IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE KURIAN JOSEPH & THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HARUN-UL-RASHID FRIDAY, THE 7TH MARCH 2008 / 17TH PHALGUNA 1929 LA.App..No. 1242 of 2003() -------------------------- LAR.76/2000 of SUB COURT, HOSDRUG .................... APPELLANT: RESPONDENT: ---------------------- STATE OF KERALA. BY GOVERNMENT PLEADER SRI.K.V.MANOJKUMAR. RESPONDENTS: CLAIMANTS: ----------------------- 1. H. ACHUTHA KAMATH, S/O. ANNAPPA KAMATH, KOTTUMPURAM, PEROLE VILLAGE. 2. H. VINAYAKA KAMATH, S/O. ANNAPPA KAMATH, NEAR RAILWAY GATE, NILESHWAR. BY ADV. SRI.T.K.VIPINDAS SRI.K.RAJEEVAN SMT.T.SUDHAMANI THIS LAND ACQUISITION APPEAL HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 07/03/2008, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: KURIAN JOSEPH & HARUN-UL-RASHID, JJ. ----------------------------------------- L.A.A.No.1242 of 2003 ----------------------------------------- Dated this the 7th day of March, 2008 JUDGMENT Kurian Joseph,J. This is an appeal filed by the State aggrieved by the judgment and decree in L.A.R.No.76/2000 on the file of the Sub Court, Hosdurg. Acquisition is for the purpose of doubling the railway track from Kannur to Uppala. The extent involved is only 11 cents. Section 4(1) notification was published on 3-4-1997. The Land Acquisition Officer fixed land value at the rate of Rs.2867/- per cent which was refixed at Rs.20,000/- per cent. Before the reference court Exts.A1 to A5 documents were produced and the claimants were examined as AW1 and AW2. On behalf of the requisitioning authority, the Land Acquisition Officer was examined as RW1. The claimants mainly relied on Ext.A1 document and claimed land value to the tune of Rs.50,000/- per cent. Ext.A2 is a document of transaction involving 4½ cents for Rs.4,72,500/-. It has come out in the admitted evidence of the Land Acquisition Officer himself that the L.A.A.No.1242 of 2003 -:2:- relied on document cannot be made the basis for fixation of land value in view of the dissimilarity between the basic document and the acquired property. The acquired property is situated adjacent to Nileshwar-Konnakkad tar road. The Land Acquisition Officer, who was examined as RW1, admitted that within 150 metres of the acquired property there are several public institutions like Schools, Food Corporation of India office, Temple etc. The railway station is situated admittedly at a distance of 175 metres away from the acquired land. The Nileshwar bus stand is situated within 200 metres of the acquired property. Thus the locational importance and advantage of the acquired property is not in dispute. True, the acquisition is for doubling the railway track and the acquired property is near to the railway track. But that does not mean that the acquired property does not have the value as spoken to by the claimants and as proved in evidence. The Advocate Commissioner also reported that the acquired property is situated in a commercially important place. The relied on document is only a single crop wet land and the same is a water logged area. Thus on an overall assessment of L.A.A.No.1242 of 2003 -:3:- the dissimilarity and uncomparability with the basic document and taking note of the locational advantage and commercial importance of the acquired property and comparing the same with the value of the property in the nearby area and with the permissible guess work the reference court fixed land value at Rs.20,000/- per cent, which according to us, is only just and reasonable, particularly in the absence of any contra evidence. Thus we do not find any merit in the appeal. It is accordingly dismissed. (KURIAN JOSEPH, JUDGE) (HARUN-UL-RASHID, JUDGE) ahg. KURIAN JOSEPH & HARUN-UL-RASHID, JJ. --------------------------- L.A.A.No.1242 of 2003 ---------------------------- JUDGMENT 7th March, 2008