel reliecl upbn tlre clecisiorr ,"poit"d as Trndev & Ors Vs. Unlon of lndia & Anr, 2000 (54) DRJ 384 (DB)' wlrerein a Division Benclr,of tlris court assessecl tlre marlcet value for tlre land situate in village l(hizrabacl acqurired pursuant to a rrotification dated 10.05 .Lg76 and assessed tlre conrpensation @ t35,000/-perbigha.asof1O.5.7g76'Imayhigh|iglrttlrat|arrd wlriclr was subject matter of consicleratio.n in Trncle/s case (supra) was saline larrd (salabD arrd 'wai aiquirecl l=br pul-poses of constrLtctitl.g a pilot cut in tlre reacir fronr Nizrrru'dding Bridge to LA.APP -5g/2007 & connec[ed Page 13 of 37 ol<lrla weir. Learnecl cot-ttrsel also l-elied upoll the decision reportecJ as Diwan Rant Swaroop 6t brs lrs' Urtion of lndia'1992 (48) DLT 600 perusal wlrereof shows that tlre larrcj sit'uate in village l(lrizrabacl was acquired pursuant to a rrotil'ication dated 03.06.1961 ancl was assessecl at {12,500/- per biglra' 32, I rna5r lriglrliglrt tlrat 'tlre clecision in Diwan Rant Swaroop's case (supra) was tfte '.basis olr wlriclr decision was prenrisecl in Tlndey's case (supra), |t. TlndeV's case, tal<ing tlre lancl value at T12,500/- per biglra as of 3'6'196,7 by givitrg an annual increment of J.2% but denying a progressive increase' tlre surt't worlced out was t35,000/- pe; biglra. With rel'erence to tlre clecision repo;ted as Bedi Rant Vs..L/O/ & Artr' 2001 (93) DLf 150 arrtl a clecision datecj 4. 2 z.fu 1 disposing ol' RFA No.5 B2/.Igg4 EA/ lcis/tan Kapahl vs. Uol & Anr. as a'lso a decision of tlre supt-erne Corrrt reported as'Nand Rant Vs. St'ate of Harvana.JT 19BB (4) 5C 260, it was urgecl in tlre alternative, that if tlre price as per sale deed dated 17.3,1988 was not to be adopted and tlre sale price deternrinecl in Diwan Ram Swaroop's case was talcen to be base price, percentage increase acloptecl 'by'tlre learned Trial Judge as IZ% be acJoptecl but the benelit of the progiessive increasej slrould tre given and i,', respect of tlre plea I must nol-e tlraI learrred coutrsel made a Concession tlrat aS WaS done in Bedi Rant'S CaSe, irritial irrcr-ease coulcl be @ 6% p"r' ullllum followed l-ry lrOo/u per annurn ancJ then 12% per allnum, with tlre cut ol'F years being 1959-1965 (6%), 1966-1973 (I0%) and I974 onwards (I2%). Pressing tlre first argunlent tlrat tlre sale cleed dated 33. 17.3.1988 slrould be adopted by tlris Court to deterrnine'the 'tair nrarlcet value as ol' 23.4.1989, learned Counsel heavily relied upon LA.APP.59 /2007 & connected Page t4 of 32 the decisiorr of tlre supretle court reported as G'Pren'ta vs' Specia/ Tehsildar (2010) L2 SCC 502 alrd the clecision reported as ont prakash vs. State of Harvana & ors. 2OII (lv) AD (sc) 3B3 and ur-gecl tlrat as lreld t[erein t[e developrnetrt aroutrd the place wlriclr lrad taken place over tlre years,,wheTe tlre subject lands were situate, lracl to be factorecl irr wlrile determininq l-he fair nrarlcet value of tlre acquirecl la.nds' Relying upon the [estinrony ot Devi Ram PW-6 in the reference pertainirrg, to Bed Ram, the Patwari of village l(lolcaTi, lea;ne'd counsel argued tlrat lre adnritted tlrat tlre larrd irr questiorr is situated irr a developed area' lraving builclirrg potentiality, inasnruclr as the lancl situated in village l(ilolcari arrd l(rizrabad were acquirecl for tlre plantred developlnent of Delhi irr tlre years 1959 ancl 1961 arrcl on wlriclr acquired land:; DDA lrad developed tlre r-esiderrtial colonies natned 'Friends Colotry', 'l(alirrdi Colony' and 'Maharani Baglr'' lt.was tlrus urged tlrat tlre area in qr-rest-ion had great poterrtiality; tl-re salTle being a reFlection ol=tlre 3 colonies lraving come up on tlre earlier acquired land3. Pertaining to tlre sale deed clated l-7.3'1988, E>('P\Al-31l-' referrecl to by me hereinabove, it was ar-guecJ tlrat tlre vendor and vendee of the sale deecl wel-e not the residenLs ol' tlre'area irr question ancl thus, the sa.le Lransactecl between ilre|n lrad to be taken as the basis for deternrinirrg t.he rnarl(et value o'f tlre acquired land ancl could rrot be ignored by labeling the same as a tairrtecl clocument ancl not to be igrrorecl as. per tlre reasorrirrg ol' the learned Trialjud$e, wIiclr reasoning is a.s under:- "lI ntay furtlrer be observed tlraL, tlrere is no evidence to reflect tlrat ther-e could lrave'beetr an increase in prices of land as per sale deed dated 17.3.88 @ Rs' 2,07,500 per biglra relied by petitioner wlre,n compared LA.APP .59 /2007 & connected Page L5,o1'32 34.. WithEx'R1.(Rs.43,2ool-'perbiglra)orn.ritr.price-.Fjxed w.e.f'. 27.4..g0 u, p"r polity witliirr a slrot-t sparr o'l'time' It is a lcnowtr fact that the scneme of acquisition is lcrrown.to tlre vil'lages arrd resiclents mucl-t be1ore the actual rrotification uls + is issued as numerous surveys aie rnaoe prior to any acqu'isitlon pr-oceedirrgs. As suclr ihu "n".ution o1 sale deed'ati errlranced Tates to clainr increasecl compensation cannot be rulecl out. For 'tlre aforesaid reasorrs sale cleed datecl 17.3.88 relied by petitioner cloes not apllear to be reliable to assess [he value of laltd." l lrave extr-actecj tlre quote lrerein above 'l'rot.n the Pertainirrg to village I(ilol<ari, an additional argument o Anr,' 35. cornpensation assessecl was tlrus urged tlrat iL decisiorr datecl 25.g.2006 in LAC No'1/,j003 'Becl Rant vs' UOI 8r was advancecl wlriclr was preclicatecl on tlre decision dated 10.10.1984 irr RFA l\o'II7lI974 Sntt'Artooori Devi vs' UOl 6r Ors' wherein perl-airririg Lo a pbtificatiorr clatecl 13.11.1-959 fair rnarlcet value assessecl by tlris court for'lancls itr village l(ilolcari was <26,OOol-perbig|raaSagainst{12,5001-perbighaforthe|andin