IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH SHIMLA. RFA No.343 of 2006 Date of Decision : August 22, 2008 The L.A.C. and another …Appellants. Versus: Dila Ram & others …Respondents. Coram: The Hon’ble Mr.Justice Sanjay Karol, Judge. Whether approved for reporting?1 No For the appellants : Mr. R. K. Bawa, Advocate General with Mr. Vivek Thakur, Addl. A. G. and Mr. Anil Jaswal, Dy. A.G. For the respondents : Mr. Ramakant Sharma, Advocate. Sanjay Karol, J. (Oral) The present appeal arises out of the impugned Award dated 6.9.2005 passed by the District Judge, Bilaspur, H. P. in Land Reference Petition No. 16 of 1998 titled as Dila Ram & others Vs. L.A.C. & another, whereby the respondents- State (appellants herein) has been directed to pay compensation to the claimants @ Rs.7000/- per biswa irrespective of classification of land. For the public purpose, namely, expansion/widening of Brahm Pukhar-Ghagas road, land belonging to the petitioners (respondents herein) comprising Khasra No. 72/1, 95/75/1, 1 Whether reporters of Local Papers may be allowed to see the judgment? 2 96/75/1, 76/1 and 93/1, measuring 1.11 bigha situate in village Ghiana, Pargana Bahadurpur, Tehsil Sadar, District Bilaspur, H.P. was acquired vide Notification dated 1.11.1993 issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’) and Award No. 25/88 dated 11.1.1996, whereby the Collector awarded different rates for different classifications of the land as under:- Sr.No. Classification of land Rate per biswa 1. Kohli Awal Rs.1207.79 2. Kohli Doyam Rs.1068.43 3. Anderli Awal Rs. 913.59 4. Anderli Doyam Rs. 820.68 5. Baharli Awal Rs. 387.11 6. Baharli Doyam Rs. 185.81 7. Banjar or Khadyaj Rs. 92.91 Being dis-satisfied with the same, the land owners filed a Land Reference Petition under Section 18 of the Act. In order to prove its claim, claimant Dila Ram himself examined as PW-1, Shri Nanaku (PW-2), Shri Balak Ram (PW-3), Shri Amar Nath (PW-4), Shri Narotam Dutt (PW-5), Shri Nand Lal s/o Shri Hira Ram (PW-6) and Shri Nand Lal s/o Shri Tulsi Ram (PW-7). The claimants proved on record the Sale Deeds Ext.PA, Ext.PB, Ext.PW-6/A, in support of their claim. The respondents-State examined Shri Kishore Kumar (RW-1), Junior Engineer in the HPPWD, Jukhala Section under Bilaspur Sub Division and placed on record a copy of the 3 Notification Ext.RA and tendered in evidence Sale Deeds Ext.RB & R-1. Appreciating the material on record, the Court below rejected the Sale Deeds Ext.PA & Ext.RB on the ground that the same pertained to different villages, namely, Bhatoli, which was at a distance of approximately 1 to 4 kms. from village Ghiana. Ext.R-1 was rejected on the ground that the same pertained to the year 1975. Transactions evidencing sales vide Sale Deeds Ext.RB and Ext.PW-6/A were considered by the Court for determining the compensation of the acquired land and the market value of the claimants land was determined at Rs.7,000/- per biswa after taking out the average of the said transactions. The present appeal has been filed by the State and no appeal or cross-objections have been filed by the land owners. I have heard learned counsels for the parties and perused the record. Sale Deed Ext.PW-6/A, pertaining to village Niharkhan Basala, has been proved by Shri Nand Lal s/o Shri Hira Ram (PW-6) and Shri Nand Lal s/o Shri Tulsi Ram (PW-7) being vendor and vendee. Both have proved the similarity of the exemplars land with that of the acquired land. There are amenities and all facilities available and there is a great potential of the land being developed as commercial site. It stands proved by the claimants’ witnesses including Shri Dila Ram 4 (PW-1). In fact Shri Kishor Kumar (RW-1) has fully supported the claimants’ case and has deposed that Village Niharkhan Basla is very close to Village Ghiana and land of both the villages is comparable in all respects. He has further admitted that the land in question was acquired for widening of the Highway and Brahmpukhar is at a distance of 1½ kms. from Ghiana. He has admitted that the acquired land was under cultivation. From the record, it is evident that the acquired land was centrally located and was at a distance of about 1½ kms. from Brahmpukhar, which is a important commercial junction, situate on the National Highway-88 having all facilities and amenities including Petrol Pump, shops and regular market. The acquired land was already abutting the State Highway and had a great potential of being developed commercially. The Court below has relied upon Sale Deed Ext.RB produced by the respondents evidencing the market value to be approximately Rs.5,300/- per biswa. The award passed by the Collector can be faulted on this ground alone as the market value determined by him is for less than the exemplar Sale Deed. To strike a balance, the mean of the two Sale Deeds Ext.PW-6/A depicting value as Rs.10,000/- and Ext.RB depicting value as Rs.5,300/- has been taken for determining the market value of the acquired land to be Rs.7,000/- per biswa. There is clear, cogent and reliable material on record to prove the same. In my view, the Court below has correctly applied the principles of law and appreciated the material while arriving 5 at its conclusion. The Apex Court in Chimanlal Hargovinddas v. Special Land Acquisition Officer, Poona and another (AIR 1988 SC 1652) and laid down the principles on the basis of which compensation for the acquisition of the land is to be arrived at. In my view, all relevant factors have been considered while arriving at its decision. The entire land has been utilized for the expansion of the already existing road. The land has been utilized in its entirety for the said purpose. Respondent No.1 has admitted that the respondents entire land was under cultivation. In this view of the matter, I see no justification for interfering with the impugned award whereby the uniform rate has been applied for different classifications and categories of land. The entire material has been considered in its entirety. There is no illegality or perversity in the same. The present appeal is accordingly dismissed, so also the pending application. ( Sanjay Karol ), Judge. August 22, 2008. (rana)