Regular First Appeal No. 888 of 1992 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH **** Regular First Appeal No. 888 of 1992 Date of Decision: November 2008 Honda Ram .....Appellant vs. State of Haryana and another .....Respondents Coram:- HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAKESH KUMAR JAIN Present: Mr. C.B.Goel, Advocate with Mr. Nitin Jain, Advocate, for the appellant. Mr. H.S.Hooda. Advocate General, Haryana assisted by Ms. Mamta Singhal Talwar, AAG, Haryana for the respondents **** RAKESH KUMAR JAIN, J. This order shall dispose of 23 Regular First Appeals bearing No. 888,899 to 905, 974, 1680 to 1683, 1820 to 1827, 3571 and 3572 of 1992 filed by both the land owners/Claimants and the State of Haryana as common questions of law and facts are involved in these appeals. Vide notification dated 18/20-11-1988 issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short 'the Act'), published on 6.12.1988, land measuring 21.40 acres situated in village Dhankot, Tehsil and District Gurgaon was proposed to be acquired for the construction of Gurgaon Water Supply Channel through village Dhankot. The notification Regular First Appeal No. 888 of 1992 -2- for declaration of the acquisition of the land was issued on 25.1.1989 under Section 6 of the Act and published on 28.2.1989. The District Revenue Officer-cum-Land Acquisition Collector, Gurgaon (for short the Collector) vide his award No. 7G dated 1.6.1990 for the acquisition of land in village Dhankot H.B. No. 49 Tehsil and District Gurgaon, determined the compensation as under:- (i)Chahi @ Rs. 40,000/- per acre (ii)Alabarani @ Rs. 35,040/- per acre (iii)Bhood @ Rs. 32,000/- per acre (iv)Gair Mumkin @ Rs. 25,120/- per acre The land owners were not satisfied with the award announced under Section 11 of the Act. They filed objections under Section 18 of the Act, in which it was, inter alia, pleaded that the value of the acquired land was not less than Rs. 6 lacs per acre at the time of acquisition and that their land has been divided on both sides of the canal. While contesting the claim, the respondent-State alleged that the Collector has already awarded adequate and just compensation. It was averred that suitable crossing over the proposed channel would be provided to the land owners wherever necessary. The learned Reference court assessed the compensation @ of Rs. 75,000/-, 66,000/-, 58,000/- and Rs. 41,000/- per acre respectively for chahi, albarani (Magda) Bhur and Gair Mumkin. The Learned Reference court also awarded compensation @ of 15% of the market value of the acquired land on the ground of fragmentation and for the loss of passage for the remaining land. Sh. C.B.Goel, learned counsel for the land owners/claimants, Regular First Appeal No. 888 of 1992 -3- has vehemently contended that prior to the present acquisition, land measuring 21.96 acres of village Dhankot and Kheri Majra was acquired vide notification dated 25.5.1987 issued under Section 4 of the Act for construction of Kacha channel for sewerage treatment. In the said acquisition, Sh. C.R.Goel, Additional District Judge,Gurgaon, allowed the compensation of the acquired land @ of Rs. 91,600/- per acre and had also awarded severance charges @ of 10% of Rs. 91,600/- besides other statutory benefits as per the provisions of amended Act. Mr. C.B.Goel has submitted that against the decision of Sh. C.R.Goel, Additional District Judge, Gurgaon, number of appeals were filed in this Court and the main judgment was rendered in R.F.A.No. 3797 of 1992 titled as Amar Nath and others vs. State of Haryana and another in which Hon'ble Mr. Justice N.C.Jain vide his judgment dated 20.12.1994, maintained the compensation assessed by Sh. C.R.Goel, Additional District Judge,Gurgaon, @ of Rs. 91,600/- per acre. However, the severance charges were enhanced at the rate of 50% on the amount of compensation assessed i.e. Rs. 91,600/- per acre. I have perused the judgment rendered in R.F.A.No. 3797 of 1992 decided on December 20, 1994 and the same is taken on record as mark 'X'. In the said case this Court has made the following observations:- “The Additional district Judge has determined the market value of the acquired land at the rate of Rs. 91,600/- per acre on the basis of the average price in the light of three sale deeds Exhs. P2, P3 and P4. Vide Exh. P2, land measuring 27 Kanals 8 Marlas was sold for Rs. 3,56,200/- on 17.9.1987 (brining out the sale price at the Regular First Appeal No. 888 of 1992 -4- rate of Rs. 1,40,000/- per acre). Vide Exh. P3 land measuring 80 Kanals 8 Marlas situated in village Dhankot was sold for a sum of Rs. 7,17,400/- (average sale price per acre comes to Rs. 60,090/-). In the like manner, the sale of land vide Exh. P4 executed on 14.12.1987 shows that another chunk of land measuring 50 Kanals 1 Marla in the revenue estate of village Dhankot was sold for Rs. 6,44,394/- (i.e. at the rate of Rs. 1,30,900/- per acre). The Additional District Judge, after taking out the average sale price of all these three transaction of sale which included two sale deeds which are post dated notification has taken average price of the land in village at the rate of Rs. 91,600/- per acre. In my opinion, the approach of the Additional District Judge is quite correct and deserves to be endorsed. The Additional District Judge has not only taken into consideration the sale deeds before notification but two sale deeds immediately after the notification. The evaluation of the land at the rate of Rs. 91,600/- per acre is also in consonance with the award Ex. P16 in which notification dated 30.6.1982 acquiring land in this very village for alignment of channel for disposal of sewerage was subjected to evaluation at the rate of Rs. 54,523/- per acre. The Additional District Judge after referring to award Ex. P16 has given necessary increase in view of the time lag of five years between the Regular First Appeal No. 888 of 1992 -5- previous notification dated 30.6.1982 and the present notification. After applying my guess work, I am of the view that the market value of the acquired land has been correctly assessed at the rate of Rs. 91,600/- per acre.” Faced with this situation, learned counsel appearing for the State could not find any fault with the decision of this Court rendered in R.F.A. No. 3797 of 1992 titled as Amar Nath and others vs. State of Haryana and another decided on 20.12.1994. Mr. C.B.Goel, learned counsel appearing for the land owners/claimants has further submitted that the amount of compensation of Rs. 91,600/- per acre was assessed in respect of acquisition dated 25.5.1987, whereas in the present case notification under Section 4 of the Act has been issued on 18/20.11.1988 and published on 6.12.1988 about 1½ years after the earlier acquisition. Thus, it was contended that the appellants are further entitled to at least 10% increase every year in view of the decision of the Supreme court in the case of Special Land Acquisition Officer BYDA, Bagalkot vs. Mohd. Hanif Sahib Bawa Sahib AIR 2002 SC 1558. He further submitted that the appellants are also entitled to 50% severance charges instead of 15% which has been awarded by the court below. In this regard, learned counsel for the land owners/claimants has referred to State of Haryana v. Rajinder Kumar 2000(1) All India Land Acquisition & Compensation Cases, 360, Punjab State v. Gurbachan Singh and others 1988 P.L.J. 490, Smt. Narinder Kaur v. The State of Punjab and others 1980 P.L.R. 473, State of Punjab through Collector, Hoshiarpur and another v. Gopal Singh (2002-2) P.L.R. 843, State of Punjab through Collector, Hoshiarpur v. Radha Krishan 1989 All India Regular First Appeal No. 888 of 1992 -6- Land Acquisition and Compensation cases, 667, Tehal Singh and others v. The State of Punjab and another 1987 All India Land Acquisition & Compensation Cases 491 and Bishan Dass v. State of Punjab 1997 (2) P.L.J. 416. Learned counsel for the appellant has also referred to a decision of this court in RFA No. 1337 of 1991 Surjit Singh etc. through L.Rs. vs. State of Punjab decided on April 09, 2008. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and have perused the record with their assistance. There is no dispute that earlier the land of village Dhankot, H.B.No. 49, measuring 21.96 acres was acquired on 25.5.1987 for the construction of kacha channel for sewerage treatment for which the Land Acquisition Collector, Gurgaon vide his award dated 12.11.1987 awarded compensation @ of Rs. 50,000/- per acre for chahi land, Rs. 35,000/- per acre for Dehri and Magda land and @ of Rs. 15,000/- per acre for Gair Mumkin land. The Additional District Judge, Gurgaon, vide his award dated 31.7.1992 re-determined the market value @ of Rs. 91,600/- per acre by placing reliance upon sale deeds Exhibit P-2 to P-4 and on another award given by the Additional District Judge acquired in this very village on 30.6.1982, five years before the date of notification dated 25.5.1987, in which the rate was evaluated at Rs. 54523/- per acre. The said award of the Additional District Judge, Gurgaon was also considered in R.F.A.No. 3797 of 1992 titled as Amar Nath and others vs. State of Haryana and another, decided on 20.12.1994 in which Rs. 91,600/- per acre was fixed as the price of the land of village Dhankot H.B. No. 49 as on 25.5.1987 and severance charges was given at the rate of 50% of the market value. The present acquisition is also pertaining to the same village Dhankot, H.B.No. 49 and for the same purpose. In R.F.A.No. 3797 of 1992 Regular First Appeal No. 888 of 1992 -7- this Court has upheld the compensation of Rs. 91,600/- and severance charges has been enhanced to 50% of the market value. In view of these undisputed facts on record coupled with the fact that the present acquisition is 1½ years later being dated 6.12.1988, I deem it appropriate to award compensation @ of Rs. 1,05,340/- per acre i.e. Rs. 91,600/- + 15% for 1½ year. I am also in agreement with the contention raised by the counsel for the land owners/claimants that the claimants are entitled to compensation of 50% of the market value towards severance charges in view of decision dated April 09, 2008 of this Court in R.F.A.No. 1337 of 1991 titled as Surjit singh etc. through L.Rs. vs. State of Punjab in which all the aforesaid judgments have been considered. No other point has been raised either by the counsel for the land owners/claimants or by the counsel appearing for State of Haryana. In view of the above discussion, the appeals filed by the land owners/claimants are hereby allowed. They are held entitled to compensation to the tune of Rs. 1,05,340/- per acre along with 50% severance charges on the market value and all the statutory benefits as per the provisions of amended Act with costs of the petition. However, the appeals filed by the State of Haryana are devoid of any merit and are consequently dismissed with no order as to costs. (RAKESH KUMAR JAIN) JUDGE November 04, 2008 paramjit Refer to reporter - yes